Rod Stewart – Unplugged… & Seated (1993/Rhino DVD/CD Set)
Picture:
C Sound: B Extras: C- Concert: C+
Rod
Stewart’s fall from grace as one of the greatest Rock singers is now complete
with his covering standards from the 1920s – 1950s, but it is a sad final
sellout for a performer who can actually still sing. Though it was celebrated at the time it
happened in 1993, I thought Rod Stewart
– Unplugged… & Seated was a huge disappointment and even Ron Wood
showing up did not reenergize anything. The tracks (17 on the CD, four less on the
DVD) take classics like Hot Legs, Maggie May and Every Picture Tells A Story and plays them stretched out as if that
increases their importance.
Well,
that’s a crock and even People Get Ready
(which was one of his last real rock hits and it was a guest turn on a Jeff
Beck album!) is not as good as the hit version.
At least this has some fans, but for older vintage fans like this
writer, it is really the beginning of the end.
The 1.33
X 1 image looks poor throughout with aliasing errors, softness and a general weakness throughout that I have not
see it have before, even though it is a professional NTSC analog taping. Both versions have PCM 2.0 16 Bit Stereo,
with the 48 KHz on the DVD not having any edge over the CD’s 44.1 kHz, but both
are a bit richer than the Dolby Digital 5.1 exclusive to the DVD. Extras include stills and a booklet with text
and illustrations inside the case.
- Nicholas Sheffo
