Julieta Venegas – MTV Unplugged (2009/Sony Music Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: C     Concert: B

 

 

In one of the best music concert surprises of the year along with Paul McCartney’s New York DVD/CD set comes the Blu-ray of Julieta Venegas – MTV Unplugged, a remarkably terrific show that also ranks as among the best of the overrated MTV series.  The highly talented Mexican-American Latino Pop/Folk/Rock singer and musician is amazing and why she is not the next big thing in music is baffling, but all 15 songs here are uncompromisingly sung in Spanish and are so intense and loaded with energy that once you start watching, you cannot stop.

 

Also impressive are the many talented musicians who make up her incredible backing band, one of the best in the business and the energy and intensity is what live music is all about and what too many U.S. music acts have sorely forgotten.  La Mala Rodriguez, Gustavo Santaolalla, Juan Son, Marisa Monte and Jacques Morelenbaum all show up for duets and push this great concert into a serious event that was already a must-see.  Venegas should be the next big thing and if/when she crosses over, look out!

 

 

The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in an intimate studio space and is one of the best HD recorded concerts of any kind we have covered to date and we have covered more than most.  Detail is decent throughout, color reproduction exceptional and there is limited motion blur.  Editing and lighting are better than most concerts we have seen, including in all of the MTV Unplugged series history.  It is frankly one of the few times a live concert in HD looks truly live.

 

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is also impressive, even more so than the still-decent PCM 2.0 Stereo track also included.  Though I wanted this to be even more dynamic and have a spectacular soundfield, it is still very high quality and on the articulate side for all the instruments played, so the engineers and mixers knew what they were doing.  Any singer or musician in the industry serious about live recoding should consider this a must-experience Blu-ray.  It is now one of Sony Music’s best.

 

Extras include a nice small booklet inside the Blu-ray case and a behind the scenes featurette on the disc.  And if you love music, this is a must-have Blu-ray for you too!

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo