New Live concert The Cure: Trilogy On HD

The Cure: Trilogy
A career spanning decades, a musical sound difficult to categorise and fronted by the messy-haired, lipstick-wearing Robert Smith, The Cure are a British rock phenomenon capable of pleasing the hard-rockers, goths and pop-lovers with their off-beat songs. In 2002 the band played three concerts – one in Brussels and two in Berlin – where they performed three albums in their entirety, Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers, to a massive crowd. A DVD was released back in 2003 and now we have a Blu-ray featuring one of the Berlin concerts.

Three hours of music has been fitted onto this Blu-ray disc, with a total of 29 tracks featured in the concert and two separate encore songs bringing the grand total to 31, making this a comprehensive overview of The Cure's musical career. The three featured albums do this rather well too, with Pornography being a more aggressive, punky affair with gloomy lyrics and a brooding atmosphere, Disintegration being far more upbeat and poppy and finally Bloodflowers a strange mix of the two.

The Trilogy is a modern concert, therefore we have a flashy light show, lots of coloured filters and a smoke machine, and the direction is standard live footage fare too, with a cut every minute, a close-up here and a long shot there. Crowd shots and noise are kept to the minimum, with the footage concentrating on the stage, however since The Cure concentrate on the music rather than rushing about hither and thither, it's not especially interesting to watch.

If The Cure's music does it for you, then this Blu-ray is a worthy purchase, from the attractive digi-pack disc casing to the brilliance of the performance and music. What it isn't though is a movie or anywhere near as accessible to non-fans as The Who disc we reviewed last week, however for anyone keen to see a band play an entire three albums worth of music in one night (and make no mistake, this is a massive achievement) and still sound professional and polished, The Cure: Trilogy is ideal.

The Eagles: Farewell Tour 1 - Live in Melbourne HD (Live Music)

The Eagles: Farewell Tour 1 - Live in Melbourne (HDDVD)

Before I knew who the Eagles were, I knew what "Hotel California" was. Looking back now, the well-known lyrical desert ballad whines along with a strange desperation that seems to mirror the tone of the on-again, off-again relationship of the band itself over the decades. Breaking up and reuniting more times than simple ego clashes can account for, the Eagles were a driving force in the 1970s rock-splosion in Southern California. Four of their six albums landed at the top of the charts (consecutively no less) and the band's popularity over the decades has hardly suffered from their inability to communicate with each other.

The title of their latest live concert, 'Eagles Farewell Tour I,' winks at the fans of other aging rockers who are constantly trying to cash in and keep the dream alive. Happily, the performance captured here is largely free of consumerism and seems to genuinely showcase a reunited band that had simply missed doing what they do best. Recorded in high definition in Melbourne, Australia, the concert lasts nearly three hours and packs a punch around every corner. Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Timothy Schmit sit on the stage like old friends, effortlessly pouring out their souls through their music. Unlike their previous recorded live performances, the band members actually look like they're having a good time in front of their audience, embracing the music rather than their fame.

And the songs? The 30 set choices won't disappoint -- infectious hits like "Desperado," "Take It to the Limit," "One of These Nights," "Already Gone," "Sunset Grill," "Dirty Laundry," "Tequila Sunrise," "Take It Easy," and the aforementioned "Hotel California" all make a richly textured appearance. Rounding out the rest of the concert, are notable performances of "The Long Run," "New Kid in Town," "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Wasted Time," "I Can't Tell You Why," "Lying Eyes," "Heartache Tonight," "Funk '49," "Life's Been Good," "The Boys of Summer," "Walk Away," "You Belong to the City," "In the City," "Life in the Fast Lane," "Silent Spring," "Love Will Keep Us Alive," "No More Cloudy Days," "All She Wants to do is Dance," "Life in the Fast Lane," and "Rocky Mountain Way."