Search - The Moody Blues: Live at the Isle of Wight, 1970 on DVD

Classic Moody Blues performance

Bob | St Louis, Mo USA | 05/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A special thanks to Eagle Rock Entertainment for releasing this dvd. If you are a fan of the core 7 albums and the five members who created that wonderful music, then you are going to love watching this dvd. For me, the Isle of Wight concert was basically England's version of Woodstock with over a half a million people attending.



The band's performance is a little rough around the edges, but you can see how all five members show their delight and excitement and even a little fear in performing in front of that huge audience. Especially fun to watch perform is Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge. New interviews with the members are included (miss Ray). The interview with Mike Pinder talking about and demonstrating the mellotron is fascinating.



Also fun to watch is the band performing songs that are not currently on their tour lists (Gypsy). Currently, at the end of their concerts, John Lodge always thanks the audience for following them on their journey, and it is wonderful to have this recording taken from around the beginning of that journey.



So if you are a fan of British rock or a die-hard fan of the Moodies, this dvd is a must have. Especially if you are one of the Troubadour (Justin Hayward) fans."

Vintage live moody blues concert on dvd

Tom from NY | 05/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a rare look at the Moody Blues live in 1970. It is not a highly polished performance like their studio albums,but it is very good nonetheless. It starts with a 20 minute intro with present interview footage of John,Justin,Mike&Graeme,but sadly without Ray. The most interesting of this is Mike's demonstration of the mellotron and its interior workings. Next comes about an hour of actual concert footage. Most of the concert is excellent,with the weakest song being "Tortoise and the Hare". To be honest,the mellotron is extremely hard to play live,and Mike gives it his best shot. " Melancholy Man" is an absolutely blistering performance. Other standout performances are "Never Comes the Day","The Sunset",and "Legend of a Mind". The encore,"Ride My Seesaw",is a compilation of footage from various concerts. Some of the concert film was lost,and this is most likely the reason for this. The dvd has only 10 songs,while the cd has 14, due to the fact that some film footage was lost [as mentioned in the dvd booklet]. After the concert are present day reflections from the band [once again ,no Ray]. The end of the disc has Graeme reciting "Late Lament". This is an excellent look at early Moody Blues live. An absolute must for Moodies fans and for anyone who likes rock concerts that don't sound like they were done in the studio. There are no overdubs....this is a great raw performance."

A Must for any Moody Blues Fan.

B. Congleton | 06/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a wonderful historic concert performed by the band during the time that a lot of people think that they were at the peak of their career. It is so good to see archive performances from this period finally becoming available.



Preceding the concert there is a 20 minute documentary including interviews with Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Graeme Edge, and Mike Pinder, most of which were taken from 1998. Believe or not, Mike does pull out his old mellotron. Also, a valuable comment was made by Justin, where he mentions there are no other "real" live video recordings of them from this period. By "real" I believe Justin means that this is an auctual raw performance, rather than being lip-synched. This was the case with the previously released Live in Paris '70, but not with this one.



Setlist on the concert portion of the DVD includes Gypsy, Tuesday Afternoon, Never Comes the Day, Tortoise and the Hare, Question, The Sunset, Melancholy Man, Nights in White Satin, Legend of a Mind, and Ride My See Saw. Video & audio portions of still other songs from the performance, such as Minstels Song and Are You Sitting Comfortably, due appear in the documentary portion, but not in their entirety. The complete set can be obtained on audio by purchasing the previously released CD or MP3 download of the performance.



I encourage prospective buyers to not be discouraged by the fact that the setlist is incomplete. The simple fact that this is available at all that makes this DVD valuable, as endorsed by Justin himself.

"

Unbelievable how much they could bring the RAWK!

A. R. Digrazia | Tucson, AZ USA | 06/27/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although lots of the footage seems to be recycled and some of the songs are a bit wobbly and out of tune, it is clear that the circa 1970 Moodies were a fearsome live act despite their hugely produced studio work.

I was simply floored to see Graeme Edge wail on the drums. Who would have thought it? Justin's voice is stellar and his classic 335 sounds great through those old Marshalls and Hiwatts. Mike Pinder wrestles his Mellotron into submission and evokes the grandeur of their recorded material, and John Lodge is as great a bassist live as on the albums.

Ray, well, he adds his flute where it should be and jumps with glee when he's waiting to. Buy this and enjoy! 600,000 hippies can't be wrong."