Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Zoom Tour Live

Everything is fine with this product. Quality is good, no issues.

OK, now that you've read all the reviews about how "Zoom" is somehow compromised because... a) Jeff Lynne did EVERYTHING on the studio album; b) The live band roster did not include any of the old ELO band members except Lynne and Richard Tandy; c) The album, tour, and DVD all flopped consider this:a) After Roy Wood left after the first album, ELO *was* Jeff Lynne.b) Essentially, the various ELO bands have never been more than a cover band for Jeff Lynne's material and production.c) The album, tour, and DVD flopped due to lack of good marketing and promotion NOT a lack of quality.On that last point, history may look back on Zoom as one of the best ELO projects. That's because this band is better musically and stylistically than any of the prior ELO rosters. Gone are string players of questionable musical ability dragging their instruments around the stage and shredding their bows to pieces in maniacal attempts to 'look interesting'. Gone are male tenors straining their vocal chords to sound like sopranos. Gone are boring simple string arrangements trying to masquerade as 'high art'. This live band is tight, entertaining and interesting without being pretentious, bombastic, or downright dull (like the original ELO tended to be).On the 'flop' issue, while a superb composer, producer, and musician Jeff Lynne has never been a very good business man. The marketing and execution of several of the Move and ELO albums was handicapped by this fact - just consider some of the album covers (does anyone remember how the cover of 'Eldorado' was savaged by the critics? I do. And, I'm STILL trying to figure out that belly button cover photo from 'On The Third Day'!) Thankfully for us all, ELO is a case study of how good art occasionally triumphs over bad marketing. Why this did not happen in the case of 'Zoom' is disappointing.However, you will NOT be disappointed by this fantastic DVD!

Great Performance

So, I am a big ELO fan but I realize many of the videos have Jeff Lynne, Kelley Groucutt, Richard Tandy, and Bev Bevan in polyester and big hair. They usually look dated and, although I love the music, sometimes there is a lack of finesse and polish in the live performances as the Band "saws" their cellos and violins in an attempt to be "rock and rollers" (which they are). Enter this "Zoom" DVD. I was initially disappointed that only two of the band members are playing but, with one of them being Jeff Lynne (Tandy is the other), all the vocals were intact. Kelley Groucutt used to provide the additional vocals and a lot of the vocal falsettos and is replaced in the video by supermodel, musician, and vocal talent Rosie Vela who not only pulls off all the required vocals but is so very beautiful in her Jeff Lynne-matching curls. Speaking of beautiful women, what would happen if the band hired professional cello players who substituted technical perfection for the onstage zaniness of the band (see the video (not on this DVD) for "Wild West Hero" where these Brits are lassoing each other!)? And what if the cello players were the beautiful and talented Peggy Balwin and Sarah O'Brien? You will see it all on Zoom. I know many purists will miss the original band, the bell-bottom pants, and the "unusualness" that got ELO where they are, but as I get older, it is wonderful to hear the songs performed as they were written and, of course, sang by the genius Jeff Lynne.

This is my absolute favorite Jeff Lynne item, period. He has NEVER sounded better and this brilliant live DVD corects the two major problems with ELO's records from the 1970's, the over the top (and often dated) production and the tendency to bury Jeff's vocals in the mix. Here, he finally gets everything right. With the help of his brilliant musical side kick and arranger, Marc Mann (Concert for George and George Harrison's Brainwashed CD), they reduce the often complicated ELO sound down to its essential musical elements and then put Jeff's vocals right up front where they belong. No gimmicks, no B.S. This is truly an example of "less is more" and it works so well that I actually prefer these versions of the ELO songs over the original recordings. Everything seems more melodic, more sincere, and more about the song and not some production trick. Its obvious that Lynne has learned a lot from his work in the 1980's - 1990's with George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and the other greats and you can clearly hear it in the taste he now brings to his singing and guitar playing. I wish every musician and song writer could age like this. If you are a fan of any kind of melodic pop rock, this is essential. In places, the music on this DVD was so beautiful, it made me cry.

I love this DVD. Concert DVDs are great because you can enjoy a concert without spending a lot of money on a ticket, transportation, parking, etc.This is a quality DVD which features many of their most popular hits from the 1970's including Evil Woman, Strange Magic, Livin' Thing, Telephone Line, Turn to Stone, Can't Get it Out of My Head, Don't Bring Me Down, etc. This DVD has 23 songs on it. It is a great value for the Money.

Bonjour, avant de faire les éloges de ce magnifique concert je voudrais signaler que quand je l'ai commandé je n'ai pas fait attention que c'était de l'import USA, donc, zone 1. J'ai re-commandé ce dvd, mais en zone 2 livré très rapidement, et tout récemment j'ai reçu celui en zone 1.Hé bien figurez vous qu'il passe sans problème sur le lecteur de ma Freebox V6 !!!!Je tenais à le signaler aux adorateurs de E.L.O et détenteur de la V6.Sinon, que dire de plus par rapport aux autres commentaires, tout à été dit... Ça fait plaisir de retrouver ce groupe mythique des 70's. Etant né au début des années 50 j'en ai connu un sacré paquet !!!!

George Harrison disse che se i Beatles non si fossero sciolti avrebbero fatto le stesse cose degli ELO! Forse è esagerato ma Jeff Lynne che si cela sotto l'etichetta di ELO è, sicuramente, tra i maggiori protagonisti della scena musicale dell'ultimo quarto del secolo scorso. Il DVD è relativo ad un concerto fantastico degli ELO, tenutosi nel 2001 alla CBS Television di Los Angeles, con il mitico Jeff Lynne, ineccepibile e tetragono, e l'unico altro sopravvissuto della band originaria, Richard Tandy alle tastiere. L'esibizione, di 98 minuti, riporta oltre ai brani dell'album Zoom tutti i brani più significativi della band (stranamente, e purtroppo, mancano all'appello Momma e Last Train to London che sono le mie preferite!). Per chi, come me, è amante della musica degli ELO non può trovare di meglio perchè qui Lynne è accompaganto da ottimi musicisti e, soprattutto, il concerto può deliziarsi della splendida presenza della back vocalist Rosie Vela, allora compagna di Lynn (ma nella vita top model di gran successo ed attrice) che apporta una grazia ed eleganza ineguagliabili tanto è forte la sua presenza scenica piena di soave bellezza e di classe inarrivabile (la quintessenza della femminilità!). Il tutto conferisce al DVD un gusto del tutto particolare, anche perchè le canzoni (malgrado le due mancanze segnalate) sono quanto di meglio Jeff Lynne ci abbia potuto regalare in 26 anni di attività sotto l'egida ELO. Una menzione infine per le violoncelliste Peggy Baldwin e Sarah O'Brien, anch'esse belle, raffinate e professionali. Dunque un DVD imperdibile e di gran livello che lo si apprezza di più ad ogni ascolto: spero solo che venga rimasterizzato ed editato in Blue Ray perchè la qualità non eccelsa delle immagini è forse l'unico piccolo neo di un concerto che ben può rappresentare uno dei pezzi migliori di qualsiasi videoteca.E' davvero un momento di Paradiso!

リージョン１なのが残念ですが、画質がとてもきれいです。日本版と内容は、同じだと思います。収録時間は、９８分です。evil woman,strange magic,telephone line,turn to stone ,shine a little love,don't bring me down,roll over beethoven　等の過去の名曲もばっちり演ってます。演奏もこんじんまりまとまっていて聞きやすいです。スタジオライブをちょっと大きくした感じです。７０年代にＥＬＯのファンだった人に超お勧めです、

An awesome concert at a smaller venue than their earlier concerts, like Wembly and Hyde Park. My only disappointment with this DVD is that it's not on Blue Ray HD. The sound quality is OK but it's not really top drawer. That said, I look forward to buying the ELO Zoom Music on CD so I listen to ELO in my car or at home.