ALCHEMY LIVE (BLU-RAY)

Let's get the bad out of the way, Alchemy was filmed on video. What you see here on this Blu-ray is likely the best this will ever look, it's limited by the source material. No amount of baking, scanning and what-have-you is going to do this source material any favours. This is also presented in the original aspect ratio of 4:3, meaning on a high definition TV you will have black bars on the sides. This is perfectly normal. If they were to re-scan the source material to present it in 16:9 you'd be now stuck with around 400 lines of source resolution and it would be ugly, so either zoom in on it or please hold your tongue...this is as good as it gets. Now for the juice - Chuck Ainlay has gone back to the original master tapes and done an amazing re-mastering of Alchemy as well as an amazing multi-channel surround mix, mastering to 24-bit/96kHz and encoded using the dts Master Audio codec, which is of course lossless. The surround mix is enveloping and accurately reflects the feel of a live concert. Every single nuance of the performance seems to come across with delightful clarity, from the subtleties of Private Investigations to the all out rock and roll of Sultans of Swing. Until now the best I've ever heard Alchemy sound is on the original German vinyl pressing, but I have a new favourite and it is this Blu-ray disc. Whether you kick the lights and TV off and flick your receiver into a PURE DIRECT mode, shut your eyes and float away into this amazing concert or watch it at the same time, this one will be sure to be in constant rotation for a long time to come. Alas this isn't the pristine 1080p24 16:9 35mm transfer that I'm sure people would love to see, but with the elements available I think we're very lucky to finally have such an incredible audio presentation of this truly wonderful performance. Not sure why we still don't have the missing tracks, like Love Over Gold. Would be interested to see an answer to that someday. Thanks Universal Music and thanks Chuck Ainlay...and of course thanks to Dire Straits, you still rock as hard in 2010 as you did in 1983.

Excellent recording. Pleasure to play.

I have waited many years for this to come out in a digital format to replace my very worn out VHS copy which has been played almost to destruction. It did come as a very pleasant shock to see this released a couple of weeks ago. When I first started it playing, the sound sounded almost distorted and "overdriven" through my TV set. Not only the concert, but the music accompanying the copyright messages and the menu sound. This is the only disc I have which does this so I was a bit suspicious. A few minutes into the actual concert I changed the audio to DTS 5.1 and within a couple of seconds my jaw was hanging open at the amazing quality of the sound. I have listened to Alchemy Live on CD, vinyl and the VHS copy probably hundreds of times over the years, and it has never sounded like this. Every instrument (especially the guitars of course) and every note of song is as clear and crisp as when it was sung. Brilliant! The picture quality is a bit of a letdown for a blu-ray. It is in 4:3 aspect ratio, and it is very grainy in places. But it is many times better than the VHS copy - and you have to remember that this is nearly 30 years ago now. But the bottom line for me is that it isn't about the picture, it is about the sound - and for anyone who thinks they have heard Alchemy Live, they need to listen to this and think again! Well worth the wait

The Very very best of a supreme live performance. Just a perfect concert.

Ok first let's get one thing Strait here, the video is in 4:3, it's grainy, it's lo-fi, it looks like it's been dubbed from VHS and it probably has. But I didn't buy this for the video quality, it's Dire Straits, I bought it for the audio. The audio which has been remastered in 5.1 surround or pcm stereo and sounds fantastic. Don't buy this unless you have a decent surround sound set up because you will be disappointed, but if like me you have spent years gradually building up your home theater speakers and amplifiers then you will not be disappointed. The uncompressed audio available on blu ray far outstrips CD and the 5.1 remix adds another dimension. I bought the CD of this album when I was a kid, it cost me what seemed like a fortune back in 1992. This blu ray took me right back to when I first heard it, so fresh, so awesome. Like I say don't buy it for the video but if you have the system to take advantage of the audio then this is pure gold.

Extraordinario concierto. La calidad de la grabación es muy buena y lo recomiendo ampliamente a todos los fans de Dire Straits.

I have no idea what the people who give low rating to this blu-ray concert are talking about. Bad audio quality? Audio quality is excellent. I listened to it on 5.1 channel (I have a Yamaha receiver and Klipsch speakers) and it sounds fantastic! People who think the audio quality is bad may have received a defective product or maybe they are reviews for the DVD? (Sometimes Amazon combines reviews of the same title even though the product edition may be different). Some people complain about the songs being low tempo. What??? The music selection is fantastic. Yes, there are some parts of the concert when they play slow tempo but that's Dire Straits, that's how the song is written and doesn't mean it's bad. Let me tell you: from start to finish, the music in this concert is top-notch. Phenomenal. The songs with saxaphone are just to die for, one of the finest jazz-rock tunes you will ever hear. These musicians are super talented. There are no bands like this anymore. As for video, there is nothing wrong with the video quality. You must keep in mind this concers was shot in 1983 using old film cameras. Obviously, you cannot expect the same clarity as concerts shot in HD cameras in recent years. Yes, there is some grain. There are dark scenes which make it harder. But overall, this blu-ray video quality is excellent. There are NO damages to the print, no flashing little white dots, no lines, etc. It's a very clean copy. Grains are just natural. Video quality could not be better. If you really want to be disappointed by video quality of a blu ray concert film, I suggest you try The Dream of the Blue Turtles blu ray (by Sting). I regretted ever buying it, there were damages throughout the film, and I don't think audio quality was that great. This, on the other hand, is a superb concert. I own hundreds of concert music/film DVDs, blu rays and I can say this will be in the top 10 of my collection (my favorite one still being Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads).

Quem já viu o show ou ouviu o disco sabe bem que esse blue-ray é fantástico. Acredito ser a obra-prima de Dire Straits.

Die negativen Bewertungen wegen des schlechten "Bildes" sind mir absolut nicht nachvollziehbar - das Dire Straits Konzert ist großartig, die Bildqualität einem 1983 auf 16mm Film aufgenommenem Material entsprechend. Natürlich ist das Bild grobkörnig, miserabler Kontrast und (im Vergleich mit dem aktuellen technischen Standard wie 4K) schwache Bildschärfe. Der Sound aber - und darum geht es bei Dire Straits - in DTS-HD Master Audio ist auf der BluRay überragend. CD Klangqualität ist grundsätzlich nicht vergleichbar mit den "verlustfreien" High End Audioformaten einer BluRay. Schon alleine weil auf einer CD, neben wesentlich komprimierterem Material, "nur" Stereo vorliegt. Um diese High End Tonformate jedoch tatsächlich wahrnehmbar zu machen, ist hochwertiges, perfekt justiertes Hi-Fi Equipment erforderlich (ein hochwertiger Receiver, kaum unter 1.000,00 € zu bekommen, der High End Lautsprecher, gehen ab 3.000,00 € los, befeuert, mindestens in einer 5.1 Aufstellung, etc.) und es muss über die Audio Setups der BluRay von PCM auf DTS-HD Master Audio umgestellt werden. Dire Straits Alchemy Live ist eines der besten Live Konzerte, das ich auf BluRay habe ... die Tonaufnahmen sind einwandfrei und wurden für die BluRay perfekt abgemischt. Natürlich ist aktuelles Material, wie beispielsweise Hans Zimmer Live in Prague, klangdynamischer, aber was bringt solch ein Vergleich. Eine hochwertige Audioquelle kommt jedoch immer nur mit hochwertiger Audioperipherie zur Geltung, keinesfalls über die Lautsprecher eines Fernsehers, Soundbar oder ein 5.1 System (von Bose o.ä.) aus dem Sonderangebot. Wer also kein High End Soundsystem zur Verfügung hat, kann logischerweise kein echtes Urteil über den Ton abgeben.

This concert was performed in 1983, just before Dire Straits hit the big time with Brothers in Arms. They give a tremendous, high-energy concert with lots of segues and extended intros/outros to songs. The whole concert is an artistic, highly musical event. Each member of the band plays very well, notably Terry Williams on drums and Alan Clark on keyboard. The Blu-Ray preserves as much as it can. The video is grainy, with a few threads on the lens, blown out colors and 4:3 pillarbox. Expect that but don't be put off by it! The sound is wonderful, in 5.1 DTS-HD surround. The disc also contains a 1 hour documentary plus the full Alchemy Live double album in MP3 format (Love Over Gold is added as an audio-only MP3 track) Tremendous value.