[.ca] AC/DC - Live At Donington: 1991

Shows it's age in a bad way.:
I picked up this concert DVD on a recommendation from a friend. I was interested to see this newly re-masteded concert, so I fired up my home theatre and gave this DVD a spin. I only made it half way through before turning it off, the sound was good, but there is no way that this was a live sound, my guess is that the sound was either re-recorded or re-dubbed and it left me with the impression that you were listening to a CD! and not a live concert. Second, the so called re-mastered picture was also a disappointment, there was too much grain and artifacts present that it gave the feel of watching an old film projected image from my days at high school! Overall, I was not impressed and this concert is only from 1991, so there is no reason why the film and sound quality should be this poor. I have seen many concerts on DVD that were either this age or older and they looked spectacular!

Rock at its best!:
AC/DC has done it again. If the video for Donnington was good, this is unbelievable. Angus is top notch-duck-walk, head bobbing, screaming and all. The band is solid, with Brian cranking out like always. The sound overall is great. If it is overdubbed, which is possible, its still AC/DC, and the music is all here. Favorites like "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Back In Black" shine, and even some lesser-known tunes are hammered out in this spectacular performance. There's some commentary on the show (done by Angus and Malcolm) and some info and commentary on their discography (also done by Angus and Mal), as well as a new, great feature. Dubbed "Angus Cam", you can view certain tracks with the camera focusing on a certain band member (such as Thunderstruck with Angus) This option is great, and adds to the already immense DVD. A must have for a fan of AC/DC, or just someone who can't wait to sit down and be sucked into the world of Rock and Roll.

Good but not Live:
The concert was good but there are two glaring flaws that will trouble you on the first watch and limit rewatchability. (1) The sound is obviously overdubbed and has no live quality to it. It sounds like this "concert" was recorded in a studio and sometimes you hear the crowd through it all. It doesn't have that airy feeling one gets at a concert. You will also notice many overdubs. It just doesn't sound like a concert. Very disappointing as it's the same songs just faster. (2) MTV like production which is what makes virtually every concert video block rocks. What is with these producers who are all inflicted with ADD? The ROlling Stones Bridges to Babylon and Eagles Hell Freezes Over and STevie Ray Vaughan's Live at the Mocambo are perhaps the only 3 music DVDs I know that actually give you a perspective of the band while they are playing. Watching any one of those and watching the trashy player to player to crowd to feet to riff to singer to drummer, etc. 3 second flash will realize what it means that more shots means far less. It is very hard to get a feel for the concert. This gets a little better as you go along but it's limited. Angus is featured as the soloist but, of course, you get 5 different shots in 12 seconds and you never really experience what is really going on because it's close up this, zoom out that, side shot here, soom in again, back to the fade out... please, will someone create a school for these guys. Other than that the concert does have energy and the crowd certainly seems like they are having a good time. Potentially worth the money as I got it for under $10 and that is worth it. Decent, has extras, far better than most of the crap out there. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could.

Too bad bands today aren't this good!:
Forget all the reviews questioning the remix, that doesn't matter. This DVD totally ROCKS!! Turn it up loud! If you don't have surround sound you should stop reading this review and go get a surround sound system and this DVD. This is like being at the concert. Well done DVD with lots of features.

One big problem with this concert video....:
It has a tendency to make you flex your thigh muscles to the beat throughout every song. Well, I guess that's a GOOD thing. This has to be one of the best rock performances in history. My God, just watch Thunderstruck and the way the crowd moves as one. This is my 3rd favorite video, with #2 being Billy Squire Live In The Dark and #1 being Roger Waters In The Flesh Live. Oh, CHICAGO Live at the Greek ain't to shabby either. ACDC Live at Donington is a must-have DVD. It will rock your socks off (from all that thigh muscle twitching you will do!)