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Janet Jackson:
the velvet rope tour: live in concert is a filming of her
stop at New York's famous Madison Square Garden. The Velvet
Rope Tour was to promote her recent album, "The Velvet Rope."
In Ms. Jackson's words, "There's a velvet rope we have inside
us, keeping others from knowing our feelings. In The Velvet
Rope I'm trying to expose and explore those feelings. I'm
inviting you inside my velvet rope." Okay! Now that we have
a clear understanding of what the velvet rope is, let us get
on to the concert video.
This two
hour show goes through various sets. Some of these sets are
interesting, some of them are plain dull, or the standard
band in the rear, dancers and singers in the front variety.
The most interesting of the sets is one where the stage is
set up like a giant toy room. There is a dancing clock on
the top of the set and other things to be seen. Alice in Wonderland
comes to mind when seeing this set. It is very colorful and
at times more entertaining than the music and performances
going on around it. Another sets give a classic, prohibition
era look.
In addition
to the various sets, Janet and her entourage go through various
costumes. Some of these are provocative and sexy. Others make
Janet look a lot like her brother, Michael. Once again, my
favorite costumes belong to the Alice in Wonderland "Escapade"
set. Most of the other costumes involve two colors, black
and white. Not a lot of range in costume colors if you eliminate
the one sequence. The Rhythm Nation costumes were interesting
as well. Their pseudo military look is nicely done. A little
more color would have went a long way.
As far as
the performance goes, Janet shows signs of slowing down but
still puts on quite a show. There are many well choreographed
numbers to be seen and her entourage is not as large as I
remember from her glory days, but it is large enough to give
a good spectacle. Her ballads are still nicely done and show
her vocal talent. The dance numbers seem to run together at
times, and many of her classic songs are bunched into two
medleys. My own favorites were the "Black Cat" and "Rhythm
Nation" dance numbers, the "Escapade Medley" and "Let's Wait
Awhile / Again." The two-hour concert is a good display of
Ms. Jackson's talents, though I do not feel she is the performer
she was in the Control / Rhythm Nation 1814 days.
Packaging:
Does It Dress Well?
Image Entertainment
uses the Warner Bros.' Snapper case. This case is easily damaged
and more susceptible to fingerprints, but it is not the worst
out there. The packaging is in the black and white theme that
dominates most of the costumes in the show. Image has taken
Sony's approach to placing a short description on the rear
facing of the case and placing the chapters there as well.
The inside flap gives all necessary credit information for
each of the songs. Image has not mentioned the included filmography
and discography on the package case. All other information
is supplied and is correct. The disc itself uses two-color,
brown and white for its artwork. Strange that it isn't black
and white. None the less, the packaging is attractive and
nicely done.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The video
quality of this presentation is average. It has its definite
strengths and weaknesses. There is a tremendous amount of
lighting and there are no signs of pixelation or banding that
is dominate in lesser quality transfers. Black is the dominant
color of the video and Image has done good with the black
level. The only solid complaint is the lack of detail. The
picture appears very soft through most of it. This could be
largely due to the heavy lighting, or the source materials
were at fault. The video quality wasn't bad, but when you
compare it to the work Sony has done, it is leagues behind.
In James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre, you can count
the beads of sweat on his forehead. In The Velvet Rope, facial
detail lacks at times.
As far as
scenes go, the "Escapade Medley," is the best visuals of the
concert. The colors are bright and vivid in both the set and
the costumes. Much of the camerawork is done from a good distance
in front of the stage. This allows the entire entourage to
be seen. Other times there are close-ups of Janet, but seldom
on other members of her group. A few crowd shots are shown,
but after the "Escapade Medley," the opening and closing sequences
showing a wonderful evening shot of New York are the best
visuals of the concert. The colors are good, but the detail
and lack of solid visuals leave the show a little flat to
view.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Image did
not deliver a solid audio package with the Janet Jackson:
the velvet rope tour: live in concert disc. The only audio
track included is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix. Every
good disc should feature this audio track, however, those
without the capability to play 5.1 channels will have to live
with a downconversion of the six channel mix. A downcoverted
track does not sound as good as a native stereo mix or a Dolby
Digital 2.0 Surround mix. None-the-less, kudos to Image for
using a 5.1 mix.
Things are
not all well with the 5.1 mix. Janet Jackson's vocals are
not particularly strong. There are times when it is hard to
make out what she is singing. Other moments in the concert
seem audibly flat. The rear surrounds do keep busy during
the concert, though they are mainly used for crowd noise.
My biggest complaint may not be entirely Image's fault. The
.1 LFE channel for bass is inconsistent and sometimes unnoticeable.
There are a couple of tracks when it has some life. It never
pounds happily along as it should for a concert where dance
tracks dominate the play list. Some song numbers do absolutely
nothing with the LFE, and Rhythm Nation would have been wonderful
with more bass. The whole concert would have been better with
more bass.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? Image has
given some decent menus that are nice to look at, but slow
to allow access. Included in these menus are two supplements
that are not mentioned on the box. A full filomgraphy of Janet
Jackson is included that lists her videos, films and other
forays in from of a camera. Her complete discography is thrown
in as well. No subtitles have been included, so you cannot
sing along with Janet unless you know the words by heart.
This makes supplements very thin, but at least the -ographies
were thrown in.
Parting Thoughts
Image Entertainment
has delivered a concert disc that has its ups and downs. The
biggest positive is the two-hour length of the concert. An
entire show on disc. Many offerings have been slimmer in length,
and it is nice to see this lengthy offering. A six channel
soundtrack is utilized, but it has some problems with bass
and vocals at times throughout the show. The video quality
is soft, but colors are bright and no digital problems can
be found. Janet puts forth a spirited performance that is
not up to par with shows from her earlier days. Janet Jackson
fans will be thrilled with this DVD. If you are looking for
a good concert disc to show off your system, look for something
from Sony. The sound and video is not up to par with other
offerings out there.
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