Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night (1988)

We ordered this recently and settled in to watch it last night, and were disappointed with the final product. The black and white was fabulous, the songs are timeless, the musical talent was wall-to-wall but the audio production was too obviously disconnected from the video. It felt like the editors had put the movie together with the sound turned off, and then tried (and failed) to sneak a synchronized audio layer back on top. There were other holes in the audio track, where instruments or voices were submerged but that might be our bad; we'll have to watch it again with theatre sound to get to the bottom of that. And only 64 minutes? With not one syllable of audience rapport? Coulda been miles better. And there was too much of Bruce Springsteen, God bless 'im, playing like he'd steal the show given half the chance.

The first great concert DVD I ever bought was this one. I use the word "great" for several reasons: 1 - the surround sound was (and may still be) the best I had ever heard on disc; 2 - the songs are all outstanding; 3 - the singers and musicians are fantastic; and, 4 - the beautiful black-and-white photography brings a nice touch.This concert was a "10," however, even on the VHS, which I stumbled on shortly after this was released and was grateful to have discovered. If you like old-fashioned rock 'n roll with updated instrumentals, this is about as good as it gets with (along with "Carl Perkins' and Friends: Blue Suede Shoes" DVD).This is a fun, nostalgic feel--good disc, which always pleases and is outstanding, as mentioned to both see and hear. Why can't all music DVDs sound this good?Orbison does all his hit songs, and sings them well, with excellent backup from talented and famous musicians and singers. The black-and-white photography also is nicely done. The contrasts and shades are magnificent.Orbison's classic songs are embellished by Bruce Springsteen, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, Mike Utley, Tom Waits plus other lesser-known but very talented artists. Also, you get all- star male and female backup trios. The female backups are Bonnie Raitt, Jennifer Warnes and k.d. Lang - not bad, eh? Jackson Browne leads the male trio. There are a bunch of celebrities in the audience, too, ranging from Kris Kristofferson to Tiny Tim!Most of the times I get more pumped listening to the fast songs, although the slow ones are very good, too. The fast songs are fantastic, and the 5.1 sound is highlighted more on them as you hear different instruments come out of all five speakers - and they are distinct. On "Pretty Wonan," you hear the three guitar players on three different speakers. It's amazing.Everyone on stage is having a super time. Just the look on Springsteen's face tells it all. These artists revered Orbison and it shows. You can just see how thrilled they were to be on stage with the legend. What a fantastic concert and DVD. Rating this 10 stars doesn't seem to be enough!

I couldn't help but comment on "nonconformist's" comments. For a concert video the editing was not that bad. But his slams on "has-beens" is awful. Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raite, KD Lang, Jennifer Warnes, JD Souther are NOT has-beens. They are treasures who are still making great music. His crack about Springsteen's overbite was just plain mean. His comment about the "has-beens almost faking orgasms" is just plain stupid. These folks are obviously enjoying jamming with a legend, Roy Orbison. If you don't enjoy the performance you should keep quiet and not show your ignorance and mean spirit.As for Brian Greenhalgh's complaint about the sound being out of sync...was this a legitimate purchase or more likely an illegal copy? If so you have no reason to complain. If legitimate you can exchange it.

Not only is the music great but it is a real joy to see all these famous artist just having a great time playing together! No one who has even a mild interest in Roy will be disappointed and of course those who love him probably already mailed tons of money to their local public television station to get the DVD during their fund raising! If you find a copy of it for sale somewhere I'd go for it. I found Bruce Springsteen and James Burton jamming during the finale was awesome. Elvis Costello plays harmonic and guitar and seeing him on stage with Roy it's not too hard to see who may have been the inspiration for his large eye glassed oddball look! And where else could you see K.D Lang, Bonnie Raitt and Jennifer Warnes as back up singers?