Review of Blue Oyster Cult: Longs Days Night

Introduction

Blue Oyster Cult are the latest in a long line of seventies rock bands, who have been surviving for a long time on their reputation, to release a live DVD. In this case, the disc features a concert recorded in Chicago in June 2002.

The band received critical acclaim in the late seventies, and their most memorable track was the famous "Don`t Fear The Reaper", a regular feature on classic rock compilations over the years.

Video

The video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of a pretty good standard, as you would expect from a concert filmed only a matter of months ago.

There are no visual problems to report, and nothing very exciting about the show either, just ageing rockers on stage and adoring, ageing, bearded fans in the crowd.

Audio

The soundtrack comes in a choice of Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. The Dolby Digital 2.0 track is flat, with limited bass but perhaps gives a more balanced sound than both of the multi-channel tracks which are a little boomy and place too much emphasis on the vocals. There`s little to chose between the Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 tracks, both of which suffer from poor source material - this really isn`t a very good show to be honest.

Unlike bands like Deep Purple who can still deliver electrifying live performances to the same standard of those they gave in the seventies, Blue Oyster Cult suffer from very ropey vocals throughout this show, as they destroy one of their songs after another, hardly the legacy they want to leave. The classic Don`t Fear The Reaper made me cringe, and if I hadn`t wanted to compare the various soundtracks during the song, would have pressed skip. Musically, things are a little better, but this really isn`t out of the top drawer I`m afraid.

Features

Extras include a six minute behind the scenes featurette, which contains the usual backstage and rehearsal footage, which isn`t especially interesting. There are also some interviews with the band members, which again are not especially exciting. The extras are rounded off by interviews with fans - before and after the show, and the fans have obviously been bribed as they all declare the show the best they`ve ever seen. Obviously the previous concerts must have been even worse.

Conclusion

Overall, of all the seventies rock bands I`ve seen on DVD recently, Blue Oyster Cult deliver by far and away the weakest performance, and as a result I`d highly recommend that fans of the band stick to listening to a CD from when they actually could sing and play. This disc really isn`t very good, and in my opinion, isn`t worth watching.