Gerard Kenny in Concert

Introduction

A dual DVD / CD package of a 2006 concert (although the sleeve claims it was 2005) by Gerard Kenny and his band live from the rarified surroundings of Swindon Arts Centre.

Gerard who? Well, he`s the chap who did in fact "write the feem toon and sing the feem toon" for `Minder` (originally anyway), with the lyrical skills of Denis Waterman. He also wrote the music, and often the words, for several other very famous songs such as `New York, New York`, `I made it through the rain` and `I am a singer`, all of which, and more, make it onto this rather good little set.

Video

Appears to be some sort of widescreen production, but that`s about all I can say. The quality of the video in the concert is not particularly good, with a fairly bright glare throughout, although this doesn`t make it unwatchable, thankfully.

The extras fare better, with a nice, clean picture you don`t need shades to watch.

Audio

Sound is fairly decent, with a definite treble bias, and there is no sense of distortion at higher volumes. The CD seems to be more successful soundwise, and there is none of the in-between-song-chat to get in the way (probably why they could fit in a couple of extra tunes).

Features

Extras consist of a promo video for `I could be so good for you` (smooth and sexy mix), which features the aforementioned Mr. Waterman eyeing up some pretty girls and receiving texts from Arthur. Quite a nice little addition, although it`s unfortunate that Kenny resembles an aged Austin Powers.

There is also a fairly interesting 15 minute documentary, `Gerard on Songwriting` in which he explains ideas about his riffs and middle eights and various other jazz-oriented terminology, and where he was when he came up with them. Interestingly, `New York, New York` was largely conceived in London.

You are also able to go straight to your favourite songs via a decent menu option (again, skipping the chat) should you so wish.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a very successful gig from an obviously natural musician and fine songwriter. It`s quite a nice idea to have a DVD and CD of the same concert (with a couple if extra tracks on the CD, the last of which was recorded in his own studio in Sussex), and Kenny is able to bring off great performances of his own music.

Slightly less great is `What a Wonderful World`, as I`m not sure his vocal timbre is suitable for the song, and apart from that it`s a very short version which is practically over before it`s begun. Also, I have to pull him up on his line from `Jazz Crazy`, "I know of a fine way to treat a Steinway", when he`s actually playing a Bechstein (in the documentary anyway), but I`m sure it had something to do with scanning.

Singer-songwriters such as Kenny and others (Bacharach being the God of all of them…in my ever so `umble opinion) are few and far between, and so it`s a great idea to catch them doing their stuff in a fairly relaxed and supportive atmosphere. I`m not sure how far into the tour this concert was (Deal being the next stop), but it all sounds fresh and lively, and Kenny is definitely a man who knows how to please his fan-base, although it would be a great shame if it was just this group who bought this worthwhile recording.