Review of Classic Rock: The Ultimate Anthology

Introduction

I think calling this DVD the Ultimate Anthology is really stretching it. Even though I was a child of the 70s, I grew up mainly with music of the 80s and I wasn`t into rock until getting into Iron Maiden in the same period. Looking at the track listing here there are some big names: Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple and Free to name but three. Call me an uncultured rock swine, but others such as Family, Asia and Argent aren`t what I`d personally call Classic Rock. Horses for courses then.

Video

Presented with a 1.33:1 fullframe video transfer the overall quality looks okay. There`s different source material used for all the tracks with a mix of concert and studio footage so the quality varies a little but it doesn`t look too shabby; just remember that this is stuff from the 70s so be forewarned about those lovely 70s fashions...

Audio

You have a choice of two soundtracks: DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. It struck me as odd that there isn`t a DD5.1 track as opposed to just the DD2.0 offering. But hang on a minute, this is originally 2-channel music, so has it been radically overhauled for 5.1? No. I could equally add a DSP setting to the DD2.0 sound or play it through Dolby Pro Logic II. As it is, the DTS sounds reasonably clear with the music coming from the front speakers. Don`t bother looking back because there`s nothing going on in the rear.

Features

None.

Conclusion

Maybe I was just born a few years too late to appreciate this because I really can`t like it, no matter how hard I try; I`ve let the DVD just run in the background but it does my head in. The price is way too high for something like this too. Nice idea to have a DTS track, but unless you spend time and money remixing the original sound for all channels, a 5.1 track is going to sound average at best and wholly unnatural. If you know the music from the track listing then you might derive some pleasure from this DVD, otherwise go get a CD compilation instead.