Review of Rod Stewart: VH1 Storytellers

Introduction

Another entry in the "VH1 Storytellers" series, which became the new "Unplugged" for a while, in terms of its success. Artists are asked to perform for a small audience who all get to ask them questions about the songs, their career etc. Loads of people have done these, and they are creeping out on to DVD. Sometimes the format is a little annoying, with too many gushing fans, but with the right people up on stage there are some good stories to tell.

This DVD contains the still going strong Rod Stewart, still trading on some of those great songs performed with The Faces, as well as the few good songs he did in the 1980s. He`s also been covering a wide range of songs in recent times, including Oasis` Cigarettes And Alcohol and Primal Scream`s Rocks (both performed here).

Video

Aaargh (again)! An NTSC full frame transfer! Another lazy DVD company can`t be bothered to convert the video for markets outside the US. It wasn`t filmed in widescreen, so that`s forgiven, but at least convert to PAL!

It`s ok to watch on the whole, but failing to convert always smacks of laziness. The format of the performance is pretty standard - Rod up on stage with band, audience ask questions. It`s not massively exciting on a visual level!

Audio

Phew, at least they didn`t skimp here, giving us a choice of PCM stereo or DD5.1. The stereo soundtrack is functional, and the DD5.1 track is one which entertains the ears but never blows you away with its quality. Given the age of the recording it`s obviously a remix and it`s a reasonable effort, just not a stunning one. Many other music discs have raised the bar, and it takes quite a bit of effort to compete with them.

Features

You can choose to watch 2 tracks (Hot Legs and Have I Told You Lately) which were excluded from the main broadcast. Why they can`t just re-edit them back in I don`t know, but then I remembered that they couldn`t even bother to convert the video format, so re-editing would be a massive effort for them!

Conclusion

Hmm. Some good performances of some great songs, coupled with some dodgy covers (Cigarettes And Alcohol and Rocks). The Faces` stuff is still great today, and Rod`s performances have new energy in them, but there`s so much more good material for him to choose from, so the hour or so that you get here makes it feel like you`re being very short changed.

The video is NTSC only, but the DD5.1 sound is a reasonable effort. It`s just a shame that there`s not more content here.

If you`re looking for a quality Rod Stewart offering, I`d suggest the Unplugged CD - maybe that will get the DVD treatment soon.