I’ll come clean straight up and admit that, although I know John Cale was a member of The Velvet Underground with a lengthy solo career to boot, I know little else about the man. So, dear reader, should you feel you know more about John Cale you won’t get any argument from your’s truly.

Recorded in Belgium back in 1992, this one-hour show finds Cale alone on stage with just a rather gutsy piano and a six-string acoustic guitar. The guitar gets a guernsey for a couple of numbers mid-show. He is no slouch when it comes to playing both, his piano style flits effortlessly from a rock and roll feel to almost classical in arrangement and attack.

Vocally, Cale reminds me a little of both ex-Talking Head David Byrne and British folk-rock singer/songwriter Tom Robinson. He has a strong vocal with lots of character, giving the songs a very personal and emotive sound. Lyrically, he reminds me a little of Leonard Cohen (he closes the show with Cohen’s Hallelujah so perhaps Cale himself is not blind (or in this case, deaf) to the similarity.

This is a formal looking show, and Cale doesn't waste much time on crowd banter, preferring to let his songs do the talking. The crowd are mostly restrained in their appreciation, especially in the early numbers where there is no break between songs, really only letting their collective hair down towards the end of the show and when calling for an encore.

As a whole, the show is a professional though mostly restrained show, devoid of theatrics (no scantily-clad dancers, no fireworks, no biting the heads off bats etc) which simply highlights what a talented musician Cale is. Those who like to listen to something a bit subdued late at night, or prefer to hear songs that tell stories or make pointed social observations will be pleased. Those wanting rock shows and theatrics should look elsewhere.

This is a full frame presentation, but in just about every other department this is a very fine looking transfer. The only issue of concern is some troublesome blue and red lighting that plays havoc with sharpness and bleeding. Overall, however, colouring is solid and natural. Blacks, and there are lots of them (piano, dinner suit, darkened stage etc), all look mighty good, and there are no issues with shadow detail, as there is nothing in the shadows to see.

There are no problems with grain, artefacts and nothing in the way of shimmer or aliasing either. Camerawork is steady and there are some nice clear closeup shots of fingers in action, as well as plenty of clear shots of Cale's expressive face. There is no layer change.

The DVD cover boasts "Digitally Remastered For Dolby Digital 5.1" and, like you, my paranoia is immediately kicked into gear. We all know what that usually means - the original source material is some crappy mono effort or, at best, a piss-poor stereo recording lamely blasted in 5.1 directions. Well, this is not the case for once. It might have something to do with the show being limited to one instrument and one vocal, or it might actually be a decent mix. Either way, it sounds rather good. It still sounds mostly stereo with almost everything coming at you from the left and right front speakers, but it sounds natural. The piano itself sounds bloody good, whether Cale is caressing it or giving it a damned good thrashing. There are no issues with volume, clarity or synchronisation, so you can purchase this DVD knowing that for once, remastering to a 5.1 mix has not taken away from the audio presentation.

The short performance (61 mins) is not augmented by a swag full of goodies, and all you will get are several pages that form a selected discography listing various albums and box set collections.

Although this is quite a good performance from a seasoned artist, I am not sure it will appeal to too many casual fans who might happen to breeze past it as the peruse their favourite DVD shop. Of course, I could be wrong - it has been known to happen...