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  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • English: DTS 5.1 Surround
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
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    Come Together - A Night for John Lennon's Words & Music
    Warner Vision/Warner Vision . R4 . COLOR . 88 mins . E . PAL

      Feature
    Contract

    Benefit and/or tribute gigs can be quite a chore to sit through. Even with the best of intentions, these nights can quickly dissolve into debacles or unbridled butt kissing, and at the very least a boring re-reading of all that has gone before. Thankfully, Come Together – A Night For John Lennon’s Words and Music manages to stay on the right side of entertaining, barring one or two acts, and provides a mostly entertaining night’s viewing.

    Recorded at the Radio City Music Hall and broadcast live on television just three weeks after New York was rocked by the events of September 11, 2001, there is a definitely emotional air in the auditorium, and endless references to the events of that day. If there is one thing the Americans know how to do better than anyone else, it is to go overly mushy and all touchy-feely. Sure, they were there to celebrate the life and music of a beautiful man, and with September 11 still very fresh in their minds, you’d expect quite a bit of soul searching and raw emotion, but it can get a bit tedious. And don’t Americans love to applaud?

    So what about the show? Hosted by Kevin Spacey with help from Ben Stiller, Kevin Bacon and Yoko Ono amongst others, things kick off with Yolanda Adams wailing away at Imagine in a manner that would make even Mariah Carey cringe. This is followed by Dave Matthews accompanying himself on acoustic guitar running through In My Life, and Stone Temple Pilots with Revolution,

    There are a few highlights, such as Rufus Wainright, Moby and Sean Lennon doing Across the Universe. The girls get in on the act too, with Alanis Morrisette and band running through Dear Prudence, Cyndi Lauper giving us Strawberry Fields Forever in a very cold looking Central Park, Shelby Lynne belting out Mother and Natalie Merchant performing Nowhere Man. The British contingent are represented by Dave Stewart (with non-Pom, Nellie Furtado) doing Instant Karma and Craig David murdering Come Together complete with hip-hop and bad attitude meanderings. Why do some artists feel the need to totally rework a classic song such as this and end up with a butchered pile of crap?

    Most interesting interpretation must go to Lou Reed for Jealous Guy. There’ll be no chance of getting the girl back now, Lou. Even Kevin Spacey chips in with a full-blooded Mind Games. Marc Anthony gives a pedestrian Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Sean Lennon and Rufus return for a '50s styled This Boy before Sean Lennon runs through Julia which he dedicates to his own mother. The ensemble cast then return for a rousing Give Peace a Chance/Power to the People medley. Interspersed through all performances is archival footage of Lennon reminding us that peace is not just a word.

    While there can be no doubt that Lennon and The Beatles do a far better job with their own material than anyone else could hope to, this show is nonetheless enjoyable, and the acts at least have some musical credibility, by and large. It is also a great reminder of what the world lost on December 8, 1980. Makes you wonder what John would think of the state of the world today.

      Video
      Audio
      Extras
    Contract

    This television broadcast looks good, with excellent sharpness and clarity. It is a full frame presentation as might be expected, and recorded digitally, so has an overall look that is clean and crisp. There are no problems with colour rendering and skin tones are natural. There is no evidence of noise of bleeding. No artefacts such as specks or other glitches pop up and there's no evidence of edge enhancement. Even aliasing and shimmer is absent. Shadow detail is not an issue as the stage is well lit and all players can be seen clearly.

    The surprise here just might be the DTS 5.1 audio. Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 mixes accompany it, but neither have the punch of the DTS so let’s start there. There is good volume and fidelity in the DTS mix, with most music and vocals placed firmly in the front of the room with the rears used mostly for slight echo and to fill up the room. There are no audio gymnastics or aural aerobics, but with many of the performances being stripped back to as little as one acoustic guitar and a vocal, it would not be to any benefit. There is good separation, especially across the front, and the subwoofer pipes in from time to time when a full band number kicks in.

    The Dolby Digital 5.1 track simply does not have the cut of the DTS and fails to hit as hard musically. It sounds a little dull and flat in a direct comparison. The stereo mix is a little better, but fails to deliver the ambience of either of the surround tracks. The DTS 5.1 is easily the audio of choice.

    Sorry, there are no extras.

    As far as tributes shows go, Come Together – A Night For John Lennon’s Words and Music is not too bad. Most of the invited performers give it a decent bash (except Craig David who should stick to butchering his own songs if he wants to throw in all that hip-hop, street cred “Yo, I got something to tell y’all” crap), and the inserts from Lennon are a nice touch. The only other annoyance are the constant 9/11 reminders, warm fuzzies and backslapping, but this was filmed in New York just three weeks after that unforgettable day so I suppose it is to be expected.


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  •   And I quote...
    "I still can’t hear John Lennon’s words and songs without getting a bit choked up…"
    - Terry Kemp
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai
    • TV:
          TEAC CT-F803 80cm Super Flat Screen
    • Receiver:
          Pioneer VSX-D409
    • Speakers:
          Wellings
    • Centre Speaker:
          Wellings
    • Surrounds:
          Wellings
    • Subwoofer:
          Sherwood SP 210W
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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