Dire Straits: Alchemy Live [Blu-ray]

People don't seem to realise that the best thing about music Blu-rays is that due to the additional space available on the disc the soundtrack does not have to be compressed. This menas that the sound quality is considerably higher than DVD's. However unless you have a good sound system you are not going to be able to appreciate the difference.

If you have a good cinema surround sound system then this is well worth the money. The picture quality is poor, but it is worth remembering this was filmed almost 30 years ago in non-studio conditions. The sound quality is excellent, even when turned up loud; this is why I bought it. If you want the pleasure of hearing Dire Straits in the best possible quality, whilst also being able to enjoy seeing them perform on stage then look no further than this Blu-ray.

Well I must admit this was one hell of a Blu Ray I was looking forward to, especially with non other than Dick Carruthers being behind the restoration of the picture, and Chuck Ainlay being in charge of the sound. For those of you who are not aware of these 2 guys I would like to briefly fill you in. Dick Carruthers was the very same chap who worked on the restoration of the film footage for Led Zeppelins double DVD which contained concert film footage from 1970, 1973, 1975 and 1979. All of which are a lot older than Dire Straits Alchemy Live concert from London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1983. The work done by Carruthers on Zeppelin's restoration for there DVD was top notch first class quality, he baked the actual reels of the film footage in an oven for 3 months to restore the colour in the film. The DVD ended up looking very much like it was made today, rather than all those years back in the 70's. It was a complete marvel to say the least, which gave me a tremendous amount of respect for Carruther's work.

Carruthers work on Dire Straits Alchemy Live is very disappointing I must say, the 4:3 aspect ratio is hardly fitting for today's technology of Blu Ray, and the grain in the film is perhaps the major factor as to why Carruthers could not of done a lot to the actual film footage. If anything at all it's hardly any better than VHS quality, which is rather a shame. But then again one can only work with what they have in the first place, and one must remember that the Hammersmith Odeon can be a very dark and dismal place to be quite honest, I've been there myself on a number of occasions. So it's far from the best place to film an actual concert especially with what equipment they had back then. If there are area's Carruthers as touched up, they are certainly in the lighting department, which does come out very good at times during the show. However over all its all rather disappointing.

Chuck Ainlay is the very same sound engineer who was behind the 5.1 SACD mix of Dire Straits Brothers in Arms album, the work he done on that album was tremendous, and for that I have a lot of respect for this guy. Ainlay's work on the sound for Alchemy Live here presented on Blu Ray in a DTS HD 5.1 Master soundtrack is once again shear top notch, it's pure class and by far way better than the vinyl album or any CD release of this album. It plays back at 96khz with shear perfection of great detail to every instrument upon the stage. I have never heard Alchemy Live sound so good, you would have to have been at the actual concert itself to better it. The sound is pure and direct and panned very well with great warmth in putting you directly with the audience, and gives one the sense of actually being there. This alone makes up for the rather poor picture quality, and adds great value to the Blu Ray disc itself. I take my hat off to Chuck for doing yet another marvelous job.

Dire Straits Alchemy Live may have it's downfalls regarding to it's 4:3 picture quality, and in all fairness I would have give this Blu Ray a 1 star here for this. But the sound is totally marvelous and quite breathtaking and worth every one of its 5.1 stars. The concert itself is worthy of its 5 stars no doubt, and the bonus features are once again superb especially with the Arena Documentary giving one some good insight into the bands early career.

I must say that I was really looking forward to this release eventually becoming available on dvd. I originally bought the records when they came out, then the cds and the video. I even remember the concert being shown on television sometime around 1983 and I recorded it on Video 2000!
Although the music will be familiar to many it is really pleasing that this excellent concert has been released on dvd. The music quality is fine and the picture quality has obviously also been worked on. I am not concerned that the blue ray version may not be up to the usual standard or that the screen format 4:3 may not appeal to many, just that the concert is now available in a digital format. People really have to remember that it is now 27 years since this was recorded so it can't be expected to be as good as a modern equivalent concert.
This appeared after the band had recorded 4 studio albums. There was a, therefore, a large amount of material that could have been performed. The tracks chosen are a good cross section at the time and pre-date the hugely successful "Brothers in Arms" and "On Every Street" albums. This is the band in an earlier, less commercial phase and every band member appears right in the zone. It really is a classic concert and will be an excellent companion to the "On The Night" dvd. In particular the version of "Romeo and Juliet" takes on another dimension compared to the original studio track. "Tunnel of Love" and "Telegraph Road" are also highlights, but really the entire concert is superb.
The extras included are 2 studio tracks recorded for television at the time and a very interesting documentary. The 8-page inlay also gives good retrospective information. All in all an excellent package.
Could it have been better? Yes, with the obvious inclusion of "Love Over Gold". I believe this was released on the original cassette version but it surely could have been included here, given the extra time capacity of the dvd format.
However, I still give this 5 stars and urge all fans - old and new - to buy it. The old Video 2000 copy I made at the time will continue to gather dust at the bottom of the cupboard whilst this dvd will be played at regular intervals.
Happy days indeed.