Return to Forever Returns: Live at Montreux 2008 on Blu-ray Disc Review by Brandon A. DuHamel on BigPictureBigSound

Blu-ray Disc and DVD : Blu-ray Disc Reviews

Published: 2009-05-06 - 00:44:30

Return to Forever Returns: Live at Montreux 2008 on Blu-ray Disc Review

By Brandon A. DuHamel

The Performance

32-years after the release of their last album together, Romantic Warrior, this superstar Jazz Rock Fusion band came together to tour once more, for the first time in 25-years. This release captures Return to Forever on one night at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2008 during that historic tour. For anyone unfamiliar with this group of Jazz musicians, let me run down the list of names: Stanley Clarke, bass; Chick Corea, keyboards; Al Di Meola, guitar; and Lenny White, drums. If you still do not know who they are, then you are probably just not that into Jazz.

Seen as one of the central figures of Jazz-Rock fusion music along with Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra in the 1970's, Return to Forever was founded by keyboardist Chick Corea after leaving Miles Davis' ensemble for the iconic Jazz musician's avante garde In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew albums. With bassist Stanley Clarke being one of the only players who would remain throughout Return to Forever's constantly fluctuating lineup, the influential group would see many figures from the Jazz landscape pass through on their way to personal fame, such as Al Di Meola who appears in this concert performance.

The 2008 tour, bringing together the band's most long lasting, and, arguably, one of its greatest lineups, proves to anyone listening and viewing that these are highly skilled musicians. The set focuses on numbers from the ensemble's Jazz-Rock period, with tracks from Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy and Romantic Warrior being the central highlights, but the strongest moments are still the more acoustically driven, traditional sounding numbers, such as "No Mystery," "Chick's Solo," in which Corea plays an intricate piano solo that also involves striking the strings with a mallet, and "Romantic Warrior," anchored by Al Di Meola's acoustic nylon string.

The Picture

With a fine 1080i/60 high definition source that is full of detail, Return to Forever Returns arrives on Blu-ray in an AVC/MPEG-4 encoding free from compression artifacts and very little in the way of video noise. There are some occasional instances of motion artifacts, but blacks are deep and stable, colors natural and contrast doesn't clip. Individual strings can be made out on guitars as can texture in clothing. This is another fine video presentation from Eagle Rock.

The Sound

This Blu-ray release offers up a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless mix in addition to LPCM 2.0 (48Khz) and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes. For this release, the definite edge goes to the PCM 2.0 mix with its more balanced sounding audio mix, containing more "air" around the instruments and good stereo definition.

By contrast, everything in the lossless DTS-HD MA 51 mix seems too, "in-your-face," with Stanley Clarke's bass being too prominent in the mix, and all instruments vying for the same aural space at the same levels. Even with the added ambience in the surround channels, the 5.1 mix doesn’t sound as open and relaxed as the stereo mix.

The Dolby Digital mix further complicates matters by tightening the ambience and soundstage and adds harshness to the high frequencies -- avoid it unless you have no other options.

The Extras

This Blu-ray release contains a bonus set from Return to Forever's stop in Clearwater on their 2008 tour. It's a bonus fans are sure to appreciate.

The Clearwater set:

"Lineage (Lenny's Solo)"
"Al's Solo"
"Friendship (Chick's Solo)"
"El Bayo de Negro (Stanley's Solo)"
"Dual of the Jester and the Tyrant"

Final Thoughts

Good music, great musicians, and a legendary music festival captured in high definition make this a worthwhile entry into any music lover's collection. Eagle Rock Entertainment continue their strong support of the BD format, and it is well worth the price of admission.

Where to Buy