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The Music:
1. Vous Et Moi
2. Nuages
3. Night And Day
4. All The Things You Are
5. Sweet Georgia Brown
6. Gypsy
7. Honeysuckle Rose
8. Over The Waves
9. September In The Rain
10. Bandera
The DVD
SOUND: "Night and Day" is presented by Surrounded By entertainment in 16bit/44khz stereo and 24bit/96khz 5.1 DVD-Audio. According to the liner notes, apparently Willie Nelson requested that the original stereo mix be used again for this software. There are no additional audio tracks - this is a DVD-Audio only title, meaning there are no DTS or Dolby options.
The album is an instrumental set; Nelson does not provide any of his wonderful vocals for any of the tracks. He is accompanied by a large group of top musicians who join him for some classic tunes. The surround-sound placement follows the same design that Bela Fleck's "Bluegrass Sessions Volume 2" had and was successful with - simply positioning the listener around the group of musicians. Certain musical elements are rooted in the front speakers, while each of the surrounds highlights a different musician. None of the music is mobile; elements are positioned around the room for each song and stay where they are, thankfully. This album wouldn't have been an appropriate place for audio trickery.
So far, so good. "Night and Day" was an early DVD-Audio release, and for an earlier title (many of which suffered from fairly mediocre or average sounding surround-sound mixes), the music is distributed around the room with care and good taste. Where the DVD-Audio presentation comes up slightly short is audio quality. "Night and Day" boasts fine clarity and warmth, but it doesn't offer the kind of depth and detail to the music that some of the best DVD-Audio titles present; the kind of realistic and convincing sound that makes it feel as if the band was in the same room.
Extras: Bios, liner notes, photo gallery, discography, Web-links, credits.
Final Thoughts: A wonderful album, "Night and Day" presents some superb playing from Willie and Friends in a fine surround mix, but doesn't quite meet expectations for the kind of sound quality that usually comes along with the DVD-Audio format..
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