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The Movie:
Certainly one of the greatest artists in pop music history, a legion of some of today's greatest artists paid tribute to former Beach Boy Brian Wilson in this March, 2001 concert presentation at Radio City Music Hall. While I'm not sure that Ricky Martin was the best choice for a spot in the show, the rest of the program is a remarkable, soulful celebration of some of Wilson's greatest efforts, with especially terrific performances from Paul Simon, Elton John and Billy Joel.
Selections:
"Our Prayer" - The Boys Choir of Harlem
"California Girls" - Ricky Martin
"Help Me Rhonda" - Ricky Martin
"Surfer Girl" - Paul Simon
"Surf City" - Go-Go's
"In My Room" - David Crosby, Carly Simon, Jimmy Webb
"The Warmth Of The Sun" - Vince Gill
"I Get Around" - Evan and Jaron
"God Only Knows" - Elton John
"I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" - Aimee Mann & Michael Penn
"Don't Worry Baby" - Billy Joel
"Sail On Sailor" - Darius Rucker, Matthew Sweet
"You're So Good To Me" - Wilson Phillips
"Good Vibrations" - Heart, Jubilant Sykes, The Boys Choir of Harlem
"Surf's Up" - David Crosby, Vince Gill, Jimmy Webb
"Heroes And Villains" - Brian Wilson
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" - Elton John, Brian Wilson
"Barbara Ann" - Brian Wilson, All-Star Ensemble
"Love And Mercy" - Brian Wilson, The Boys Choir of Harlem
Bonus Track:
"Do It Again" - Brian Wilson
The DVD
VIDEO: Image Entertainment presents "A Tribute To Brian Wilson" in 1.77:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. Picture quality throughout the show remained excellent, although there were a few slight concerns during the show. Sharpness and detail remained superb throughout the show, as the picture remained well-defined whereever the camera was focused or whichever camera was in use. The only slight flaws that I noticed were a few instances of light grain and some very minor shimmering. Other than that, there were no instances of pixelation or edge enhancement spotted, and colors looked superb.
SOUND: "A Tribute to Brian Wilson" is presented in DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, along with a Dolby 2.0 track for those who have neither surround capacity. Usually, I've only been mildly pleased with the surround presentations of tribute or awards shows like these once they reach the DVD format. This one, on the other hand, stood out as being quite a bit better than similar programming - both in terms of audio quality and surround presentation.
Speaking of surrounds, they were employed quite nicely during the entire program, capturing the crowd noise or some of the instruments of the musicians. Yet, the vocals thankfully remained in front, so the instrumental envelopment from the surrounds was extremely pleasant and immersive. I could best describe it as a nice, "front row" feeling.
Again, audio quality remained excellent throughout the show. The instruments came through clearly and were captured distinctly, not blending together into a mess. Vocals were also nicely recorded and sounded crystal clear. Everything falls into place well here and it's a very nice effort from Image Entertainment. As for DTS versus Dolby Digital, the differences remained minor, as the DTS version added a slight amount of warmth to the music.
MENUS:: Clips play in the background of the main menu, as does music.
EXTRAS: A whole lot of interview clips are included, with: David Crosby, Evan and Jaron, Jane Wiedlin (Go-Go's), Elton John, Sir George Martin, Phil Ramone, Darius Rucker, Matthew Sweet, Ann and Nancy Wilson (Heart), Brian Wilson and producer David Leaf offering their thoughts on Wilson or, in Brian Wilson's case, his thoughts on other artists and how the tribute came together.
Final Thoughts: "A Tribute To Brian Wilson" is really one of the best tribute programs I've seen in quite some time - it's a gathering of some of the best musicians currently out there to pay tribute to one of the greatest in pop music. Image Entertainment's DVD offers very good video quality and excellent audio quality, along with a nice helping of extras. A definite recommendation.
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