Why So Blu?

Bad Company: Live at Wembley (Blu-ray Review)

Hot of the heels of a successful tour with Queen, and then a solo venture of his own, Paul Rodgers has returned for a much anticipated reunion with his band mates that form Bad Company, aka Bad Co. This Blu-ray is Bad Co: Live at Wembley which is pretty much “the coming home” show.  The Blu-ray features an eclectic set of all their greatest hits, mixed in with familiar tunes, rarely played songs, and fan favorites.  Eagle Rock has come through with another rock ‘n roll Blu-ray for classic rock fans.  How will this Blu-ray measure up to their previous releases?  Let’s get to the review, because it’s going to go off at Wembley Stadium! 

Film 

Bad Company are Paul Rodgers (vocals, guitars, piano), Mick Ralphs (guitar), and Simon Kirke (drums) and they are back in the UK to play at a sold out show at Wembley Stadium.  They are rounded out by Howard Leese (guitars) and Lynn Sorensen (bass).  First of all how old is Paul Rodgers again?  Dude is in great shape.  What’s neat is that he’s constantly on hard rock lists for being one of the best vocalists of all time even though he doesn’t play metal.  That’s a great feat, all things considering.  He’s got the pipes, and judging by some of the photos posted, he’s got the guns, too.

The boys of Bad Company find themselves in the UK in a bit of a coming home kind of show where they perform in front of a sell out crowd.  They start the party off right with familiar tunes like Can’t Get Enough and Honey Child before bringing it down a couple of notches.  As I watched Bad Company: Live at Wembley I really got into the vocal and musical arrangement of the performance.  This Blu-ray pulls no punches in terms of content; a sixteen song set list is presented.  The crowd is a bit on the reserved side, but don’t let that fool you.  You know you’re at a true rock show when the audience sings the chorus back to the band.  This is what the audience would do on several occasions.  They made have had seats, but most were on their feet.

Bad Company rip through their set and finish the night off with their classic tunes like Feel Like Makin’ Love (love the ukelele intro) and Bad Company. They finish off the night’s performance with the raunchy Deal With The Preacher.

As of this writing Bad Company is on hold, because Rodgers is working on more solo material.  I do hope that once he wraps that up the boys of Bad Company can get together once again and tear it up.  Can’t get enough. 

Set List:

1. Can’t Get Enough

2. Honey Child

3. Run With The Pack

4. Burnin’ Sky

5. Young Blood

6. Seagull

7. Gone, Gone

8. Electric Land

9. Simple Man

10. Fell Like Makin’ Love

11. Shooting Star

12. Rock And Roll Fantasy

13. Movin’ On

14. Ready For Love

15. Bad Company

16. Deal With The Preacher

Video 

Bad Company: Live at Wembley is presented in 1080i  16X9 (1.78:1) widescreen.  Eagle Rock continues showing the world of live music how Blu-rays should be presented.  Under the hot lights Paul Rodger’s tan come through extremely clear.  You’d think he just got back from the beach.  The lightning and strobe system is a bit on the flashy side, but not bothersome.  The projection screens display clear images and montages of pictures that are easily seen and defined.  Black levels are good.  There is a thin layer of grain, but that’s inherent to the source.  Banding is never a problem, and edge enhancement is kept at a minimum.  

Audio 

Bad Company: Live at Wembley is presented in DTS MA-HD 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and LPCM Stereo.  Guess which one I went with?  Full lossless sound ovah here!  Again, Eagle Rock has shown tremendous care in providing some incredible sounding tracks to their Blu-ray releases and they continue the trend with Bad Company: Live at Wembley. Instrumental placement is great.  Paul basically has the entire center channel at his disposal and let’s it rip.  Guitars are equally placed to the left and right channels, drums come through with punch and feeling, and the crowd cheers and sings through the surrounds.  The ambient environment is great. 

Special Features

Bummer.  Just one special feature included on this Blu-ray.  Interview with the three members of Bad Company.

• Band Interviews

 

Final Thoughts

Eagle Rock continues to impress with their high quality Blu-rays.   Bad Company: Live at Wembley is no exception.  The band and all those involved have a great energy and chemistry playing together.  This Blu-ray amplifies that.  With several audio options and terrific video quality the Bad Company: Live at Wembley is a great release on the high definition format.  The only downside is that the special features contain just one interview.  That takes the overall score down a notch.  Other than that, this is a highly recommended release for classic rock ‘n roll fans!

 

Order Bad Company: Live at Wembley on Blu-ray!