Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel (Blu-ray Review) at Why So Blu?

Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel (Blu-ray Review)

November 1st, 2011 by Matt Goodman

So, I sat down to watch the latest Eagle Rock concert movie sent to me, which is Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel, and was skeptical about this one. I had literally no prior knowledge to who Procol Harum was, or what there style of music was (which is actually a great tactic going into something fresh), yet was pleasantly surprised with this British rock band. Aside from the lack of special features, Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel is a great Blu-ray. Eagle Rock continues to impress with their amount of Blu-ray output – they seem to have a genuine support for high definition, and we like that.

Film

The British rock band Procol Harum is now on Blu-ray, with Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel, a concert that took place in late 2003 at London’s Union Chapel which was was the last night of their tour that had them traveling from London to Europe, to Japan to North America, back to London. The band obviously had a great time and the audience went wild.

Something that kept catching my eye during this was the lead Pianist/Vocalist Gary Brooker, who not only reminds me of the late comedian George Carlin, (only looks, not sound). Anyways, back to the Brooker. He has a great voice, that is soothing to the soul (literally) and has a distinct taste to it that is quite possibly the reason the band bodes so well with fans.

Easily my favorite aspect of watching a concert film is knowing that the band members are having a good time, and I know when they are faking (take Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden for example). It’s pretty obvious that this band is having a damn good time, and that brought my final grade up from a 3 to a 3.5. This is quite a long watch, so it should be viewed sections at a time.

Featured Songs:

Underture

Shine On Brightly

Pandora’s Box

An Old English Dream

Grand Hotel

Homburg

Quite Rightly So

Simple Sister

Weisselklenzenacht

(The Signature)

Shadow Boxed

The Questions

Wall Street Blues

This World Is Rich

As Strong As Sampson

Every Dog Will Have His Day

A Salty Dog

Conquistador

VIP Room

Whisky Train

Good Captain Clack

A Whiter Shade Of Pale

Video

Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel is presented in 1080i (1.78:1), and looks good for how it’s presented. Colors, tones, and all that jazz have good saturation and do well in HD, and serve the British rock band well. For a concert that took place in late 2003, the conversion was done surprisingly well. A win in the video department.

Audio

With most of these Eagle Rock releases, it has been successful in the audio department. Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel is no exception; it is presented in DTS-HD MA 5.1, and sounds quite exhilarating. Given that I’m not a die-hard fan of the band, I still found myself enjoying most of the songs, and I can imagine if my speakers could speak (LOL), they would agree with me.

Special Features

Unacceptable. Lackluster special features will not be rewarded.

Interactive interview with Gary Brooker
Alternative Angles
Earlier in the day montage
Comments from the bar

Final Thoughts

Personally, I think this is a harmless progressive band; they present decent music, and seem to have quite a following. The Blu-ray is a fine buy, and has good enough video & audio quality to entertain most, but like all Eagle Rock releases, it lacks in the special features department. Nevertheless, Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel is a good enough buy.

Order Procol Harum: Live at the Union Chapel on Blu-ray!