Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live 1994

Peter has his usual stunning array of musicians and singers on hand to help out. Paula Cole is a great addition as the female backup singer. The DTS soundtrack is superb, flawed only by the rather egregious overdubbing of Peter's vocals. Not that most people seem to notice.


hmmm....   June 20, 2004
Peter Gabrial: Vocals, piano, harmonica, tamborine and paddle Tony Levin: Bass, piano, tamborine and vocals David Rhodes: Guitar and vocals Shankar: Violin, tamborine and vocals Paula Cole: Vocals Levon Minassen: Doudouk Jean Claude Naimo: Synthesizers, piano, organ and vocals Manu Catche: Drums, tamborine and vocals
Whilst I dont have the DVD I have the video which has a fine transfer and no dubbing so this review is based mainly on that. This is very good. The band play well and Peter shows his abilities as a dancer and actor (the visuals in themselves are amazing). Peters vocals are as strong as ever and the compositions (all as always written or cowritten by Gabriel are all great. Forget Phil Collins Live, for the ultimate live music expieriance watch a Peter Gabriel concert.


Secret World Live DVD   April 17, 2004
When I first played Secret World Live DVD on my 1080i 46" HD set I thought my monitor was malfunctioning. Yes, the picture is that bad. Forget about progressive scanning coming to the rescue for it only appears to make things worse. I was going to return the DVD until I really had a chance to listen. The audio track is thoughtfully mixed in 5.1. They've even taken some to some creative sound artistry providing some interesting and creative 5.1 mixing. What I found most striking about Secret World Live DVD was not the visual aspect of the concert but the music itself. For example, Steam. Not one of my personal favorites (over played) BUT the arrangement and interlude leading up to the song is truly hypnotic. Many of the songs on this DVD are arrangements you wont hear on Growing Up Live DVD.
Purchase this DVD for the music and secondly for the visual presentation. I find myself playing the DVD while leaving the set off.
I have written to Realword Productions and have requested an explanation as to the poor mastering of the video aspect. They have yet to reply.
In conclusion, if you have HD ability you will be deeply disappointed visually. Line doubling only makes things worse. Gabriel is about 41 in this concert footage.
If you seek visual and audio candy get Growing Up Live DVD. High quality mastering in both audio and video. Gabriel was 53 when shooting Growing Up Live DVD. His daughter provides excellent back-up, lead vocals and is truely talented.
By the way, visit petergabriel.co.uk - very interesting site.


The best concert DVD   March 20, 2004
This is more than a concert; it is a show, a drama. The musicians fit perfectly for Gabriel's sound. Paula Cole adds so much with her voice to the feeling of the songs that I would say at times this is a concert of Gabriel/Cole. The song selection is excellent. The stage design which changes all the time according to the theme of the song is inspiring. Every action of the musicians adds so much to the concert. I write this much, and yet at this moment I am frustrated, cause I know, my words are not describing sufficiently how I am touched by this concert. I have Gabriel's last DVD as well, simply because I bought this one first. Had I bought the other one first, would I buy this one? Maybe not, and that would be a terrible mistake.


Very Dissappointed   March 11, 2004
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I probably would have bought this DVD even after reading the reviews, but I too thought that with all the differing opinions that it was a case of "operator error" and differing equipment. I was wrong.

(Please note that this review is primarily about the VIDEO TRANSFER ONLY - I too have been waiting for a pristine DVD version of this concert after enjoying the VHS for so long. The magic of the performance almost draws your attention away from the horrid transfer, but if you are a video-phile, it will drive you up a wall! Maybe the best advice has already been given - look at it as a decent 5.1 DVD-audio disc and call it a wash!)

I too work in the "video biz" (I'm an editor) and cannot believe how awful this transfer is. Yes, the concert was originally shot on film. I have no real explanation as to why the transfer is so bad. Perhaps it was not originally anamorphic? (What really bothers me is the label on the packaging promising a "16x9 remastered Anamorphic transfer." What a joke.) The "film grain" look is not the fault of the original material. It is simply a bad transfer/compression to the DVD format. When you watch any theatrical anamorphic movie you don't complain about "film grain" right? Apparently PG isn't quite as "technologically savvy" as we are all led to believe. Either that or he just has no control over this stuff.

Either way, this DVD will dissappoint anyone who is enjoying the thrills of HDTV. As someone mentioned in one review, the Bruce Springsteen in NY is the video standard by which all DVD concerts must be compared. I understand that Bruce was shot in native High Def, but my copy of the '70s B-horror movie "Frogs" is a better film transfer than Secret World. For a filmed concert comparison, watch PG/SWL and then watch the Criterion DVD of Gimme Shelter. It was shot in the late '60s on film and the transfer is absolutely incredible! I had such high expectations while unwrapping this disc and the moment I hit the play button I knew that I had thrown away $16.99 and would seldom watch this disc again. Just too painful.

Are we suppose to be waiting for the "special edition" of Secret World Live? Silly me, I thought this was IT!

A very big dissappointment from a very great artist.