Info

VH1 Storytellers Uncut (04 Apr 2005)
VH1 Storytellers Uncut Hodgo Version
Date: 04 Apr 2005
Location: Two River Theatre, Red Bank, NJ
Format: DVD
Duration:
Disc 1:
01- DEVILS & DUST
02- BLINDED BY THE LIGHT
03- BRILLIANT DISGUISE
04- NEBRASKA
05- NEBRASKA

Disc 2:
01- JESUS WAS AN ONLY SON
02- JESUS WAS AN ONLY SON
03- WAITIN' ON A SUNNY DAY
04- THE RISING
05- THE RISING
06- THUNDER ROAD

Disc 3:
01- THUNDER ROAD
02- Dateline interview [bonus track]
03- Today Show interview [bonus track]
04- DEVILS & DUST [bonus track - Today Show]
05- ALL I'M THINKIN' ABOUT [bonus track - Today Show]
06- VH1 Classic interview [bonus track]
07- DEVILS & DUST [bonus track - VH1 promo broadcast]


Notes from BruceDVDs:

VH1's 'Storytellers' is an occasional TV series that allows songwriters to perform their music and tell the stories behind the songs. Bruce used the opportunity to appear on the show to promote the release of his new album, 'Devils and Dust'. It was a very special evening in front of an invited audience of just 300 that had been shoe-horned into the tiny Red Bank theatre. Bruce was charming, funny and poignant as he performed solo versions of 8 songs and then proceeded to deconstruct them line by line. His candid stories and explanations provided some fascinating insight, but were also as poetic and ambiguous as the lyrics themselves at times.
The setlist included the world premiers of two songs from the new album. Other highlights included a duet with Patti on 'Brilliant Disguise' and a Smokey Robinson imitation on 'Waitin' on a Sunny Day'. The biggest standout though, was a devastatingly beautiful acoustic arrangement of 'The Rising' that brought a standing ovation both times it was performed.

The 2 hour show was cut down to just 43 minutes for its premier broadcast and subsequently extended to 53 minutes with the restoration of 'Waitin' on a Sunny Day'. Unfortunately, the editing of these versions is frustrating, with the post-song descriptions overlaid and interspersed with the songs themselves.

Fortunately, we now get to see the entire performance in its unedited glory. It's all here, including the two previously unseen songs ('Nebraska' and 'Thunder Road') and the alternate takes (the unused first take of 'The Rising' alone is essential viewing). The only thing missing is the Q & A session with the audience that followed the main show.

The source of this DVD set appears to be a first generation digital copy. It is hard to find anything to fault with the picture and sound, which are virtually broadcast quality. The image is non-anamorphic widescreen and mercifully free of any logos or other on-screen graphics. The video does drop out for around 10 seconds between takes of 'The Rising', but it resumes where it left off, so nothing is missed.

'Hodgo' has added simple song selection menus to the original standalone transfer by using artwork borrowed from GChord. The video remains untouched and so the superb quality is retained. Disc 3 (only 17 minutes on the original release) has been filled out by lifting material from the 'Devils & Dust TV Appearances' DVD. Given that the original version fails to load properly on many players, this authored version is particularly welcome.