DVD
Willie Nelson
Some Enchanted Evening

Starring: Willie Nelson
Fabulous Films
RRP: £9.99
FHED 1943
Certificate: E
Available 05 June 2006


Willie Nelson performs in front of a specially invited audience of fellow musicians, dignitaries and friends, gathered together to pay tribute to Nelson and his album
Stardust...

Say the words "country and western" in the same sentence and images of old men dressed as cowboys, or short blond women with huge breasts pop into your head. Willie Nelson has long been credited as the artist that opened country and western up to a more mainstream market and is easily one of the genre's most famous figures.

Nelson was born on 30 April 1933 in Abbot, Texas. He was given his first guitar when he was just six, and his first gig was playing at a dance when he was ten. During his teenage years, Willie played dances and honky-tonks. When he was 23 he recorded, financed, and sold his first song, No Place For Me. In 1959 he moved to Nashville and established himself as a writer. In 1970 he moved back to Texas where he started to perform his own music instead of selling it to established artists. In 1975 he released Red Headed Stranger, which was a huge hit and guaranteed his future popularity.

If you are not a fan of Nelson's music and you think that this DVD will offer nothing for you, then you might like to think again. While you may not be aware of it, at least a handful of the songs he performs here will be well known to you - It's just that you probably didn't associate them with Nelson before. Tracks you're bound to know include What A Wonderful World, South of the Border, Moon River, Always On My Mind and On The Road Again.

This concert, which was recorded in 1989, is a tribute to Nelson's 1978 album Stardust - which is credited with being one of the first country music albums to cross over into mainstream pop success. This DVD features live recordings from Stardust as well as What a Wonderful World. Roger Miller makes a guest vocal appearance on Old Friends, which he originally wrote.

The picture quality and sound are of okay quality and the camera direction is well thought through. There are plenty of wide shots, as well as close up angles of Nelson performing for his audience.

There are no extras at all, apart from the option to jump in at your favourite song, but then for under £10 you shouldn't really expect any. Although I was a little disappointed to see that the soundtrack was only stereo. A nice 5.1 mix would have made me feel like I was really there. But then I suppose you could argue that in a concert the sound only really comes from the stage and so surround sound is a little pointless unless you can recreate the acoustics of a hall in 5.1.

The concert itself is fantastic. If this had the option of surround sound, or some extras, then it would have easily scored full marks.

Pete Boomer

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£7.49 (Amazon.co.uk)
   
£8.99 (Moviemail-online.co.uk)

All prices correct at time of going to press.