The Performance
I still remember Michael Bolton as the guy with the mullet from the late eighties who looked like he should have been in one of those "hair bands," but was instead crooning some watered down Top 40 covers of classic soul hits like "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" or "When a Man Loves a Woman." I was never a fan of Bolton's music or voice then and, I have to admit upfront, that I am not a fan of his now, but there is no arguing that he has had more staying power than I ever would have thought him capable of.
Well, in Live at the Royal Albert Hall, captured in October 2009, the mullet is gone, but the soul hits are still around, as are Bolton's originals like "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," a tune he originally penned for Laura Branigan. Over the years, Bolton has also expanded his musical horizons beyond merely being the easy listening white soul crooner and tackled opera arias and even jazz standards. He incorporates some jazz into the Albert Hall show in a segment that features tunes from his Bolton Swings Sinatra album. Listeners will instantly recognize the songs "Fly Me to the Moon" and "That's Life," that Bolton performs pretty close to the originals with the aid of his sexy, all-female brass section. He also does a version of Gershwin's "Summertime" from Porgy & Bess that falls well short of that work's usual lethargy and longing.
Of course, Bolton's most popular hits are all here as well, such as Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind," Bolton's own "Soul Provider" and "Time, Love, and Tenderness."
A frequent performer at the Albert Hall, Michael Bolton seems to have pleased the audience and his backing band is certainly well up to the task. They are beyond professional -- energetic and tight. I can't say that Bolton has won me over as a fan, but I certainly have a newfound respect for him and any fans of his will certainly not be disappointed with this performance.
The Picture
An original high definition recording, Michael Bolton: Live at The Royal Albert Hall shows up on Blu-ray with a solid AVC/MPEG-4 1080i/60 encoding that is quite detailed and free from any major artifacts. The black levels are deep, flesh tones are lifelike and video noise is not very distracting.
The Sound
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, PCM 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio options are offered on this release. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is a dynamic and spacious mix with an abundance of ambience in the surround channels. Vocals are full and clear, there's strong instrumental separation, high frequencies are smooth and bass is deep, tight and musical. The 2.0 PCM mix is equally solid with a nice spread of sound across the stereo soundstage, natural mid-range and deep low frequencies. If you can, avoid the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, which is terribly compressed and limited, pumped up to outrageous levels and lacking in dynamics.
The Extras
The extras include two bonus musical performances in high definition and a sit down interview with Michael Bolton, so I'm certain fans of the performer will appreciate the added material.
The extras available on this release are:
Final Thoughts
With its reference sound and picture and track listing covering Bolton's most popular hits, this will be a must have release for any fan of the soft rock crooner.
Product Details
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