Robben Ford
- New Morning
(The Paris Concert)
Performance
Production
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Robben Ford
- New Morning
Performance
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Robben Ford's New Morning (The Paris Concert) is a magnificent follow up to his In Concert DVD, which was taken from his Ohne Filter - Musik Pur German television performance in 1993. This one finds him performing in front of a packed house at the legendary New Morning jazz club in Paris, France in May 2001, during his tour in support of his Supernatural album. While the later DVD ran for only a paltry 49-minutes, this baby evens the score with a glorious 90-minute set. Ford is a brilliant guitarist whose style is a unique blend of rock, blues, jazz, soul and pop. His superb vocals smoothly run the gamut between gritty blues-rock and delicate jazz-pop. He has toured with the likes of Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, and George Harrison, to name a few, and has since maintained a respectable solo career and dedicated fan base. He is a "guitarist's-guitarist" if there ever was one. Having ditched his longtime backing band The Blue Line a few albums ago, Ford was accompanied on this tour by the extraordinary trio of Jimmy Earl (bass), Brannen Temple (drums), and Louis Pardini (keyboards). I was pleased to see Ford utilizing a keyboard player this time around, instead of sticking with the power-trio format he often follows. This elevated these live versions a much richer sound. His Supernatural album went in a more melodic, pop-rock direction than the usual blues-rock guitar jams that have dominated many of his earlier albums. It reminded me more of classic Steely Dan, than classic Robben Ford. The setlist covers a good cross-section of Ford's career, going as far back as 1988's Talk To Your Daughter with "Help the Poor", but he was really there to showcase the new Supernatural material, which took up four of the twelve songs played. Two previously unreleased blues songs were also performed - the aptly named "Moonchild Blues", which sounded like a tribute to Larry Carlton, and "Indianola Blues" a fiery blues-rocker. Ford opened the show with "Prison Of Love", one of his best original songs from 1992's Robben Ford and The Blue Line, and then moves on to his whah-whah guitar showcase "Just Like It Is" from 1997's Tiger Walk. Next up was the Supernatural song, "Nothing to Nobody", which Ford co-wrote with soul man Michael McDonald. This one features a phenomenal extended guitar solo that is the perfect example of just how distinct his guitar sound is. No matter what song or style he is playing, you always know it is Ford's fingers bending those strings after only a few glorious notes. At least I do. Ford winds down, or maybe I should say winds UP, the show with two of Supernatural's best numbers. "Deaf, Dumb & Blind" is a breezy pop number, featuring some of his finest vocals, and could have easily been a top-40 pop hit if given its due chance. But I'm not holding my breath to hear any Robben Ford on the radio any time soon. At least not until I get satellite radio. His first encore featured a lively cover of the Paul Butterfield classic "Lovin' Cup", which was certainly one of the show's highlights. I liked the fact that the producer left in most of the wild applause between encores as the appreciative audience begged for more. It helps to make you forget that you are only watching from your living room, and not there at the club. Ford answers the call with a final encore that featured another Supernatural song, the gentle ballad "You Got Me Knockin'". I found this to be very anti-climactic, considering how exiting the build-up was to get to this point. "Knockin'" is a decent blues-ballad that would have fit nicely at the half-way point of the show, but it killed the excitement that the first encore had generated. He should have dug out one of his more electrifying classics such as "Talk To Your Daughter" to close the show properly. The production quality of this DVD was surprisingly good. The show was filmed using four cameras, and the talented crew did a superb job capturing the intimate feel of this small club, while giving you plenty of essential close-ups of Ford's remarkable fretwork. The audio was provided in both Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and PCM stereo formats that each produced a clear and powerful mix. The only unusual element of the mix, when using a 5.1 surround sound setup, is that the instrumentation and vocals were very dominant in the center channel, providing what seemed like about 50% of the overall sound output, while the front-side and rear-surround speakers only provided ambience at a much lower level. It still sounded excellent, but you would think it could have sounded better with a more typical surround mix. The only special feature included was an enlightening 24-minute interview with Ford as he discussed how he got started in the business and some of the legendary musicians he has worked with. New Morning (Live In Paris) is certainly one of the best "guitar" DVD's of 2005 and is an essential addition to any respectable concert DVD collection - whether the guitar is your thing or not. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - August 2005 |
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Set List |
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Running Time: 89 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - May 2005 |