Review of Dave Mason: Live At Sunrise

Introduction

Having just reviewed a DVD by Deep Purple, the next DVD in my review pile is by Dave Mason, who has been around for approximately the same time!

Mason was a founder member of the group Traffic, but turned solo in 1970 after creative differences with Steve Winwood. Mason continues to play soft/progression rock music and this DVD features a concert recorded in Florida.

Video

The video is presented in full-frame, and is of above average quality, free from dirt and grain, but slightly lacking in detail at times. The dark concert arena is well compressed and there are no visible blemishes.

Visually, rock concerts aren`t generally particularly exciting, and this disc is no exception, with the largely static band members not getting up to much of note except playing their instruments. Very basic lighting accompanies the band.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 and DTS 5.1. It won`t be a surprise when I tell you that the Dolby Digital 5.1 track is good, the Dolby Digital 2.0 track sounds flat in comparison, and the DTS 5.1 track has more range and power and a much warmer sound than the other two.

The sound mix for both multichannel soundtracks is excellent, with good use made of all available speakers, and the instruments and vocals very clear.

I`m a fan of rock music, and I must say that this disc was better than I expected, with some good songs, music and solos on offer. The sound from the two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards is excellent and provides some melodic tracks.

Features

The only extra on offer is a fifteen minute behind-the-scenes featurette, which was quite interesting as I don`t know much about Dave Mason or his band.

Conclusion

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this DVD, which features some good soft rock songs, reasonable video quality and excellent sound. The extras are basic, but then again, this is often the norm with music releases.

In summary, whilst I`ve not seen Dave Mason perform live before to judge this DVD against other performances, the band play well and this DVD is pretty good.