Review of Gil Scott Heron And His Amnesia Express: Tales Of Gil

Introduction

Another music DVD of a guy who I`ve never heard of! Not a great start but I gave it a spin and was, well, unimpressed.
Gil is an Afro Carribean protest singer who, according to many a website, was a massive influence for the top rap artists of the eighties and nineties. His musical style is not my cup-of-tea, with two much rampant mumbling and lyrics that don`t gel and run smoothly. I understand that he`s making a political statement but surely it would be better to have a good sounding song that people want to listen to rather than a mixed up bag of Jazz fusion and political ramblings. To cut it short, I didn`t like it!

Video

Made for TV fair. The 1.33:1 presentation is adequate but contains a distracting amount of macro blocking and lack of clarity. Blacks are muddy grey and whites well below there usual DVD sharpness. Checking the bit rate display on my Pioneer 717 proved this by barely nudging above 5.2 on the 10 scale.

Audio

Another poor 5.1 mix that suffers from bad recording and reproduction. We should feel like we`re in the room with Gil, his band and his over enthusiastic young, hip audience (yeah, right). But instead I felt like I was in the women`s toilets at the gig, listening to a tinny harsh sound and over emphasised bass.

Features

A track-by-track review by some over serious fan Kevin Le Gendre. Plus a review of Gil and his life by...you guessed it...gushing La Gendre again. Watch, listen, and yawn!

Conclusion

Not my bag and never will be! I`ve even found this disc to be not for the fans either, after lending it to friends who had heard of Mr Gil.