Product: Music for Montserrat (1997)
Rating: 5.0
Knopfler And Clapton Steal The Show
This concert was held to benefit the island of Montserrat after it was largely destroyed by a volcanic eruption. The show is good overall, and the sets by Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton are sublime. All performances are backed by such luminaries and Phil Collins and Phil Palmer and a full orchestra, which has never done better work than they do here on "Brothers in Arms."The best performance of the show comes from Dire Straits founder Mark Knopfler. Dire Straits recorded the album "Brothers in Arms" in Montserrat, and here he performs the title track more perfectly than the on the original recording. He finishes his set with the help of Sting and good friend Eric Clapton with "Money For Nothing." Clapton returns the favor by having Mark sit in on "Layla" in what may be the definitive version of the song. These two master guitarists alone justify the purchase of this DVD.I didn't really care for the Elton John or Paul McCartney sets. I don't know why the orchestra sat unused on "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", but it was not for the better. Likewise, McCartney is a great performer, but I have seen way too many singalong versions of "Hey Jude" at this point. McCartney's version of "Kansas City" though is one of the highlights of the show.Everyone onstage does a competent job, but the performances of Knopfler and Clapton really do steal the show.