Uncle G’s FUN Concert Films Reviews: Paul Simon – Live From Philadelphia (2012)

Date First Published: 18 Oct 2012 – Classic Rock Radio (UK)

Uncle G’s FUN Classic Rock DVD Collection
Spotlight: Paul Simon – Live From Philadelphia (Greatest Hits Live)

By Gary “Uncle G” Brown
Contact: GaryBrown@garyunclegbrownarchives.com

In Houston, we have a retail book/CD/DVD/computer video game store called; Half Price Books. The cost is just like the name states, meaning books are half-price of their original retail price. The costs of items do vary. On any given day, a customer could walk in and find an item’s price has been slashed again. Used/pre-owned items. You check it out before you buy it. Sometimes CDs and DVDs are so scratched up, so badly, that I have to pass on it. But other times, items could be in near-mint brand new, and a lot of times even brand new.

So there I am visiting a location on Westheimer Road because my pretty wife tells me there is a cool Alice Cooper Welcome To My Nightmare 2 classic rock magazine they are blowing out for like, six bucks. Comes with the CD !! So I find that, and right after while looking at the performance DVDs, I find a Paul Simon one.

Paul Simon – Live From Philadelphia DVD. Amazon Dot Com shows a 2008 release date. The performance itself originally came out on VHS. What I’m looking at on my television screen looks like a VHS-to-DVD transfer. The picture and audio quality are good, but this also means that it’s nothing fancy.

The concert that was recorded at The Tower Theater, happened back in, 1980. The DVD isn’t the whole show. Enough songs here to give you a good idea. This is from Paul’s One Trick Pony days. An excellent band supporting him:

Paul Simon: Guitar – Main Vocals
Jon Faddis – Flugelhorn (better known for playing the trumpet)
Steve Gale – Drums
Eric Gale – Guitar (R.I.P. – passed away in 1994)
Richard Tee – Piano – Keyboards – Backing Vocals (R.I.P. – passed away in 1993)
Tony Levin – Bass
Ralph MacDonald – Percussion (R.I.P. – passes away in 2011)
Hugh McCracken – Guitar
Lani Groves – Background Vocals (also did background vocals for Stevie Wonder)

I played this DVD three times this week. One of those times was a small dinner party we had. Was playing in the living room when guests arrived. A friend’s wife went off at one point and watched Paul perform; The Sound Of Silence. An iconic song from Paul’s days in Simon & Garfunkel.

Rating: Since it’s a concert film, I’ll use the one to ten-star rating system. Uncle G gives the performance here; 10 stars !!! Quality for the film itself; a solid 7 stars. I’m glad it was saved from the 20th Century VHS Tomb, but at the same time, I wish they spent a little more time cleaning it up more for the 21st Century DVD viewers.

In closing, here is a cool treat; a video clip. Late In The Evening (from said concert) — found on YouTube.

End of Story

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