[DVDA][OF] Mark Knopfler - Shangri-La - 2007 (Blues)

Sound
DVD-Audio (MLP) 96/24 5.1, 96/24 Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1.
The sound shimmers and sparkles remarkably. Six guys are in the band but this is a textbook example of economy: Knopfler and Richard Bennett on guitars, two keyboards, bass and drums, but because everyone plays so sparingly it sounds like less. Co-producer/engineer Chuck Ainlay and Knopfler get huge credit for the sound, which, along with the musicians’ playing, serves the material perfectly. These are accomplished musicians who have complemented Knopfler well for most of a decade, and they each know how important it is what’s left out – to play simply brilliantly.

Amazingly, they claim about half the numbers were done on the first take – live, basically. Even when they went for a few more takes, they came back to the first. They were all playing together in the same studio, an oddity in recording these days. The live-ness of their methods makes the mix and clarity of the sound that much more extraordinary.

The interaction of the two guitarists is something to behold. It’s like Bennett is Knopfler’s alter ego. I was blown away to see in the video portions that Bennett is playing some of the parts I would otherwise have positively identified as unmistakably Knopfler. But I always give credit to the leader for creating the sound, even if he does it through someone else’s fingers.

The 5.1 mix just ups the ante. You can really notice the difference in resolution, especially in the vocals, which show more echo and much more presence than in the stereo mix. The guitars, rarely more than two at a time, nonetheless fill the space, floating and expanding in an instinctive slow ballet, sometimes coming in directionally but without unnecessary dramatics. Direction and placement are used effectively for the other instruments as well, especially the organ.

Extras
Besides credits (notable for a listing of all instruments played) and lyrics, there’s an “About the Music” video, which is interesting in spite of its half hour length and lack of dramatics, though it could have used a little editing to reduce some of the talk about how well the band knows each other and plays together organically. Got a little tired of that word. It includes live in-studio playing footage, but you get more of that through the inclusion of four songs seemingly recorded live (and not different from the album versions), three from the album (“Boom Like That,” “Everybody Pays,” “Whoop De Doo”) and one older fave of Knopfler’s, with a great opening , “Summer of Love.” Nice to have.

VIDEO PART:
Size: 2.44 Gb ( 2.558.976 KBytes ) - DVD-5
Enabled regions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

VTS_01 :
Play Length: 01:06:19
Video: NTSC 4:3 (720x480) VBR
Audio:
Not specified (Dolby AC3, 6 ch)
Not specified (Dolby AC3, 2 ch)
Subtitles:
Not specified

VTS_02 :
Play Length: 00:29:32+00:05:47+00:05:27+00:03:54+00:03:17+00:00:01
Video: NTSC 16:9 (720x480) VBR, Auto Pan&Scan, Auto Letterboxed
Audio:
Not specified (Dolby AC3, 2 ch)
Not specified (Dolby AC3, 2 ch)

Menu Video:
NTSC 4:3 (720x480) VBR
Menu Audio:
Not specified (LinearPCM, 2 ch)
Menu Subtitles:
Not specified
Menu English Language Unit :
Root Menu
Audio Menu