Electric Light Orchestra - Zoom Tour Live (DVD, 2001)

I originally purchased an ELO 'Zoom Tour Live' DVD from a seller on Amazon. Turns out I did'nt do enough research beforehand. I received a Japanese import version, which was nothing more than a bad copy of the original. No interview with Jeff Lynne. Half-baked version of an interactive menu. Worst of all, the audio was about 5 clicks ahead of the video. You could hear the drum beat while the stick was a foot or so ABOVE the drum, then you would see it hit afterwards. You would hear a guitar strum, then see it. Same with the keyboards. Not only was this very frustrating to watch, it is (at least in our universe) physically impossible. Light travels faster than sound. So, at a great enough distance, you will actually see something first, then hear it. Of course, that wouldn't have made the video any better, just more realistic. But the picture quality was good & it sounded okay. No audio choices in the menu, though, only track navigation. Oh well, 'Buyer Beware'. So I decided to see if I could locate an ORIGINAL version, because this video is (in my opinion) EXCELLENT! After carefully researching the Internet (AGAIN), my efforts yielded a factory sealed (U.S. made) 'Zoom Tour' DVD on e-bay, which was also priced lower than I was able to find anywhere else. And, because this e-bay item was optioned with 'Buy it Now', in just a few days I was jamming to all of my favorite ELO tunes performed live on video.
IT IS AWESOME! Even if you aren't a big ELO fan, but you like concerts & music videos, you will love this (I would compare it to the Eagles 'Live From Melbourne' DVD). Rock solid interactive menu; interview with Jeff Lynne; and hey, guess what?... the audio is in perfect sync with the video! Top quality all the way. Jeff Lynne is in rare form with two good looking young ladys on cello and another one singing back-up. The drummer really gets into it. A great lead guitarist, keyboardist & bass player completes the group. All of the band members in this show really knew what they were doing. FANTISTIC light show, stage production & camera angles, too. One reviewer on Amazon was ticked off that the only original band member besides Lynne was the keyboardist, Richard Tandy. He was mad because Jeff didn't give the other original ELO 'chaps' a chance to continue with him and share in the limelight. Well, first of all, who cares? A couple of those 'chaps' went on to form the band 'ELO part II'. Now THOSE GUYS had NO RIGHT using the ELO name in ANY way. I have one of their CDs, and speaking as someone who loves a wide variey of music, THEY SUCK! Besides, Lynne was always the driving force behind ELO. He is a musical genious. He wrote ALL of the songs, played ALL of the instruments and sang ALL of the vocals (lead & back-up) on the 'ZOOM' audio CD. Okay, Ringo played drums on a couple & a few other guest singers & players contributed to some of the songs. But Jeff Lynne IS ELO! I have the 1978 ELO 'Out of the Blue' concert on DVD. It's okay, but the ZOOM DVD is spectacular! It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It is THAT good! Anyway, don't buy the Japanese import (nothing against the Japanese, it's just a really bad copy - UPC is: 9 787799 613338; ISBN 7-7996-1333-5). The U.S version's UPC number is as follows: 0 14381-1334-2 4. Buy this one, and you will be pleasantly surprised.
And, before I forget, THANK YOU FELLOW EBAYER for the great product and fast shipping!

Sincerely,
hampco1