During the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 2013, Queen Guitarist Brian May and singer Kerry Ellis performed at the Stravinski Auditorium for their Candlelight Concerts. The intimate concert was filmed and recorded for Blu-ray of their songs that they have performed together. The concert is mostly acoustic guitar but May insists on adding a little electric guitar here and there because he thinks “it’s a mistake to be unplugged for too long.” With them are the piano skills of UK’s Jeff Leach to add a little depth to the sound.

The concert is mostly made up of cover songs from bands like Queen and The Beatles. Along with the candlelit atmosphere is the backdrop of star-like lights and a video screen. The screen periodically shows videos of animals because the songs seem to have a universal theme of protecting wildlife. The screen also shows outdoor scenery and moving colors, adding serenity to some of the songs like the beautiful ballad by The Beatles called “Something.” It’s an excellent concert that shows the talents of the legendary guitarist and the powerful voice of this singer.

Blu-Ray Track List:
1. I Who Have Nothing
2. Dust In The Wind
3. Born Free
4 Somebody To Love
5. Nothing Really Has Changed
6. Life Is Real
7. The Way We Were
8. ’39
9. Something
10. Last Horizon
11. Love Of My Life
12. The Kissing Me Song
13. Tie Your Mother Down
14. We Will Rock You
15. No One But You
16. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

CD Track List:
1. Born Free
2. I Loved A Butterfly
3. I Who Have Nothing
4. Dust In The Wind
5. The Kissing Me Song
6. Nothing Really Has Changed
7. Life Is Real
8. The Way We Were
9. Something
10. Love Of My Life
11. I’m Not That Girl
12. I Can’t Be Your Friend
13. In The Bleak Midwinter
14. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
15. No One But You (Only The Good Die Young)

The concert has been transferred in a great looking 1080p AVC video. The images are very clear and sharp. The details stand out such as the smudges in the pick guard and the individual strands of Ellis’ hair. The blacks are very deep and inky with no artifacts or pixilation in the darkest parts. The few times where there is some contrasting issues is when the camera tries to focus on the spotlights. Also, there is also a small amount of blocking when sweeping over the crowd.

When viewing the Blu-ray, I switched back and forth between the DTS-HD Master Audio and the LPCM stereo tracks. Both tracks were recorded flawlessly and I can’t say that one is better than the other; they’re just different. The 5.1 track makes you feel like you’re at the show with the music coming from every channel and the directional sound of the crowd. On the other hand, the 2.0 stereo is an audiophile’s dream.

Either track you decide to use, there is never a time that the sound of the trio is indistinguishable. The music is crisp and clear with no distortion that could be heard. Also, there are the right amount of LFEs coming from the crowd and the pianist.

On the disc is only 1 extra of a song the duo performed while in Africa. I was hoping for a little more information on how they came to perform together but it wasn’t there. Its really the lack of extras that has given this portion the low score.

Bonus Features:
-Nothing Has Really Changed: This is a music clip of the song Nothing Has Really Changed that Brian wrote 30 years ago for Virginia McKenna. Brian and Kerry surprised Virginia with a version of the song during their filming of Born Free music video.

Disc Details
Blu-ray and audio CD

Edition Ratings
Not Rated

Region Code
Region A

Video Resolution
1080p MPEG-4 AVC

Audio Mixes
LPCM Stereo 2.0
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles
n/a

There is no doubt about it, Brian May can still play that guitar without missing a beat. Add the beautiful voice of Kerry Ellis and the finished product is an exquisite experience. The release has incredible audio tracks that bring the home theater to life. The video for this release is a polished transfer that looks great. Overall, this release delivers the concert experience right in your home so if your a fan of good concert Blu-ray releases, this is one not to miss.
Order your copy form Amazon