Alice Cooper: Brutally Live

Recorded live in Hammersmith England on July 19th, 2000 this concert shows off everything that makes Alice Cooper great. Alice Cooper has to be one of the concerts that I would just love to check out and after having seen this DVD and exactly what goes on at an Alice Cooper I've changed my mind. I MUST SEE AN ALICE COOPER CONCERT! Alice Cooper puts on an amazing stage show that you can't find to many other places. He manages to take a long career of music and differing rock styles and blend them all into one continuous show.

Brutally Live is presented in anamorphic widescreen, which is a must in order to show off the amazing stage show at Alice Cooper puts on. The black levels are dark and clean and the colours are well represented considering the vast changing colour palette of the lightshow. The transfer is clean without any sign of grain or damage.

Audio is presented in a variety that guarantees that there is at least one option to your liking. Audio options include Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.0, and DTS 2.0. All three tracks do the DVD justice but as it often the case the 5.0 and DTS tracks are superior with the DTS track slightly edging out the Dolby track. All tracks offer clean sound with clear vocals, well-balanced music and even sound effects are nicely balanced. One problem with the audio is its lack of a bass channel (the .1 in 5.1 surround sound). This concert could have really benefited from a powerful bass channel. But that aside, things are well complimentary to this concert extravaganza.

There aren’t a whole lot of special features, but what you do get is interesting nonetheless. First off is a music video for the song Gimme that pales in comparison to the same song during the concert. Second up is an odd alternate angle function. When activated you can watch the concert and any time a logo appears, in the shape of Alice's face, you can switch to the alternate view called the Alice Cam. Basically this is just a camera that is centered on a close-up of Alice Cooper the entire concert. Not much of an alternate angle but a nice addition anyways. Last and probably the best extra is the addition of the Alice Cooper Brutally Live audio CD.

Fans of Alice Cooper should waste no time and get this DVD. It is worth every penny. Even if you are a mild fan or a fan of hard rock or heavy metal then this should probably find its way to your DVD collection. I can't stress how good a concert Alice Cooper puts on and this DVD shows it off nicely. Sure the audio lacks the bass response but I can overlook it... this time.