Image Entertainment presents

Suzi Quatro: Leather Forever (2003)

"Our love is alive and so we begin
foolishly layin' our hearts on the table, stumblin' in
Our love is a flame burnin' within
now and then fire light will catch us stumblin' in."- lyrics from Stumblin' In

Stars: Suzi Quatro
Other Stars: Tim Smith, Ray Beavis, John Meaney, Andy Dowding, Dave Spence, Toby Gucklehorn, Gaynor Shaw, Lynn Fudge
Director: Victory Tischler-Blue

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 47m:04s
Release Date: 2004-09-21
Genre: music

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B-	C-	B-	C+	C+

 

DVD Review

Rock bassist Suzi Quatro's official bio says she has "50 million albums sold worldwide", which seems like a pretty amazing stat, but I suppose that accounts for the large, appreciative crowd she leads on this concert disc recorded in Stuttgart in 2003. Quatro's star rose in the shadow of the glam era in the early 1970s in the UK, with a handful of hit singles that were larger over there than they were Stateside, but reached her deepest into mainstream American audiences in the late 1970s with her simultaneous appearance as Leather Tuscadero on the series Happy Days, as well as the poppy single Stumblin' In.

This particular concert, with the band performing beneath a huge "Oldie Night" sign and sharing the stage with a Porsche race car, probably signifies that Quatro's star is now entrenched firmly as that of a revival oldies act and not as that of a rock rebel, and though she still wears the tight leather pants, her music has crossed that line into that realm of safe, fist-pumping, horn-driven anonymous bar band rock. Quatro has the properly raspy voice of a veteran rocker, and all the crowd-motivating stadium moves, but with the exception of her first single (Can The Can) or the sheer familiarity of the aforementioned Stumblin' In, her entire, brief set is fairly nondescript.

Visually, the performance at least looks quite good, with director Victory Tischler-Blue keeping the flotilla of cameras in constant motion, utilizing a variety of shots and angles (and the occasional black-and-white effect) to at least give the concert some aesthetic vibrance. It is pretty clear that Quatro seems to enjoy performing, and with seemingly content crowds like the one captured here in Germany, I guess I can't really blame her for continuing to tour, but being relegated as an oldies act makes her trademark leather seem more like a gimmick than a fashion statement.

Set List:

The Wild One
Rock Hard
Tear Me Apart
She's in Love with You
Stumblin' In
48 Crash
Glycerine Queen
Can The Can
Devil Gate Drive
If You Can't Give Me Love


Rating for Style: B-
Rating for Substance: C-

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	2.00:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Image has issued this disc in 2.00:1 nonanamorphic widescreen, and aside from not being enhanced for 16x9, it is a respectable transfer. Colors and fleshtones look natural and lifelike; stage lighting remains fairly bright throughout, with no smearing or trailing evident.

Image Transfer Grade: B-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: Here's one of those rare examples where the 2.0 stereo mix is the way to go, because there is something horribly wrong with the 5.1 track, which sounds simply muddy and flat. The stereo track, in comparison, is not great, but at the very least it provides cleaner, crisper highs.

Audio Transfer Grade: C+ 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 13 cues and remote access
Music/Song Access with 11 cues and remote access
1 Featurette(s)
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extras Review: The only extra here is a music video for Quatro's Why Do Rainbows Die (04m:23s). The disc is cut into 13 chapters.

Extras Grade: C+
 

Final Comments

If you are in the Suzi Quatro camp, this relatively short concert disc will probably be right up your alley. But as for winning over new fans, I can't see this doing the trick.

Rich Rosell 2004-09-29