The Plot:
Apparently a regular part of the BBC's programming, this concert from the Royal Albert Hall is 75 minutes of frilly folk finesse. There's no need to look for Potger here - at this point in the New Seekers rebirth, he was a figure languishing mostly behind the scenes. The set list includes the following material:

"Never Ending Song of Love"
"Look What They've Done to My Song Ma"
"Georgy Girl"
"When I Was Small"
"I'd Like the Teach the World to Sing"
"I Can Say You're Beautiful"
"Nickel Song"
"Streets of London"
"Circles"
"Good Old Fashioned Music"
"Beautiful People"
"I'm A Nut"
"Beg, Steal or Borrow"

In between the songs, there's some friendly banter, a couple of quirky anecdotes, and a sloppy stab at sentimentality. Otherwise, there is nothing more here than five musicians on a stage making an occasionally engaging noise.

The DVD:
Arriving exactly as you'd expect a British TV broadcast from the early '70s to look and sound like and overflowing with wholesome folk harmonies, The New Seekers Live at the Royal Albert Hall is as foot stompingly genial and hand clappingly generic as any other Me Decade pop you can name. Avoiding anything remotely resembling the late '60s stopover into psychedelia and acid, and churning out the cheeriness with a pleasant, if plastered on, perkiness, the friendly fivesome of Eve Graham, Lyn Paul, Peter Doyle, Paul Layton, and Marty Christian play directly to the polite and attentive audience and never once change their approach. It's all strummed guitars, hummed choruses, and over polished professionalism. While it's fun to see the band revisit their origins with the oddly touching "Georgy Girl", this is the Coco-Cola era Seekers, a group living large on the back of a hit turned commercial jingle. Their version of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" may appear rote, delivered in a fashion that indicates one too many command performances, but it's also the band's bread and butter. So we get a knocked up rendition, as well as additional top of the pops selections. While all are limited by the onstage dynamic of five voices and three instruments (bass/guitar/guitar), the enraptured crowd couldn't care less.

Of course, the lack of performance dynamic might drive an ADD addled music lover batty. The New Seekers are all smiles and limited style, a Disneyland level entertainment thriving on hit records to keep them relevant. Their between song repartee is witless, their attempts at engaging the audience underwhelming in its effectiveness. When the two ladies step forward for a solo moment, they command the Royal Albert in a way their male counterparts can't, and all of the guy's cool school kookiness just doesn't cut it. A tune like "I'm a Nut" is a saccharine silly slight, but it's infectious nonetheless. Indeed, the whole "they don't write 'em like this anymore" dynamic comes across loud and clear in this 75 minute ear worm. Every melody line, every nonsense lyric, every gummy guitar hook and quasi-clever chord change works its way into your brain and barely lets go. Days after drinking in the band's concert Kool-aid, you'll be whistling "Never Ending Song of Love", "Nickel Song", or the 1972 Eurovision entry "Beg, Borrow or Steal". If likeability were a commodity by which classicism was determined, The New Seekers would be the Shakespeares of sonic schmaltz.

Of course, the main question here is, would anyone outside the group's aged demographic care for this rather dry digital package. The answer, sadly, is no. If you're not a fan of the '60s and '70s, if you find the time frame's taste in music too syrupy and cloying to suit your aesthetic, the New Seekers will definitely give you decibel diabetes. Like the beautifully bland Bucks Fizz which competed head to head with all the post-punk new waving sweeping Britain in the early '80s, this quintet is all peasant blouses and feathered hair. No need to look for deeper meaning within the stanzas, it's just lovey dovey dopiness covered in tweed coat trimmings. Live at the Royal Albert Hall is like the memory of a pleasant day in the country, cool breezes blowing and gorgeous vistas gently listing by. Of course, as the years pass, the remembrance fades and all that's left is an ephemeral feeling with very little substance. That sums up this band in a nutshell - a collection of classic pop songs lacking a single significant reason for relevancy. The tunes are terrific, and the performances passable. But as an example of music's historic significance, it's nothing but slight.

The Video:
Offered by MVDVisual in a direct from BBC broadcast transfer, the 1.33:1 image here is loaded with analog issues. There is ghosting, flaring, bleeding, fuzziness, a clear lack of definition, and color problems o'plenty. None of these really ruin the experience, but they will make the digital purists reach for their bottle of format smelling salts. In their defense, early videotape is very unforgiving. There is not much that the company could do to tweak this technically inferior picture.

The Audio:
On the sound side, the DVD is offered in what can best be described as revamped mono stereo. The original TV mix has been remastered, given a Dolby Digital sheen it probably doesn't need. The songs come across wonderfully, even if the voices dominate the sonic set up. In fact, the bass is frequently lost, the lack of bottom very obvious. Still, for something over three decades old, the aural elements here aren't half bad.

The Extras:
Aside from a biography, discography, weblinks, and guitar tabs - all text based - there are no other significant bonus features offered. For those looking to add to their New Seekers knowledge, a quick 'Net search shows several terrific sites. Your best bet is to surf them and avoid this disc's paltry added content all together.

Final Thoughts:
On a personal note, this critic was a big fan of the Krofft Brothers' British Invasion on crack masterpiece The Bugaloos. Buried deep inside the reefer smoke psychedelia of Mersey Beat insects and Martha Raye's rampant overacting was an intriguing take on the music biz and how talent is constantly tricked into selling their soul for the sake of their manipulated art. Something about that series kept popping up during The New Seekers Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Maybe it was the peachy keen Up with People vibe that both the Seekers and the fictional Tranquility Forest foursome put out. Perhaps, it was the nature of the songs - pure pop for easily wowed people. Whatever it is, no one but the most ardent fans will find this performance masterful. Indeed, this disc earns a Recommended rating because, while not this reviewer's cup of PG tips, it will clearly impress those familiar with the band. In today's tawdry media market, something like the New Seekers would be viewed as akin to crackpot fundamentalists. They're just too bright and bubbling. For their time, however, they're terrific. Bridging that massive pop culture gap will be difficult for this DVD indeed.

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