THE CONCERT
Directed by David Mallet, notable for other works with David Bowie, Queen, David Gilmour, Elton John and Cirque du Soleil brings the popular singer/songwriter Phil Collins to the screen in this exciting live performance in Paris, featuring such modern pop classics as "In the Air Tonight," "Sussudio" and "Another Day in Paradise."

Phil Collins' career has gone through many incarnations. Beginning with Flaming Youth in 1969, he later (1971) took his syncopated and wandering drumming style to the group Genesis formed by Peter Gabriel. Taking over the group when Peter left in 1975, he also performed with Brand-X and launched a solo career in 1983. He is a television and movie actor and Academy Award winner for his TARZAN theme song. "Live And Loose In Paris" brings Phil to us in an energetic and enjoyable concert showcasing fifteen hit songs from "Sussudio" to "Against All Odds."

This concert, done on a circular stage, is nonstop motion involving all of his backup vocalists and instrumentalists. Interacting with one another they bounce around the stage with various props and choreographed routines following Phil's lead. In addition to this, Phil runs, dances, sings, drums and acts throughout this 90 minute slice of the much longer concert. Both funny and entertaining, the delivery of his world music style is spot on and highlighted by a tight and bright horn section.

Some of you may have seen this concert on DirectTV as their free concert of the month in February 2003. I also caught him in Kansas City a couple years ago where he gave a similar performance using the same stage. I was impressed then by the stage show, lighting effects and wonderful sound quality and even more so after viewing this DVD where everything comes together as one. Some argue that he is not as good as in his earlier years where his long stories and unusual drum rhythms set him apart from the rest. To a certain extent that may be true and I still listen to his early Genesis work. But, he is in the business of staying popular and moving forward and we all must admit he has been incredibly successful at it. If you enjoy his compositions of today, then you will like this DVD.

Not long after this tour, Phil fell prey to an ear infection which left him with only 20% hearing on one side, with 0% comprehension. He still composes in his home studio, doing works for stage and film, but it is doubtful we will ever see him on stage again. And "Phil Collins: Live And Loose In Paris" is a good example of how his final stage performances were done.

DVD
Studio: Image Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: January 1, 1997
DVD Release Date: May 20, 2003
Run Time: 90 minutes
Region: 1
Widescreen: 1.85
Color: Yes
Closed Captioned: No
Audio: English

VIDEO
Clear and sharp on the close-ups and the wide shots with good lighting, low grain and artifacts. A very nice presentation.

AUDIO
Linear PCM Stereo
Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround

Nice separation effects, no apparent hiss or hum. Sound is clear and bright. Great audio overall.

MENU
Non-animated with background music

Play Concert

Tracks
1. Hand in Hand
2. Hang in Long Enough
3. Don't Lose My Number
4. Another Day in Paradise
5. Against All Odds
6. Lorenzo
7. Separate Lives
8. Long Long Way to Go
9. In the Air Tonight
10. Timbantiocha
11. Easy Lover
12. Dance into the Light
13. Wear My Hat
14. Something Happened on the Way to Heaven
15. Sussudio
16. Credits

Audio
Linear PCM Stereo
Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround

Subtitles
Captions On/Off

EXTRAS
None

SUMMARY
Quality and energy of performance from "Hand In Hand" to "Sussudio", wonderful sound, dynamic lighting, choreographed performances and comedic situations all add up to make this an enjoyable presentation. Recommended!