The summer music push (as this critic has come to call it) is nearing its end as labels wind down the year. As the last week of the annual push winds down, Mercury Studios and its parent company, Universal Music Group, have revisited two more previously released concert recordings from Mercury Studios in the forms of Black Sabbath’s The End and Eric Clapton’s Slowhand at 70: Live at the Royal Albert Hall. The recordings were re-issued Friday on new 4K presentations as part of an ongoing series of 4K re-issues from the companies. As with those other re-issues, this latest pairing stands out in part because of the general presentation of each recording. This will be addressed shortly. Also as with those previous recordings, this pair has one major negative, that being its packaging. This will be examined a little later. The video and audio quality of each presentation works with the general presentation to make for at least some more appeal. This will also be addressed later. Each item noted is important in its own right to the whole of the recordings’ presentation. All things considered they make the re-issues two more mostly positive 4K re-issues from Mercury Studios and Universal Music.
Mercury Studios’ brand-new 4K re-issues of Black Sabbath’s The End and Eric Clapton’s Slowhand at 70: Live at the Royal Albert Hall are mostly positive new offerings from the company and its parent company, Universal Music. The records prove mostly successful in large part through their general presentations. What this means is that each is presented in its new 4K re-issue exactly as it was in its original presentation (Sabbath’s recording in 2017 and Clapton’s in 2015). All of the songs featured in those recordings are here, too, and in the same chronological order. The bonus content featured in each recording was carried over for this presentation, too. In other words, in regard to general presentation, viewers get the exact same viewing experience in the case of these 4K re-issues as they got in the original recordings’ presentations. That in itself is reason enough for audiences who already own 4K TVs and players to pick up these recordings if they do not already own the recordings’ original releases.
While the general presentations of The End and Slowhand at 70: Live at the Royal Albert Hall are obvious positives, the recordings’ new presentations are not perfect. As with Mercury Studios and Universal Music’s previously released 4K re-issues of Motley Crue’s The End Live in Los Angeles and Peter Gabriel’s Back to Front, the packaging for these re-issues is disappointing. That is because it is the same cardboard book type presentation as is used in the aforementioned recordings. The booklet is housed in the left side of the package while the disc is placed inside the right side, and rather tightly at that. The problem here (once again) is how easily the housing for the disc can rip because of how tightly it is packed inside that section of the container. The easiest (and while not best but still better than the initial packaging) way to address this is to take the disc from its side and place it on top of the booklet in the other side. Yes, this greatly increase the odds of the disc falling out accidentally but it is better than risking ripping the packaging just to try to get the disc out of the “box.” The understanding is that this means of packaging is the now standard for all of the coming 4K re-issues from Mercury Studios and Universal Music as per officials with Universal Music. In other words, the staff at Mercury Studios, it sounds like, cannot be fully blamed for this issue. In other words, there is no end in sight to this style of packaging in sight for any coming 4K re-issues from the companies. This is disappointing, but not enough to keep audiences from owning.
Knowing that the packaging of these recordings is not enough to doom them, there is at least one more positive to note. That positive is the overall production of each presentation. The picture is clearer than in the previous releases. In comparison to the original DVD presentation of Slowhand at 70, the new 4K presentation of that concert is much improved. One almost feels like one is right there, the picture being so clear alongside the sound. The same applies for the new re-issue of The End. The picture and sound are even clearer than in the concert’s previous release. Clearly some time was spent going back over each concert to improve on this aspect of the recordings. The result is a viewing experience that together with the general presentation of each, is largely enjoyable for audiences whether they already own the recordings’ previous releases or not.
Mercury Studios and Universal Music’s brand-new 4K re-issues of Eric Clapton’s Slowhand at 70: Live at the Royal Albert Hall and Black Sabbath’s The End are two largely positive entries in the companies’ ongoing series of concert re-issues. Their appeal comes in part through their general presentations. More specifically, the general presentations are of note because they ensure audiences get exactly the same concert and bonus content that they got in the concerts’ original releases. There is no question this is a positive. It makes a strong foundation for the whole. While the general presentation of each recording is positive, that strong foundation that they create is weakened by the packaging of each. Once again, the packaging is the same style as used in previous 4K re-issues from the companies. It is problematic to say the least but luckily not enough to doom the recording. To that end, there is one more positive to note. That positive is the production quality of each recording. The production is an improvement from the recordings’ original presentations in that the picture and sound have both been stepped up in the concerts’ respective re-issues. Audiences who have a sound bar will especially note the improvement in the sound, as a heads up. The experience that audiences get as a result of the positive production together with the general presentation is enough to make the recordings in whole largely positive new offerings from Mercury Studios and Universal Music Group.
Mercury Studios and Universal Music Group’s brand-new 4K re-issues of Black Sabbath’s The End and Eric Clapton’s Slowhand at 70: Live at the Royal Albert Hall are available now. More information on these and other 4K re-issues, and other titles from Mercury Studios is available at:
Website: https://mercurystudios.com
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