St. Johns, Canada (01-Apr-97)

Indeed, a very short DVD. Video images are clear, colourful, a bit unsteady at times. Sound is nearly perfect. Dylan and the band presence on the video is reduced by the aimless roaming about across the crowd and the ceiling of the arena. What you get is really 15 minutes of Dylan. This would have been a 5 stars DVD if complete. I gave it 2 stars, not because of the quality but the length and the splicing of the tracks.

Recommended for the completist only.

Let's propose for a minute that this DVD doesn't exist on the DVDylan D/base. Let's go back a couple of months say. Now then I go and post on one of the boards that I've come across this 18min DVD of the april 1st, '97 concert at St. Johns, but I didn't think it was worth listing, followed by upping the couple of screenshots above. How long before my in-box was filled with pleading messages ? Would any amount of "Na, ye widna like it" replies stop me from being the first "named & shamed" on the newly created "Hoardin' B*****ds" board ?
Well, here it is. [and I'd absolutely nothing to do with it]
Worth it ?
Yes, ok, there's not whole track in it, and the first couple don't even deserve to be called 'snippets', but still there's 18 minutes of it, and there are longish segments. The taper has obviously given us all that there is, a bit futile asking for more.
Forget all that, what we do have is a nicely filmed DVD, full of colour, bright, clear, well focused, steady, and with plenty of variety as he zooms in/out, pans right & left, Bob shots, band shots, stage shots, audience shots. In short all we want from a DVD. The only problem is the length. Well who here didn't bother to get all the GWW stuff, saying that as it wasn't complete they wouldn't bother ?
If it was the full concert, or nearly so, it'd easily rate as a 5 star effort, but as it lacking a bit, timewise, I'll knock one star off.
Thoroughly enjoyable, I sat through to the end, then pressed play again. 4 Stars