DVD Reviews: Long Way to the Top Live in Concert!

This wonderful 2 disc set showcases the Concert that was held in 2002 called Long Way to the Top and featured the top Australian rock stars of the 50's, 60's and 70's in one jam packed arena spectacular.

The setup for this disc is very well done and straight forward consisting of a nicely animated menu. The discs don't carry much in the way of extras however there are small interviews and bios of each star and also the ability to jump directly to their songs in the concert. The interviews are worth the watch and fascinating from a historical viewpoint.

Before continuing I would like to give the track listing for both DVDs in order to show exactly  how meaty this product is:
 

Act One – The ‘50s & ‘60s

Bye Bye Baby Goodbye - Col Joye
Oh Yeah - Col Joye
Yes, Sir - Col Joye
Rock’n’Roll Heaven - Col Joye
Sing Sing Sing - Col Joye
Be Bop a Lula - Col Joye
4,003,221 Tears From Now - Judy Stone
Hasta Manana - Judy Stone
Ain’t it So - Lonnie Lee
Starlight Starbright - Lonnie Lee
I Found a New Love - Lonnie Lee
Yes Indeed I Do - Lonnie Lee
I’ve Been Everywhere - Lucky Starr
He’s My Blonde Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy - Little Pattie
Stompin’ at Maroubra - Little Pattie
Bombora - The Atlantics
’Til We Kissed - Ray Columbus & the Invaders
She’s a Mod - Ray Columbus & the Invaders
Don’t You Know, Yokomo? - Dinah Lee
Reet Petite - Dinah Lee
It Ain’t Necessarily So - Normie Rowe
Que Sera Sera - Normie Rowe
Shakin’ All Over - Normie Rowe
What’s Wrong With the Way I Live? - The Twilights
Needle in a Haystack - The Twilights
Sick and Tired - Billy Thorpe & the Original Aztecs
Over the Rainbow - Billy Thorpe & the Original Aztecs
Poison Ivy - Billy Thorpe & the Original Aztecs
Gonna See My Baby Tonight - Kevin Borich (The La De Das)
Try a Little Tenderness - Max Merritt & the Meteors

Act Two – The ‘60s & ‘70s

Morning of the Earth - Tamam Shud
Sea the Swells - Tamam Shud
The Real Thing - Russell Morris
Wings of an Eagle/Sweet Sweet Love - Russell Morris
Arkansas Grass - Axiom
A Little Ray of Sunshine - Axiom
Ginger Man - Axiom
God/Human Being - Lobby Loyde & the Coloured Balls
Liberate Rock - Lobby Loyde & the Coloured Balls
I’ll Be Gone - Spectrum
Black and Blue - Chain
I Remember When I Was Young - Chain
Because I Love You - Masters Apprentices
Turn Up Your Radio - Masters Apprentices
I Hate the Music - John Paul Young
Evie (Parts 1, 2 and 3) - Stevie Wright
You - Marcia Hines
Fire and Rain - Marcia Hines
Your Love Still Brings Me to My Knees - Marcia Hines
Come Back Again - Ross Wilson (Daddy Cool)
Hi Honey Ho - Ross Wilson (Daddy Cool)
Eagle Rock - Ross Wilson (Daddy Cool)
Most People I Know Think That I’m Crazy - Billy Thorpe & the Sunbury Aztecs
Oop Oop A Doo - Billy Thorpe & the Sunbury Aztecs
It’s a Long Way to the Top - The whole cast

The discs look sensational and you definitely have the best seats in the entire house. It was shot in widescreen by the ABC so fortunately the transfer is also in that format. The colours are crisp and detail very clear. All said and done a wonderful job in producing here.

The audio shines on this set, featuring the concert in glorious Dolby Digital 5.1 sound doing justice to the performers who gave their all on the night. I noticed that for the most part the surround speakers (rear) mainly supported crowd sounds to give us the feeling of being situated right in the middle of the audience.

In fact this disc is of such high quality that the only real downside to it is that they could not include some performances due to copyright reasons and in my opinion that is pretty ordinary as it excludes some wonderful performances and I am sure that in years to come the artists who are omitted from this disc are going to regret it. I don't know what the story was behind the copyright issue but I think whoever created the problems forcing these omissions is pretty petty. 

These artists might be golden oldies now for the most part however the important part they played in Australian Rock History and the sheer passion they display on this disc gives it my highest recommendation.