Paul Simon: Graceland - The African Concert [DVD]

Lost my first Graceland CD.I love all the songs on this CD.Quality sound.

This DVD is a rare concert by Paul Simon featuring material from Graceland. Visually some of the footage is not up to HD standards but Sonically this concert is monstrously good. The African performers are stunningly excellent. Simon is…well he’s Paul Simon. And for many that means a master songsmith and performer. At least that true for me. Enjoy this once in a lifetime show.

A couple of the tunes are okay, but the rest are fantastic. I was living in Kenya when this came out and it was wonderful to see such a great musician take the happy, bouncy music that I heard every day and give it a huge boost. Among other things, Under African Skies - the duet with Ronstadt - is really wonderful. I do not just have this CD, but the concert DVD with the extensive interviews other content. My ex ended up with all my CDs, including the enhanced CD that included concert video files. Having the DVD more than makes up for this loss. I strongly urge everyone to buy this CD and the DVD as well. This is tonic for the soul, and to see it performed live with Ladysmith and Makeba makes is so much more wonderful.I cannot listen to Al, Diamonds, Gumboots, Know, or Skies without instantly being sent back to the veranda of my bungalow nearthe Giraffe Center and Karen Blixen's former farm, snacking on samosas, reading a good book, watching the iridescent sunbirds playing on the grass beneath my spreading pepper tree, and hearing this music floating out through the open door.Great CD.

Especially if the Graceland album is one of your favorites. I've been looking for a better quality DVD copy of the concert as I pretty much wore out my original VHS tape, and this video 1999 DVD version of the 1987 concert (captured a half year after the studio release of Graceland), is probably as good as it's going to get as it was shot on video of the day and not film. Very good video editing though (with some beautiful short vignettes of African life between songs), and an excellent (albeit 2 ch.), audio mix. I've got to admit, some of the live versions on this African concert I prefer over the studio versions, and I love the studio disc. The prices for this DVD are staying relatively high, (no longer made?), but again, worth having in your video library. You should probably also check out the 25th anniversary documentary film "Under African Skies" (under $12), and the controversy (highly disputed) surrounding of the making of the Graceland album. After watching Under African Skies I have even more respect and admiration for Paul Simon, and the Graceland studio album (recorded 85-86), and a reaffirmed love of "Graceland - The African Concert".

This is one of the most amazing concerts ever! Not only is the music amazing, but the players are royalty. It is a powerful example of the potential music has to speak the truth and move the soul. Somebody complained about the quality of the sound or whatever -- but I don't understand how that can even be an issue you'd want discuss in the review of such a powerful piece of musical history.This concert is a celebration of freedom, and the music is a celebration of truth. It is a joy to watch, and even if you're not a Paul Simon fan, you probably still won't be able to keep yourself from being moved -- either figuratively or literally: my friend (who's not a big Paul fan) said she couldn't stop dancing. Miriam Makeba -- who had been in exile from her homeland for 27 years because of her political beliefs -- has an inspired presence, as does Hugh Masakela -- also a political exile. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is both a force to be reckoned with and a perfect example of gentle humility. All the "back-up" players are astounding, and Paul is as full of love and humility and sincerity as he could possibly be.I have watched this concert a dozen times, and look forward to the next dozen. It is a rare gem that I enjoy sharing with the people in my life I love the most.To sum it up? GET THIS CONCERT.

This is an excellent DVD. The production is excellent and for musicians it has a lot of shots of the players as opposed to just the singer. The 'jam' factor is pretty high and you can see it in the intensity of the dancing going on in the crowd.The only reason why i did not give 5 stars is because there were no 'extras'.The DVD is definitely worth seeing on a large screen TV with progressive scan and with a good set of full range speakers. The 'sound' is vintage 'yamaha' and full and warm. The engineers knew what they were doing on this recording. The use of subtitles for the words of the song even fulfills a quasi-karaoke function and lets you sing along to the more famous songs like graceland, diamonds, call me al, etc.

I'm an African, and I've been listening to this music, and I've also been watching this concert on Video since 1991.Having lived in the Western World for a while, Wow! I'm yet to see anything like this. If you are a true music lover,no one needs to tell you about this music and concert. All you need to do is get a copy.I've been to many music concerts including Jazzfests, but nothing..I mean nothing come close to this in term of performance. As an African this is one the best music concerts I've seen. Paul Simon did a beautiful job in mixing contemporay white folk's music with African beats. Who says there can't be harmony in the world. Watching Blacks and Whites dancing and pumping the fist in the air makes me believe we are getting there.The international langugage of music- rythm, harmony, and beats knows no bound and this Paul's masterpiece work of art is what every human living should have - particularly blacks.Paul Simon,Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo...all in one concert...Wow!Believe me it all (everything) start from here - Africa- and that's where Paul came to put the final 'icing' on his tremendous career.