Elton John Video:

				Salesrank:
		MPAA Rating: Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
On the evening of September 15, 1997, legendary British music producer George Martin (who had risen to prominence with the Beatles) held a benefit concert at London's Royal Albert Hall for the small Caribbean island of Montserrat, which had recently been devastated by a volcanic eruption. All of the invited superstars had recorded some of their biggest hits at Montserrat's Air Studios, which Martin had founded in 1970, and this shared history gives Music for Montserrat an added sense of enjoyment among friends. Despite a few vocal dropouts and forgivable mixing problems, this outstanding concert has been captured with impressive fidelity, and while each artist performs songs appropriate to the occasion, they share the stage (along with a house band, choir, and orchestra conducted by Martin) in brilliant combinations that bring out the best in everyone involved.

The show hits full stride with Mark Knopfler's exquisite "Brothers in Arms," which segues nicely into "Money for Nothing" with guest vocals by Sting, who then performs two hits from his Police years. And while Elton John and Eric Clapton form the centerpiece of the concert (especially Clapton and Knopfler's acoustic "Layla"), Paul McCartney anchors the show with a spectacular four-song conclusion. Phil Collins's expert drumming is matched throughout by legendary percussionist Ray Kooper, and McCartney's fully orchestrated "Golden Slumbers" is a genuine show-stopper, followed by a "Hey Jude" sing-along with everyone on stage. They all follow McCartney's lead for a rockin' rendition of "Kansas City" (which the Beatles had performed as early as 1960), by which time Music for Montserrat had given its royal audience a show they would never forget. --Jeff Shannon

Music for Montserrat [Region 2] Reviews:
Bad sound quality?
2009-12-09 - Okay some reviews say this DVD has bad sound quality. All I can say is you need a better sound system. This DVD is incredible for the talent and the audio. The video is a little rough in places but I've wowed many a guest with this DVD. Try it you'll be glad you did!

Great if you have the RIGHT sound setup
2009-10-11 - I almost sent this item back because the sound was so uneven going back and forth between loud and soft for no reason. luckily I ran across a comment by someone who mentioned you had to use 5.1 or DTS in the sound setup to get it to work right. Sure enough, Doby sounds awful, but when I selected 5.1 the sound was perfect. After that I enjoyed a really great concert with some excellent cuts from Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler-Dire Straits, Sting, Paul McCartney and many others. Brothers in Arms, Money for Nothing, Layla, Hey Jude and a great rendition of Kansas City with everyone joining in. If you think you might like this DVD you will, so buy it, just be sure you use 5.1 or DTS!

All-Star Cast
2009-08-09 - Great set of music artists, each one a star in his own right, performing together. This is a classic.

some good performances on this dvd
2009-07-14 - I wanted to see Sting and Dire Straights so that is the best of this dvd for me. a good buzz at the concert too.

Music for Montserrat
2009-03-04 - Well here it is some 12 years after the event and I've only just found out about this amazing little concert, I only discovered about it because I came across Mark Knopfler singing "Brother in Arms" on You Tube, this version gave me goose bumps being supported by the The Foundation Philharmonic Orchestra!!...oh what a wonderful sound met by Knopfler's unique guitar style, but then I discovered this was only one part of a much bigger get together, so thanks again to Amazon.com I found a copy and promptly purchased it, excellent vision and the sound, well lets see, I have read elsewhere that the sound is a bit dodgy, yes it was and I was immediately disappointed, however the DVD gives you the option of three sound formats, Dolby Stereo, Dolby 5.1 Surround and DTS Surround, well in Dolby Stereo the sound brakes up badly, select Dolby 5.1 and it is %98 percent perfect and DTS was even better, every instrument was well mic'ed, mixed and recorded, the grand piano just sounded fantastic when Elton was on, the percussion the sound of the Kick Drum was just right through to Ray Cooper on the Tambourine and boy wasn't great to watch him...if you haven't seen it do yourself a favor and buy a copy, it maybe 12 years ago but it feels as if it was only yesterday.