The Go-Go's - Live in Central Park [DVD]

I thought "God Bless the Go-Go's" was one of the best albums of 2001 and a really great rock `n' roll album. I thought that Belinda Carlisle had never sounded better, mainly because of the wonderful harmonies provided by Jane Wiedlin. I thought Charlotte Caffey was continuing to build on the song writing talent she displayed on "Talk Show" (and on her one album with the Graces, "Perfect View"). Paul Q. Kolderie and Sean Slade were the main producers and mixers on the album and apparently deserve a lot of credit because the Go-Go's never sounded better. The main reason this concert video of the "Go-Go's Live in Central park" is so disappointing is that the sound mix is awful, deplorable, utterly disappointing, and really, really bad. Slightly better than the rehearsal tapes from the early days that popped up on "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's." For the most part the instruments overwhelm the vocals from start to finish in this concert. I have seen several live performances by the Go-Go's over the years, and Belinda Carlisle is never as good on stage as she is in the studio, but she does not even stand a chance on this one.The concert is a mix between the new (seven tracks from the new album) and the requisite hits from yesterday ("Vacation," "We Got the Beat," and "Our Lips Are Sealed"). The "Talk Show" album, which represented the original great leap forward by the band from punk group to pop rockers, is woefully under-represented ("Head Over Heels" still starts the gig), but that is understandable since the group's previous concert video was for the tour for that album. Again, the new songs, which rely more on the vocal harmonies (e.g., "Unforgiven," "Apology"), suffer because of the sound problems.Fortunately the DVD is redeemed, somewhat, by the over 30-minutes of behind-the-scenes footage which show the band getting ready for the gig while their fans get all revved up to party. The person who ends up impressing you the most in this footage is Gina Schock, not only because she is all business drumming away on stage, but because she emerges as the most articulate member talking about the Go-Go's then and now (ironic, since she is the only one of the group who never sings and remains silent throughout the concert, although she is working seriously on her wad of gum). Finally, I do want to point out that "Apology" is far and away the best song for which Kathy Valentine has ever been listed as lead writer. In the end "The Go-Go's Live in Central Park" is for the true Go-Go groupie, who will endure the less than adequate sound just to see the gals rockin' and rollin' again.

For any Gogo's fan this is a must have video. It has all the excitement that a Gogo's video should have from central park in New York....Jane didn't dance around very much as in other videos I've seen but she still was great to watch as "ALL" the girls were.... good buy for any Gogo's fan.

The Go-Go's - Live in Central Park I have collected numerous live DVD performances from different groups, but I must say this video represents the Go Go's very well! Most of these ladies are in their mid forties during this concert and continue to rock the crowd! I had the opportunity to see them live in 1982 and again in 1983 at Carowinds Pavillion in Charlotte NC. The first time, a friend of mine worked for Carowinds security and got me back stage before and after the show, then I bought tickets out front in 1983 I have to say that both were great experiences! Charlotte Caffey said backstage in 82',"Come on girls, Let's give them a reason to remember us!" This video gives you the best of both of those worlds! The 1984 show was musically fantastic, but we could see the strain of touring! Little did we know the end was closer than we knew! I am glad they have continued to get back together for events such as the NYC event. I think that age does sober us up a bit and if you saw the VH1 doucumentary about the Go Go's, you would understand! The video is well edited and gives each "Go Go" their forum to show off their continued talents! The 30 minute behind the scenes look at the group might be considered shocking to some, but let's face it folks, these girls had to be tough to push into the all male dominated world! These ladies are human, talented, nice to look, still rocking, and they continue to give the crowd they paid for!!

It was good to see them again after the MTV Video years.

I had high hopes for this, but could barely get through the first three or four numbers. The words in the vocals are lost because they weren't recorded loud enough. Almost totally drowned out by the instruments. I don't know if this was from the mixing during the concert or how they recorded the different tracks for the video.

sound levels were a bit off, but still good enough to rock out to.

In my library of music videos, I have the Go-Go's 1981 VHS music video "Totally Go-Go's!" It was their first video that accompanied the release of their first album. The Go-Go's played a concert at a Los Angeles high school. The concert was full of energy and featured their hits from their debut album with backstage behind-the-scene footage.Fast forward 20 years and it's the Go-Go's "Live in Central Park." The girls have aged wonderfully. Their performance has the same energy and excitement as in their first video, but "Live in Central Park" is much, much better. I was totally enthralled by this live concert DVD. The high quality sound and footage makes you feel as if you're right there. The selection of songs is outstanding - a mixture of their past hits and from their latest CD "God Bless the Go-Go's."I truly regret never having seen the Go-Go's perform live in concert. Hopefully, I will get a chance. If not, watching "Live in Central Park" will be the next best thing. The Go-Go's are awesome! This DVD is awesome!

The best live show from the go gos

This 2001 Go-Go's concert was an excellent straight-forward, stripped down, no frills performance, particularly after a 17-year hiatus. The band looked and sounded better than they had ever had during their early 1980's heyday. Excellent camera work and angles as well. Hopefully, a HD version will be released some day.

I bought this for my wife and remembered the songs, tapped my feet and googled the gal's. Totally enjoyable. Thank you.

This a good DVD but reason it was given a three star review is when I seen this on YouTube it was in widescreen not 4:3 like the format this DVD is in. Sound quality is very good and that's why it has three stars not two.

the concert show was well done, there show in central park new york was very good.-

DVD will not play in my computer DVD player. Total waste of money.