The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: In Concert Encore

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Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll

Every year the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honors popular music’s most beloved acts with a black-tie ceremony. Usually the new inductees feature some of the biggest names in classic rock history. Everyone from Chuck Berry to Bob Dylan to Queen have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 1986. In recent years, they’ve expanded the nominees to cover a wider range of music than merely Rock.

Over the decades, the freewheeling induction ceremonies have grown into a celebration of Rock’s past with younger musicians often introducing the honored inductees. A group like Phish will introduce their idols, Genesis. Each year, it’s Rock royalty like Bruce Springsteen showing up to honor the new inductees and commemorate their careers.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: In Concert Encore has the complete induction ceremonies for 2010 through 2013. It’s the follow-up to an earlier volume that covered the 2014 through 2017 inductions. The line-up includes a litany of music’s biggest stars receiving their special honors, with other music legends often introducing them with occasionally amusing or heart-felt speeches. It leads to moving speeches by rockers like Neil Young inducting Tom Waits, or Elton John inducting Leon Russell. In all, the two-disc set includes 44 performances by the inducted acts, often singing with younger guests like Maroon 5 or Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day fame.

Music lovers everywhere should be heartened that Time Life has graced us with a Blu-ray set…

If you are a big music fan, you can’t help but watch these often humorous and touching inductions, followed by the inducted acts playing a few of their biggest hits. It’s fantastic to see the classic Hollies’ line-up back together with Graham Nash and Allan Clarke singing Bus Stop and Carrie-Anne. Or Donovan coming on stage after induction to sing his classics like Sunshine Superman and then Season of the Witch with special guest John Mellencamp.

There are many special and unexpected moments across the set. Many of the introductions are sincerely funny, if not endearing. Alice Cooper puts on a great live set, bringing in a chorus of kids in his trademarked make-up. Quibble with some of the selections, but it’s fun seeing all these famous Rock groups and singers gather together in one place, receiving this deserved honor. It’s a validation of a long and successful music career, but more importantly is a real treat for fans. Music lovers everywhere should be heartened that Time Life has graced us with a Blu-ray set capturing these musical performances and enlightening induction moments.

The following acts were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during this period from 2010 to 2013. Their entire induction ceremonies and performances are all included in this must-have set for music fans. It’s a nice sampling across different genres, from Rap to Hard Rock and everything in-between. Personal favorites on here include the Hollies, Donovan, Darlene Love, and the Beastie Boys:

Genesis – Iggy Pop and the Stooges – The Hollies – Abba – Dr. John – Darlene Love – Alice Cooper – Tom Waits – Leon Russell – Freddie King – Donovan – The Small Faces – Beastie Boys – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Randy Newman – Albert King – Heart – Quincy Jones – Public Enemy – Rush

Video

Time Life isn’t a name I really associate with Blu-ray releases but they’ve done a strong job bringing The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame In Concert: Encore to Blu-ray. Four induction ceremonies, covering the years 2010-2013, are spread over two BD-50s in excellent picture quality.

The 1080i presentation at 1.78:1 has razor-sharp clarity. Having been shot early in the 2010s, I was expecting dodgy digital video. In fact, the pristine video quality looks quite impressive. It has a vibrant contrast and neutrally rendered color palette.

Encoded in adequate AVC, the compression cleanly handles the well-lit dinner hall and concert stage used in the ceremonies. Black levels are deep and inky, nicely shown off when Alice Cooper hits the stage. Some alternate shots appear a little soft, taken with mildly inferior cameras. However, the bulk of the ceremonies are shot straight ahead with top-shelf detail and definition.

Audio

Two audio options are included. A primary 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack is paired with secondary 2.0 DTS-HD MA audio. The surround mix is far more expansive in scope than the stereo track, coming alive during the raucous musical performances. The smallish crowds in the audience don’t provide the same juice many of these performers are used to in their own concerts. It does depend on the act. Iggy Pop and the Stooges moved the crowd with a very lively rendition of their hits.

Recorded with pristine fidelity, some minor mixing issues from what is likely a soundboard recording pop up. The mix of vocals from Allan Clarke and Graham Nash of the Hollies performing with Maroon 5 has mic level issues when paired with the band’s groove.

Otherwise, everything sounds alive with energy. There is a nice LFE presence with strong vocal imaging riding on top. Instrument separation across the front soundstage lends to the discrete mix’s most effective moments.

The actual venue used for the musical performances at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s induction ceremonies isn’t really built for loud Rock and Pop music. It’s adequate for these one-off renditions of familiar hits, but doesn’t provide the type of staging appropriate for most popular music.

No subtitles are included.

Extras

No special features have been included in this two-disc Blu-ray set. You get the complete induction ceremonies and musical performances, playable as one complete ceremony, or separated by act for convenience in the menu. It’s a handy option if you want to go straight to the musical performances. In that regard, it mirrors the earlier Time Life Blu-ray release covering the 2014-2017 inductions.

A nicely constructed 12-page booklet inside provides a full guide to each induction’s speakers and performances, bolstered by pictures and an introduction note from the CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I believe these discs are not region coded.

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray release was provided to us for review by the studio. For information on how we handle all review material, please visit our about us page to learn more about DoBlu’s editorial policies.

The 15 unaltered images below have been taken directly from the actual Blu-ray. For an additional 20 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame screenshots, early access to all screens (plus the 15,000+ already in our library) in full resolution, dozens of exclusive 4K UHD reviews and other goodies, support us on Patreon.