Historical relevance spiils from the collected interview bits that precede the actual 10-song performance from their 1970 appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival on this just released DVD. This film features a band that ruled the airwaves some 40 years ago. The Moody Blues, at the time of this video recording, were one of the top draws of the moment. On tour, supporting their then current album, A Question of Balance, The Moody Blues were invited to appear at this fairly new, 3-year old Festival that also featured ELP, Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Kris Kristofferson, The Who, The Doors, and other memorable bands of that era, all in the same year.

Songwise, this DVD showcases The Moody Blues' set that reaches within previous albums for songs like "Gypsy (Of a Strange and Distant Time)" from their To Our Children's Children's Children; "Never Comes the Day" from On the Threshold of a Dream; "Legend of a Mind," with the encore performance of "Ride My See Saw" from In Search of The Lost Chord, and "Tuesday Afternoon," Night's in White Satin", and "The Sunset" from Days of Future Passed. The remaining three come from their most current album at the time, A Question of Balance. Musically, the selection balance is satisfying.

The show is a very good performance. Technically, it's presented in 16:9, and uses Dolby Stereo, with DTS Digital, and Dolby for the Surround (5.1) experience and the video quality is good. If you enjoy not only the ambience of the time, and the thrill of a half a million people enjoying the music of the time, then certainly the added benefit of having a Moody Blues performance at a great Festival like those so prevalent in the late '60s and early '70s will make this DVD important to your collection.

The Moody Blues: Live at the Isle of Wight - 1970 is a nice splash back to a time when Rock incorporated so much variance of musical influence and upbringing, creating a multitude of unique and rich musical styles that we haven't seen nor heard in newly creative ways since. Not only does this Live DVD document an important time in the history of the Isle of Wight Festival, it also brings us a historical look at The Moody Blues as they were in that time period, liberally sprinkled with new observations from those same band members. Even more importantly, it brings us back to a time in many of our lives where we were unemcumbered by the things that eventually captured our attention away from this kind of music.

I really like this one for many reasons including the obvious ones.