Next-Best Thing to Being at a Show

Sorry, but there is still no way that watching a concert at home can be as rewarding as seeing the same event live because you lose the spontaneity of the performance and the energy of the audience.

However, the gap is narrowing thanks to laser discs, which offer far greater picture clarity and impact than videocassettes.

Even if you saw the Paul Simon and Sting tours live this year, you’ll probably still be dazzled by the laser versions of Simon’s just-released “Concert in the Park” and Sting’s “The Soul Cages Concert.”

To maximize the high-quality laser picture and sound, add large-screen television and--most important--digital sound processors that enable you to approximate much of the actual acoustic qualities of your favorite clubs or arenas.

With the Yamaha DSP-A1000, for instance, you can choose from more than a dozen “sound field” settings, ranging from European concert halls to New York jazz clubs to California rock stadiums and Tokyo discos.

To approach the actual audio dynamics of the Sting concert, you turn the amplifier to its arena setting. The amusing thing about the Simon concert, however, is that there is no setting on the Yamaha amplifier, at least, for a Central Park event, so you have to search to find the most dynamic one.

Here’s a survey of some 1991 pop laser titles of special quality or interest. They are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent):

***1/2 The Beatles’ “The First U.S. Visit” (Apple/MPI, $40): A delightful companion piece for anyone who was charmed by the innocence and energy of “A Hard Day’s Night.” Includes the Beatles’ “Ed Sullivan Show” performances.

**** “Don’t Look Back” (Warner Reprise Video, $30): D.A. Pennebaker’s documentary filmed during a 1965 Bob Dylan tour of England is widely regarded as one of the best rock movies ever made, a compelling look at the seductiveness of pop fame. Previously available from Paramount.

**1/2 Hammer’s “Non-Stop/The Video Collection” (Capitol/Pioneer Artists, $35): This almost two-hour collection brings together two earlier videocassette packages: “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em” and “Hammer Time.” The raps aren’t thrilling, but the dancing is often dazzling.

** Alan Jackson’s “Here in the Real World” (6 West Home Video/Pioneer Artists, $25): Four videos and two concert clips by one of country’s hottest and most winning new arrivals. Just 25 minutes.

**1/2 The Judds’ “Love Can Build a Bridge” (MPI Home Video, $30): The novelty here is a 3-D video of the title song. The package, which comes with two pairs of 3-D glasses, also includes additional videos, interview segments and scenes of mother Naomi’s wedding.

***1/2 Sinead O’Connor’s “The Year of the Horse” (Chrysalis Ensign/Pioneer Artists, $30): In this production drawn from a pair of European concerts, the Irish singer-songwriter demonstrates why she deserved to be called the first great pop-rock arrival of the ‘90s following the release last year of her widely hailed album, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.”

*** Queen’s “Magic Years” (Pioneer Artists, $40): A scrapbook of videos, interviews and concert performances tracing the evolution of one of rock’s most popular and ambitious groups of the ‘70s and ‘80s. It’s especially poignant watching the video after the AIDS-related death of lead singer Freddie Mercury.

***1/2 “Red Hot + Blue” (Pioneer Artists, $35): Arguably the most captivating laser production of the year, almost two dozen leading pop artists--from U2 and Tom Waits to Sinead O’Connor and k.d. lang--join some equally respected directors led by Wim Wenders, Jonathan Demme and Jim Jarmusch--in a series of videos to offer contemporary interpretations of Cole Porter standards. The package is designed to focus attention on the AIDS crisis--and many of the performances are deeply moving.

*** R.E.M.’s “This Film Is On” (Warner Reprise Video, $30): It’s accurate, but not quite fair to describe this 50-minute disc as simply a collection of eight videos (plus two acoustic performances) because R.E.M. brings so much imagination to its videos that they are anything but routine. There’s the same wit, craft and passion here that you find in the group’s music.

*** Paul Simon’s “Concert in Central Park” (Warner Reprise Video, $35): The material in this 21-song concert before 750,000 people last summer in New York’s Central Park ranged from old Simon & Garfunkel tunes right up through last year’s “The Rhythm of the Saints” album. Excellent production values.

*** Sting’s “The Soul Cages Concert” (A&M; Video, $30): “The Soul Cages” album, whose songs were at the center of Sting’s 1991 tour, was one of the year’s most ambitious and richly crafted works. The moody lighting in this show was appropriate for the introspective nature of the tour, but it leaves the video less radiant than the Simon package.

** Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever” (Warner Reprise Video, $25). A disarming blend of videos, reminiscences and playful TV appearances, including a Nashville Network skit where the humble Travis pretends to be so down to earth that he lives in a tent.

***1/2 “Two Rooms/Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin” (PolyGram Video, $30). The very active Sting and Sinead O’Connor are among the guest artists who show up in this tastefully designed 90-minute documentary to praise and sing some of the songs of the John-Taupin writing team. But the real rewards are the revealing interviews with John and Taupin, and John’s own vocals on a selection of his songs.

These final discs were released late last year, but still should be considered on a holiday gift list.

*** Madonna’s “Blond Ambition World Tour Live” (Pioneer Artists, $30). This concert disc of Madonna’s 1989-90 tour is a rarity because it is one of the few laser-disc packages that isn’t also available on videocassette.

*** 1/2 The Rolling Stones’ “25 x 5: The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones” (CMV/Image, $50). Generally excellent two-disc documentary on one of rock’s legendary bands. Includes concert footage and disarming comments as the Stones look back on the band’s early innocence and later world-weariness.