Over the years, delirious? have released many concert recordings.  However, the concert experience does not get any better than this, the band's only Blu-Ray release.  Thanks to the technology of the Blu-Ray disc, the video and audio quality are like they have never been before.  Watching this on your home video system is definitely the closest to feeling like you were there.

The concert presented here is the exact same concert (both the main concert and the Cutting Edge pre-show) as was on the DVD release.  For more details on the concert's video and audio content, I recommend you read both the DVD and CD review.  The only major difference is that the video is in full 1080p High-Definition.  (The audio is also presented in 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo, but I do not have the equipment to test the 5.1 mixes for their quality.)  The visuals of the disc are crisp and clear, even despite the tough lighting conditions that is a dark concert hall with very bright lights.  The Cutting Edge show video, which seemed a bit more compressed on the DVD, looks especially beautiful on this Blu-Ray.  The behind-the-scenes tour video included on the DVD is also included here in standard definition video.

Over the years, delirious? have done a number of live concert videos.  The first, A View From The Terraces, was a VHS-only release in the UK that later appeared on the archive:d DVD release.  It was much later in their career when Now Is The Time was recorded in Chicago and just last year My Soul Sings was released.  These DVDs were great quality, but the songs featured were mostly the band's newest material and the classic favorites were not well-represented.  Thankfully, Farewell Show is a beautiful recording of the band's last show on DVD that includes some of the new as well as plenty of the old.

To kick off the show, the band shows up on stage but behind a large curtain.  Lights from behind the band project silhouettes of them on the curtain and the crowd begins to cheer.  After lead singer Martin Smith sings the chorus of "All This Time", the lights start flashing, guitarist Stu G starts jammin', and the curtain falls.  "Bliss" is a fitting opener to the show and uses the band's impressive stage setup to full effect.  The stage features a video projection screen above the LED video wall that's become standard at today's arena concerts.  The video screen for "Bliss" features a new video retrospective of the band that also shows up on the DVD's intro briefly.  Ohh, and did I mention that there were green lasers fanning out across the stage and over the audience?  Yeah, this show is a visual tour de force.

The five guys from Littlehampton, England known as delirious? have had an amazing career.  From leading worship for a local church movement in 1992 to being a pop radio hit in Germany to playing for hundreds of thousands in Hyderabad, India, these guys have done it all.  Fall 2009 brought their farewell tour of the United Kingdom.  Thankfully, the last show of the tour, at London's iconic Hammersmith Apollo, was recorded for all of us to enjoy.  Even though delirious? have released five other live albums (including another double-disc collection), Farewell Show spans their whole 19-year career like no other.  One of my favorite parts of this release is the second disc, a 35-minute opening set of songs from the very early days of delirious?.

Early this morning, a Press Release was issued from delirious? which announced "The End of An Era".  At the end of 2009, the folks in delirious? will discontinue touring and recording as a band.  There is no information given of when or if the band will get back together and continue their journey as one of Christian music's most legendary bands.  The band has officially been in existence since 1996, but released a couple mini-albums of worship music in the three years before their official formation.  delirious?, over the last 12 years, have continued taking the message of Christ all over the world, both in churches and to the unchurched.  The full text of the press release is below:

Earlier this year, Delirious? frontman Martin Smith gathered 12 of his singer/songwriter friends to pen a dozen or so songs for Compassionart, a charity that seeks to use music to generate income for the world's poorest citizens. Altogether, 22 songs were written, the first just released April 8 on Wow Hits 1. Some notable artists involved on the project included Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, and Steven Curtis Chapman as well as fellow Delirious? band member Stu Garrard.

I first encountered the band Delirious? ten years ago, shortly after the release of their single “Deeper.” I fell in love with the song on the first listen. I remember being one of a small percentage who had heard of Delirious? when they played an early slot on the opening night of Creation East that year. Soon we heard tracks like “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” and “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble” not only being sung by Delirious? but by church worship teams and other CCM bands. I scarfed up all those early discs that Sparrow put out after D? made such a buzz over here.

Delirious? has carved out a new corner of the Web for fans to peruse, and are christening it with free music. The lads are offering "God is Smiling," a track from their forthcoming album Kingdom of Comfort, to all those who register at "The Living Room," a section of their official website that offers blogs from the band and a series of other features being added weekly. Kingdom of Comfort is slated for an April '08 release, but you can download "God is Smiling" now. If you happen to be in the UK this fall, you can also catch them on the road: