Distributed by
Pinnacle Records

Cat.no: IX 9428 CYUKD

Cert: E

Running time: 84 minutes

Year: 1999

Pressing: 2001

Region(s): 2, PAL

Chapters: 23

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Languages: English

Subtitles: 10 languages available (NOT English!)

Widescreen: 1.77:1 (16:9)

16:9-enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: No

Disc Format: DVD 9

Price: £19.99

Extras: New band documentary, Exclusive Technicians Documentary, Promo videos and MTV Unplugged performance, Stills Gallery, Morphing Album Cover, Song Lyrics

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Director :

Maurice Linnane

Producer :

Ned O'Hanlon

The Band :

Dolores O'Riordan (Vocals, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Keyboards)
Noel Hogan (Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar)
Fergal Lawler (Drums)
Mike Hogan (Bass Guitar)
Russell Burton (Keyboards)

Fronted by Dolores O'Riordan, the lady with the ever-changing hair over the years and with an incredibly distinctive voice, this Irish band came to the fore in the UK in February 1994 with Linger, a track that, while not being their biggest hit to date is certainly one of their most played and certainly the most radio-friendly for all those middle-of-the-road stations that latch onto one single track from a band/artist and ignore all others.

They have since gone on to produce a number of other - and better - hits such as Ode to my Family, Promises and probably my favourite of all, Zombie, which was written in the hope of peace being found in Northern Ireland, but there's about as much chance of that happening as there is of the country's now-ex Secretary, Peter Mandelson, ever uttering a word of truth again.

The concert on this disc is a basic on-stage affair with occasional video wall footage, but the whole band appear to be enjoying themselves.

Their singles chart history to the end of 2000 is as follows :

Feb 94	No.14	Linger
May 94	No.27	Dreams
Sep 94	No.14	Zombie
Nov 94	No.26	Ode to my Family
Mar 95	No.23	I Can't Be With You
Aug 95	No.20	Ridiculous Thoughts
Apr 96	No.13	Salvation
Jul 96	No.33	Free to Decide
Apr 99	No.13	Promises
Jul 99	No.54	Animal Instinct

The picture quality is questionable. Some scenes appear better than others, but - and it may be just down to the filming process used in part - a number of scenes suffer as a result as the encoding can't cope and throws up artifacts.

An increasing number of concerts are being filmed and presented in anamorphic 16:9 and this is one of them. The average bitrate is an almost-static 5.89Mb/s.

The sound, however, is first-rate. The Dolby Digital 5.1 places every song loud and proud, providing an aural treat. Whichever your favourite tracks are, you can rely on them sounding at their best.

Extras. :

Promo videos are included for Promises, Animal Instinct and Just My Imagination. The first two of these were shot in a matted widescreen ratio but neither are anamorphically-presented. Live performances of Not Hollywood - from 1996 - and Saving Grace - from 1999 - are here too, as is a rare live airing for How from 1993, plus 1995's Yesterday's Gone from MTV Unplugged.

There's a Stills Gallery with 73 images showing the band on stage, the crew, plus backstage shots of the band sat about their dressing room, a section of Dolby Digital test signals to check all your speakers are connected and aligned properly and a Morphing Album Cover that lasts about 30 seconds for Bury the Hatchet, their 1999 release.

I understand Song Lyrics are included too but there's something wrong with the whole menu system, designed by Storm Thorgerson, that don't allow you to manoeuvre correctly on a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player, so I had to access each of the extras blindly via the onscreen remote control.

On the subject of lyrics, that's exactly what's lacking from the subtitles. Also, out of the 10 languages, none of them are English, just: French, German, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch and Finnish. All you get from these, though, are the spoken introductions from Dolores, when you really need the lyrics to actually be seen as you're watching the performance. Whose clueless idea was it to make that NOT happen? I've seen the same thing happen on other music releases and it beggars belief.

There are 23 chapters. 22 for the music and one for the end credits. The track listing is as follows :

1. Promises 2. Animal Instinct 3. Loud and Clear 4. Ode to my Family 5. The Icicle Melts 6. Linger 7. Wanted 8. Salvation 9. Desperate Andy 10. Go Your Own Way 11. Pretty 12. When You're Gone

13. I Can't Be With You 14. Waltzing Back 15. Free to Decide 16. Zombie 17. Ridiculous Thoughts 18. Dying in the Sun 19. You and Me 20. Just My Imagination 21. Delilah 22. Dreams 23. End Credits

Overall, despite the menu problems and lack of English lyrics onscreen, the concert itself and the extras, once you've found them, justifies the purchase, particularly if you're a Cranberries fan :)

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.