Elly Roberts reviews
Britney Spears: Greatest Hits - My Prerogative
Distributed by
Jive/BMG
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 82876656789
- Running time: 90 minutes
- Year: 1999-2004
- Pressing: 2004
- Region(s): All, PAL
- Sound: Dolby Stereo
- Languages: English
- Fullscreen: 4:3
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £17.99
- Rating: 2/10 (Music); 10/10 (DVD)
- Extras:
Spatial time-line, expanded videos featuring never seen
before footage including alternate versions, multi angle versions, multi
audio versions, hidden bonus features and interactive surprises.
Baby One More Time? - well, actually, 20 times.
It’s the world’s top-selling teenager in all her pop video glory. We get to
see for the first time, the cow-eyed all American going through the pop metamorphosis over a
five year span with 20 fully blown videos, alternate takes and a gamut of
options, it turns out to be a great DVD.
Having sold over 40 millions albums worldwide, Spears in nothing short of a phenomenon.
With little artistic music merit, she’s been the product of a product. The art lies very much
with a long succession of directors and production companies who’ve
propelled her career. Most of the music and lyrics are inane.
Oops! I Did It Again, Baby One More Time and Lucky are great pop songs, but the rest
seriously flounder as she experiments with direction. For four years she’s
failed to hit the top spot in the UK, until the single Toxic. For someone
like Britney, that’s a hell of a long time, with Christina Aguilera
constantly snapping at her heels.
So the crown has been wobbled but not
quite removed, but to be wobbled is an indication she’s on the decline, so
this timely release may redress the balance in her favour. If the music had
as much class as the immaculate visual imagery, she would have buckets of
credibility. Sets and lighting make the individual packages work, as they do
for her live shows, with rolling costume changes and as many dancers as
possible, when needed. It’s all very Hollywood glam and shiny (even down to
the DVD’s silver pack), but short on substance.
Watching the video clips, the music becomes almost incidental. She does her
thing very well, wherever the settings, with the images indelibly stamped in
your mind’s eye. Britney’s a good looking chick and more than able to flaunt
her wares. It’s a whole load of fun, and should never be taken too
seriously.
The full list of tracks included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
