Crowded House-Dreaming: The Videos (2002)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Music	Featurette-Catch 22 Interview
Rating	?
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	82:20 (Case: 106)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Various
Studio Distributor	EMI Music	Starring	Neil Finn Paul Hester Nick Seymour Tim Finn Mark Hart
Case	?
RPI	$29.95	Music	Neil Finn

    It was once said that Neil Finn writes the songs that The Beatles would have written if they were still performing. I can't remember who said that, but it is certainly a rare compliment indeed, obviously gained from the Beatlesque feel that pervades many of Neil's songs. If you don't believe me, just take a listen to either Four Seasons In One Day or Not The Girl You Think You Are, songs that would feel at home on any of the later 'Fab Four' releases.

    With the demise of Split Enz in 1984, Kiwi Neil Finn looked to form his own group with ex-Enz drummer Paul Hester. They were joined by another Australian, guitarist Nick Seymour and formed Crowded House, a band who produced only four studio albums over ten years, but left a legacy of superbly crafted songs that gain as much radio airplay today as they did when first released, and a legion of fans

    I vividly remember walking in to my local record store in 1986 and hearing their first single, Mean To Me for the first time. Something that instantly struck me was the great hook and the accessibility of the song. It was one that could be sung along to so easily. The band gained quiet acclaim with their next single, Now We're Getting Somewhere, but it was the release of the third single from the self-titled album that saw them crack the big time. Don't Dream It's Over captured the essence of what Crowded House are all about so beautifully. A great hook, superb harmonies and intelligent yet witty lyrics. Their second album, Temple Of Low Men produced one of their nicest songs in Better Be Home Soon, but it failed to gain the chart success of its predecessor, despite critical acclaim. It wasn't until the somewhat controversial inclusion of Neil's brother and former Split Enz front man Tim Finn into the line-up and the turning of the trio into a quartet that they re-gained the recognition they deserved. The release of Woodface saw the band make the charts around the world, in particular the UK. Songs such as Four Seasons In One Day, Weather With You, Fall At Your Feet and the biting swipe at the excesses of Americans in Chocolate Cake were all instant classics. The inclusion of Tim Finn in the harmonies added so much to the group and it was a major disappointment when he stayed for only the one album. But the loss of Tim did not seem to matter as the band released one of the greatest albums of the 1990s, Together Alone. Combining some traditional Maori harmonies with more classic songwriting from Neil produced the magnificent Distant Sun, Private Universe, and the magnificent Nails In My Feet and title track Together Alone.

    The group became a four-piece outfit again when Mark Hart joined the lineup in 1993, but Paul Hester pulled the plug in 1994. He was replaced by Peter Jones for the remaining shows of the group's tour, but it was soon apparent that the driving force behind the group and the creative inspiration, Neil Finn, had had enough. He called it quits in 1996. Crowded House were one of the most successful Australian/New Zealand acts of all time and their farewell performance in front of 100,000 plus on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on November 24, 1996 was one of the most watched events in Australia when aired on television. The finale performance of Don't Dream It's Over still brings a lump to my throat every time I see it.

    This DVD brings together for the first time the collection of all 21 of the Crowded House videos, presented in order of the singles release, from 1986's Mean To Me through to 1996's Everything Is Good For You. This is pretty much Crowded House at their most complete, although I have heard on the Internet that a DVD of the band's final performance on the steps of the Sydney Opera House is looking possible. We can only hope.

    The following videos are presented on this disc. Each one is prefaced by a static screen image of the actual single release, the year released, and the album from which it came.

Video

    With a career that started in the mid 1980s, ended up in 1996 and with the videos spanning this same period, there is a bit of variety in the quality presented here. Unfortunately, the quality hovers from being just above average, to quite ordinary and muddy. The visual style of many of the Crowded House videos, especially the earlier ones, don't seem to help as they are naturally quite grainy and all are very similar in appearance. In fact, I have seen elsewhere in other reviews that this similarity is mentioned as a negative. The reviewers felt that all Crowded House videos were just too much of the same thing over and over again. While the visual style does have a sameness about it, with an almost comic-book like feel to some of the videos (Chocolate Cake, Better Be Home Soon, Don't Dream It's Over, and Four Seasons In One Day), and a propensity to use quirky irregular sized props, I have always felt this is really part of the Crowded House style and uniqueness that made them so good.

    All the videos are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and naturally enough nothing is 16x9 enhanced. Only one clip, Locked Out, is presented in letterboxed widescreen, in an aspect ratio of 1.50:1.

    In terms of sharpness I would have to say I was disappointed with all the clips. The early ones in particular (Mean To Me, Now We're Getting Somewhere, and Something So Strong) are incredibly soft and even blurry at times. The newer clips improve, but only just. As a result of this overall softness there is no real edge enhancement noticeable. The earlier videos suffer from excessive grain (Mean To Me and Now We're Getting Somewhere are the worst) and some poorer shadow detail (the live Sister Madly is very dim). There is no low level noise.

    Colours are well saturated, but again the earlier clips are let down by appearing quite dull and lifeless.

    I saw no MPEG artefacts. There were few other artefacts of any note though I did see some obvious aliasing during Now We're Getting Somewhere and some grubby marks and scratches during Weather With You.

    There are no subtitles on this disc, which is a real shame.

    This is a single layered disc only so there is no layer change with which to contend.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two soundtracks available though both are very similar. First up is a full-bitrate Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack. This is complemented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack for those with no surround processing capabilities. The latter is the default track.

    I listened to both tracks in their entirety and can unfortunately report that they are very similar. The 5.1 soundtrack does not offer any real surround use of any note and merely spreads the audio across the three front speakers instead of just two. As a result the soundstage feels a little fuller when compared to the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack, but only just. The stereo soundtrack is excellent enough and will please the two channel purists.

    Dialogue and lyrics are clear and well balanced in the overall soundmix. There are no audio sync problems.

    There is disappointingly very little (if any) surround use. I say disappointingly as I would have hoped for at least a little rear channel use to provide a full enveloping mix.

    The subwoofer is used but never becomes overly noticeable, which is just how it should be.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Featurette - Catch 22 Interview

    This is an odd inclusion. It is a 25:49 minute interview that appears to have been shot for an Alaskan music television show (I'm serious). It looks like it was filmed in 1987 or 1988 after the guys had made five videos from their first album only. Four of the videos are shown briefly during the program as is an on-stage preview of a new song 'Better Be Home Soon' - which eventually appeared on 1989's Temple Of Low Men album. The guys lark around and take the Mickey out of themselves and pretty much all present. Interesting but without any other featurettes or documentaries it is a little worthless.

    The Region 1 disc is identical to this one.

    At long last there is a collection of all the Crowded House videos in one place. Fans will need no excuse to run out and get this, if they haven't already. Non-fans could use this as an excellent introduction to the band and their music.

    While the video is only average, it is hampered by some grainy source material and dull colours.

    The audio is functional, with the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack not offering as much of an enveloping experience as I would have liked. The stereo soundtrack is excellent, but at the end of the day is basically the same as the full surround soundtrack.

    The extra is a bizarre one, when one considers the vast amount of other Crowded House interviews, television performances, and other bits and pieces that must surely exist.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall