Search - Mostly Autumn :: Story So Far (Bonus Dvd)

The Spirit of (Mostly) Autumn.

Lord Chimp | Monkey World | 10/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a nice little package. In a little jewel case, you get the CD and DVD versions of Mostly Autumn's first available live performance. Mostly Autumn is energetic and does a pretty remarkable job imbuing their live performance with the same magic you find in their studio music. This is a better DVD than CD, however. It's more fun to watch the band -- not just because Heather Findlay is so pretty, but also because they are very good musicians and it's interesting to see how they put their music together. But...I guess that's the same when comparing any live CD to its DVD counterpart.I suppose the main difference is some missing live ambiance on the CD. The crowd is small and pretty quiet and there is almost no live chatter. The band feels live though, which is good. The vocal harmonies are raw but completely spirited, and you can feel the energy in the playing. Blackmore's drums are exciting, and he puts a different spin on some of the old songs. There are plenty of small changes to songs, particularly Bryan Josh's amazing guitar solos. On "Mother Gaia" especially, his guitar solo sings on and on, and if you like his playing like I do then this is a good thing. Performance highlights for me are the power pop gem "Nowhere to Hide", Josh's tribute to his late father "Heroes Never Die", the fist-pumping rock of "Never the Rainbow", and the emotional "Shrinking Violet".For the DVD, although sometimes the editing is questionable, this is a truly fun concert to have. You also get the band's instrumental cuts which were not included on the DVD. These are "Helms Deep", "Deep Wood?", and "Out of the Inn". These are fun to watch, especially "Helms Deep" which is probably the most intense of them all. And yes, Heather Findlay is the coolest -- although I'm honestly at the mercy of any pretty woman with a nice voice. Only she could possibly make one want to play "air tambourine".The DVD integrates 'music video' footage during the show, I guess for visual variety. I like the many nature shots during "The Night Sky" and "Mother Gaia". Also heartwarming is the shot of Josh's smiling father at the end of "Heroes Never Die". This is good. What's not good is some of the songs have some weak shots, like on "Evergreen" where it shows the band singing by a tree but they all look dazed. The rehearsal footage also seems unnecessary. However, the editing gets points on shots from low, behind the crowd, which is good for getting immersed in live feel. (Watch the the crazy guy rockin' out during the slow parts!)I guess the best thing I can say is that, despite my sick obsession with music, I don't buy that many music DVDs. I snatched this one up quickly, however, and I'm glad I have it. The live CD is a good buy too, for a long car ride or if you feel like some Mostly Autumn live without sitting down to watch it. Note that you can also get the live CD and DVD separately. The choice is yours."