Hard on

Hey what's that? What an awful sound during the interviews...who's is that guy talking about Frankie? Is he important? Where is Holly, where are the lads. Did ZTT really think they could make a decent DVD without the members of Frankie? It seems that ZTT has lost most of the promotional and record material because so little is put on the DVD. Only some covers, some popmagazines, that's it! Dissappointing...

The good thing is the clips, they are all there. Including the Relax laser version and a slightly altered Power of Love video. Also the latest mixes are on this shiny disk, unfortunately these clips are cheaply produced which shows. Do not expect the long Two Tribes video (the one with Nixon), it is NOT on it. But all the rest is there. All in all, for the fan a must. For the casual watcher I give this one 3 stars. If you already own the VHS Shoot! there is not much on this DVD to make this a good buy, so the reward is a merely 2 stars.

THE VIDEOS: They're all here, and then some! There are three versions of "Relax" (original uncensored, live, and laser), three of "Two Tribes" (original, a '93 remix and a 2000 trance remix), two of "Pleasuredome" (original and a '93 remix), three of "Power Of Love" (original, alternate, and a 2000 trance remix with embarassingly stupid visuals), as well as "Rage Hard", "Warriors Of The Wasteland" and "Watching The Wildlife". ....

THE INTERVIEWS: Mediocre at best. The only interviewees are Paul Rutherford (who thankfully is not dead, despite hearing of his demise a few years back), Trevor Horn, two ZTT executives that no one has ever heard of before and a UK music magazine writer. Where are Holly, Peter, Brian, and Mark? During these seemingly neverending and dull interviews, the sound varies from loud to whisper soft, particularly when Paul is talking. Better sound balance would have been appreciated.

THE GALLERIES: Hmmm, let's see...a few UK teen pop magazine covers, some articles that can't be read because of the size of the print, some previously-published photos of the band, and the covers to their singles (main releases only). That's it. If, according to the interviews, there were indeed dozens and dozens of singles issued (due to the truckload of remixes for each single), why aren't all the covers reproduced here? And why isn't there a complete discography for the collectors?

THE HISTORY: Now I know why so many of us dislike history...no film, no visuals, just a very boring narrative from one of the ZTT folks talking about how they put Frankie together. Sleep-inducing.

If you already own the VHS, stick with that. Otherwise, buy this DVD only if you must.