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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Full Frame
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • English: DTS 5.1 Surround
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • Additional footage - Push (Country Version)
Matchbox Twenty - VH1 Storytellers
Warner Music/Warner Music . R4 . COLOR . 62 mins . E . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Matchbox 20 began life in Orlando when singer/songwriter Rob Thomas met bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette. They soon joined forces with rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor and lead guitarist Kyle Cook. They offer a mix of soul with contemporary rock'n'roll to deliver a brand of music that appeals to a wide audience. Lead singer Thomas is the driving force of the band, as he's not only the frontman but also the predominant songwriter. His unique voice suits his music perfectly and he is backed by a more than able band, that have themselves become much more involved in the songwriting process in recent times.

Matchbox 20 first came to prominence with the release of their debut album Yourself or Someone Like You in 1996. The first single from the album, Push, raced up the charts internationally. Their second single 3AM was even more successful and they were starting to prove the critics that had labelled them as one hit wonders wrong. The album also produced other hit singles with Real World and Girl Like That. After a lengthy tour and while waiting to go into the studio to record a second album, Rob Thomas decided to take on a side project. He teamed up with Carlos Santana to record the single Smooth for Santana’s album Supernatural. This side project garnered three Grammy Awards for Thomas, including the prestigious Song of the Year gong.

The band then completed recording their second album Mad Season in 2000 and hoped for equal success to that of the first album. Spawning more hits for the band including Crutch, If You’re Gone, Bent and the title track, this success was achieved and then some. Their third and most recent release More Than You Think You Are is also currently receiving decent airplay and should further establish the band as leaders in their genre.

Matchbox 20 – VH1 Storytellers is another release in the popular series. The series features an artist or band in an intimate setting performing hits along with questions from the audience and comments about each song from the artist. As Rob Thomas points out early on in this performance, it is rare these days to turn on the television and see a band actually playing their instruments live. Matchbox 20 prove from this performance that they truly know how to do the live thing. Although the full feature running time is brief, this performance is terrific. The band looks and sounds great and really seem to be enjoying themselves. Lead singer Thomas does the majority of the talking and shows a great sense of humour.

Track listing:

Bent
Mad Season
Black & White People
Push
If You’re Gone
Crutch
Lonely Weekend
You Won’t Be Mine
Rest Stop
3AM

Fans of the band will love this performance, but those with only a passing interest will likely also be impressed. The show is interesting, informative and entertaining with Thomas giving some great insight into what certain lyrics mean. His humour is infectious, at one point he even goes into Jerry Springer mode for a question and answer session. It is also good to hear different versions of songs and although many viewers will wish to experience replicas of album tracks, I found this change to be most refreshing. The only disappointing thing about this feature is the running length, but judging by the substantial amount of footage that has been left in that could easily have been edited out, the running time could have been a lot less. This lack of editing is not a bad thing though, the footage referred to is banter between the band and the crew while they wait for props to be set up for the next song, it is very amusing, but not really something that would normally have been included.

Quite simply, for fans of this band, this is a must have. The running time is brief, but the quality of performance still makes it a worthy buy. With Christmas just around the corner at the time of writing, you should rush out and purchase this DVD for Yourself or Someone Like You...

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

The video for this release is a little disappointing, but still better than many other music releases. It is supplied in full frame and suffers mostly from grain and lack of detail, plus there is quite a bit of over-saturation of colours and some aliasing. All of these problems are common with live performances, so they're to a degree acceptable, but they still stand out. There are no subtitles supplied, but with the clear vocals of Rob Thomas, they are not missed.

Audio supplied is a choice of Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, DD 5.1 surround or DTS 5.1 surround. The DD 2.0 offers CD quality sound and is of very good quality in its own right, worthy of many previous music releases. Then there are the DD 5.1 and the DTS tracks, which are both very close to reference quality. There isn’t a lot to pick between the two with the DTS track offering a slightly fuller sound and minimally better separation. Both tracks offer superb quality sound with crystal clear vocals, excellent separation and balanced usage of the subwoofer. Both these tracks are of the quality expected on DVD Audio and really make the feature a pleasure to watch. After all, this is a band and it is predominantly about the music, so what a relief to get quality sound. Audio synch is never a problem so, overall, well done Warner Vision and Image Entertainment.

Only one extra is supplied with this release, it is a bonus track. This is a country version of Push from the same performance and has a running time of five minutes in total, this includes 1:10 of Rob Thomas giving an intro. It's great to see a band of this genre showing some versatility and being willing to have some fun with their own song. There is also the option to select individual songs or to play the music tracks without introductions, this is a nice option that will allow many repeat viewings.

Overall, go out and get this! It is a fine performance from a very good band. The audio is the highlight of this release and, trust me, you will have these songs stuck in your head for days after viewing. A quality performance by a quality band.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=2148
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  •   And I quote...
    "This is a fine performance by a quality band, delivered with superb audio."
    - Adrian Turvey
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS305
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-29S55AT 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DE685
    • Speakers:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Surrounds:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony SAVE815ED
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