The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been around for almost 30 years, though most of us know little about them. Some will know they had a catchy song called Powerful Stuff on the Cocktail soundtrack, and others will know that Steve Ray Vaughan’s brother, Jimmy, was a founding member, but that would be about it. Here then is a chance to learn more, should you so choose.

The band is best described as a piano-driven rock band that has it roots buried deep in traditional rock and roll, with heavy rockin’ blues with upbeat soul tinges. They may have begun life as more of a blues band, but rock and roll is where they are at these days. They are all talented musicians who play with great feel and technical skill.

The lead vocalist, Kim Wilson, is the only original member, but the rest of the band have played together for years in one band or another. In case you’re wondering, Jimmy Vaughan left in 1989.

This show was recorded in Los Angeles in February 2000, was broadcast on the 'net, and is also available on CD and DVD-A. The band rip through 13 numbers, all played with gusto. The band and audience are all obviously having a great time, and there are even people dancing down the front, really dancing and not just swaying from side to side.

The show, as said, is slightly edited, just to tighten things up a little (removing gaps during guitar changes and before the encore, that sort of thing), and there is some good camera work and lots of close-ups of these talented musicians in full swing. There are no whiz bang pyrotechnics, dancing girls or huge video screens, but plenty of diversity of style, instrumentation and good old fashioned harmony singing.

Fans of the band (wherever and whoever they are) will get a kick out of this DVD, and there are some great extras to boot. The Region 1 DVD is identical, save for the format, so this version provides great value all round.

Track listing

Image Entertainment have delivered yet another winner in the video and audio stakes. It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, but not 16:9 enhanced, and is about as sharp and clear as a music DVD can be. The stage lighting is even and bright, and colours are therefore solid, bold and natural. Skin tones are likewise spot on, and black levels are solid and deep.

There are absolutely no artefacts, no evidence of shimmer, shadow detail is excellent, and there is no layer change to disrupt proceedings.

There are three audio options and all are very good. The DTS 5.1 is as good as any DTS I have heard. There is an excellent dynamic range with great well spread low-level sounds and clear, crisp trebles in the piano, harmonica and percussion. Sounds such as the lead vocals, drums, guitars and piano are spread evenly across the front speakers, while the rear speakers are also used for such things as crowd noise and plenty of brass, backing harmonies and some percussion. This is a very spread out audio.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio sounds very much like the DTS, but perhaps with slightly less fidelity. The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo likewise has a nice balance and a good mix.

This already impressive DVD (save perhaps for its 62 minute running time) includes a fine number of extras that are mostly brief, but interesting.

The Band: This is actually three extras in one being a biography which offers several informative text screens, a discography that lists albums and in most cases tracks and backstage, which is a 1:40 minute peek at the pre-show antics.

Backstage: Again, presented in several sections, this is where most of the best extras are. First up we have some interviews with all five band members that last a total of about ten minutes. VIP is a 30-second comment/interview with fan Kevin “Something-or-other� from REO Speedwagon. A waste of DVD space but at 30 seconds, it's no big deal. Rehearsal as the name suggests is roughly 90 seconds of the band rehearsing. Recording at a little over four minutes shows us behind the scenes of the taping of the performance for the Internet and subsequent DVD. Video Taping is a one minute look at the director frantically calling the camera shots from a sound booth somewhere and is rather pointless. I am sure the director was putting on a show for the camera.

Now we come to the best extra feature I have seen on a music DVD thus far. It is misleadingly called The Music and is basically a guitar lesson with the band’s guitarist, Kid Ramos. The beauty of these two songs is that Kid gives a short lesson on the structure of the song and what he plays on it, but then you get a choice of five camera angles and four audio tracks for the lesson. You can watch him front on, side on, from above, just his left hand on the frets, or just his right hand strumming/picking option. Then you can choose to hear him playing to the song, or choose to hear one of his two audio commentaries offering further instructions, or you can block him out altogether and substitute your own guitar playing. Brilliant!

Photos: This gallery of promotional and ‘action’ shots is no better or worse than any other gallery I have seen.

What seals this DVD for mine is the overall video and audio quality, the catchy songs and great performance, and the guitar lessons. Basically, I am impressed with the whole DVD, except perhaps for the running time. Still, if you have just an hour to kill and want to see some talented musicians strut their stuff, you could do a lot worse than The Fabulous Thunderbirds – Invitation Only.