It’s time for the popular American rock group to take on the Music in High Places task, and they visit sunny Alaska. Really, really sunny Alaska where the sun sometimes doesn’t even go down. Their fantastic track listing consists of:

1. Black Balloon
2. Acoustic #3
3. Broadway
4. Here is Gone
5. Big Machine
6. What a Scene
7. Slide
8. Sympathy
9. Do You Know

Music in High Places

For those who aren’t up to speed, the Music in High Places series is like Getaway mixed in with MTV Unplugged. The team take you to exotic locations such as Morocco for Collective Soul, Vietnam for BBMak and Italy for The Calling, and then get top groups to perform acoustically at various beautiful locations. The Goo Goo Dolls have had some great hits, most notably known for Iris from the City of Angels soundtrack. John Rzeznik has recently been noted for his musical work on the Disney film Treasure Planet.

So who are they? John Rzeznik sings and plays the guitar, Robby Takac sings and plays the bass, Mike Malinin plays the drums and Greg Suran comes along for the ride to provide additional guitars. So the mix is raw, acoustic and just fantastic, and this disc showcases more of the Dolls’ work, not just Iris. The top 40 hit Slide is thrown in, with the remaining tracks showing off how talented the guys are. Rzeznik’s seductively raw voice just shines so brightly as the trio (sometimes quartet) strut their stuff around Alaska. This is one of the more appealing discs with a more popular group performing, and really is a good watch, even for those who aren't die-hard fans.

The video is presented in an anamorphically-enhanced widescreen aspect of 1.78:1, assumably the intended ratio due to its made-for-cable-television status. Shot on digital video, the transfer looks great with no grain or film artefacts whatsoever. Colours are as rich as they can be, with vibrant realistic greens. These can be seen during the train sequence. Apart from this stint of colour, most of the palette is fairly dry and drab due to the cold nature of the area, but the colours that do exist are fantastic. One other notable colour appearance is at the lake at Kink Glacier for the first song, which has stunning blue water which looks absolutely awesome. Think of the Windows XP start bar, but for real! But that glacier has such a nice colour. Ooooh, sexy... Anyway, I’m alright, uh where was I... colours, that’s right. Blacks don’t get a huge part to shine, but do provide clear and solid shadows for the guys on screen, and looks great.

So purrrty

Fine posterisation artefacts the image at times, but only on solid gradient backgrounds, such as the sky at the start of chapter five. These are not terribly distracting, and really only visible when you go through the sequence frame-by-frame. Aliasing is thankfully very limited, and other compression-related artefacts are so miniscule that you can barely notice them.

Three fantastic audio tracks have been thrown in the mix, with two 5.1 mixes and one stereo. Dolby Digital offers us a 5.1 track and a 2.0 track, and DTS offers us a 5.1 track. As to what you listen to, well that’s only limited to your hardware. If you are watching through television speakers, go the stereo track. It offers great separation, but features very little in discrete left and right action. The clarity of this track is superb, and purely captures the heart and soul of the music.

"I thought you were driving?!?"

Next, if you have a sound system only capable of Dolby Digital, then listen to the DD 5.1 track, which offers a very broad soundstage, with a faint and distant echo in the rear channels, and a solid front end with richly captured music and dialogue. The subwoofer goes off here and there, but nothing terribly big or bold. And if you’ve got a sound system capable of DTS, go for it as this is one fine example, even if it is a little crisp. The clarity is magnificent, and offers the same fantastic soundstage offered by the Dolby Digital track. Note though that the DTS track is much quieter than the DD tracks, so if you’re cycling around the tracks remember to keep it down. But as to what is the best, it’s really up to you as to which track you prefer, as it is all about what you like to hear. Personally the Dolby Digital track rules supreme due to its slightly softer sound, but hey some are DTS freaks who love the DTS, whatever it sounds like.

The first Music in High Places DVDs had heaps of features, but now the scraps are coming out. The first of two featurettes is Kotzebue, Alaska... Stranger than FictionTrain Story – The Alaskan Railroad, which runs for 4:34 and describes the deal about the train that the guys ride through Alaska. The Just the Music section, as with the other Music in High Places discs, has separate titles of just the music, funnily enough. These can be viewed as individual songs or all at once. Note that all of the video extras are presented in a letterboxed widescreen aspect. The brief seven-page biography gives a bit of a background to the group and would be great as a video interview. Also just remember that at the end of the feature is a brief making-of to make up a one hour duration.

For fans of the Goo Goo Dolls, this is a great purchase, and really shows off some of Alaska’s fantastic scenery. The video and audio transfers are nothing remarkable, but very nice to say the least. The extra features are a bit lacking, especially considering other Music In High Places discs, but still great for fans, and hey that’s what is important.