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| Mostly Autumn - The Story So Far |
 Released: 2001 Label: Legend Records Cat. No.: CRL0834 Total Time: 90:00 | |
Reviewed by: John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, November 2002 From the intro onwards it becomes clear that this won't be your everyday concert DVD. Blending different footage and adding the occasional black/white section suddenly a Mostly Autumn gig becomes true art. Add to that a soundtrack that has been produced by the legendary Pip Williams (BJH, Status Quo, Uriah Heep, Kiki Dee, Dr. Feelgod, Moody Blues, Mud, ...) and you know you're in for a real treat whether visuals or sound. In "Nowhere To Hide" the strength of the band becomes clear when the voices of Bryan, Heather and Angela blend so well together it's as if a young Fleetwood Mac has been unleashed. Contrary to your standard concert DVD the "film" here is interspersed with small interview sections and recordings shot in different surroundings. Part of "Evergreen" (my alltime favourite!) was filmed in the forest, main inspiration of the song as nature is indeed an important part in the life of the band and its members. I once called it "Greenpeace prog" for that matter! "Evergreen" indeed contains the frailty of nature before ending with the explosive power only nature can produce (except for Mostly Autumn that is). In "Winter Mountain" the band is filmed in front of a snowy mountain to enhance the feeling of the song. Here the sound of Iain's keyboards kind of take over from the flutes. Regardless whether it's shot on location, in the studio or live, every second fits perfectly illustrating the professionalism of producer Pip Williams. Bryan's respect for his father forms the backbone for "Heroes Never Die," and to enhance the love for his dad, a little bit of home video is included. The imagery used for "Nightsky" really is stunning and once again emphasizes the folky feel of the music. "Dark Before The Dawn" sets the place alight with Heather and Angela battling it out on their respective flutes. Playing as perfect as they do one doesn't really know whether at all what you hear is what they played live as maybe some studio takes have been used where live noises have been added afterwards. You sometimes see people clapping though without hearing that particular noise. With Heather's "pièce de résistance" "Shrinking Violet" three extra backing singers come into the picture adding divine harmonies. The first part of "Mother Nature" gets close to early Genesis especially where the acoustic guitars are concerned, yet once the backing vocals set in and Bryan lets his Gilmour guitar shine the song gets the obvious Pink Floyd feel as well. After one and a half hours the concert comes to a close. In the extra features you can find two tracks that might have been the encores of that particular evening's show. In "Which Wood" we see Heather playing the bodhran. The band has also opted for two jigs as a bonus to the show. The 2nd one, "Out Of The Inn," heavily features Liam on acoustic guitar and our two girls on flutes. What a wonderful way to finish. A nice interesting bonus certainly has to be the rehearsal section which allows us to witness "Winter Mountain" being rehearsed in the band's private domain. And what a splendid rehearsal room it is. Pity the sound is recorded with the mike on the camera resulting in highlighting onlythe instrument it's filming at that particular moment delivering a rather muddy result. To top it all we get a gallery containing 30 pictures, you can jump from one track to the other, and to round it all off we once again get the same promo segment for all Classic Rock releases, an item which might be interesting if you get hold of just one DVD but if you get multiple releases from the label it becomes a section which you simply skip. All in all this DVD gives a perfect illustration of what happens during a Mostly Autumn concert, yet although it is filmed from different angles, and extra footage has been added, nothing beats the atmosphere of a real concert. Maybe this DVD might be the catalyst to get people out of their homes in the direction of the next venue which welcomes Mostly Autumn. For sure a perfect promotional tool for band and label alike! More about The Story So Far: Track Listing: Porcupine Rain / Nowhere To Hide / Evergreen / Which Wood / Winter Mountain / The Spirit Of Autumn Past / Heroes Never Die / The Night Sky / Dark Before The Dawn / Helms Deep / Shrinking Violet / Out Of The Inn / Never The Rainbow / Mother Nature / Shindig Musicians: Contact: Website: www.mostly-autumn.com Email: jean@mostly-autumn.demon.co.uk Discography
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