Under Review (UK)

As the new millennium has brought a plethora of tribute albums and unauthorized biographies to music fans, another concept of interest appears to be performers "Under Review," where artists like the Small Faces, Syd Barrett, the Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart, and others have their careers given the "overview." Chrome Dreams' DVD, Kate Bush "Under Review -- An Independent Critical Analysis," comes in an elegant cardboard box featuring the same cover from the plastic DVD case, and close to 90 minutes of bio information, video clips, and commentary from critics Paul Gambaccini, Morris Pert, Lucy O'Brien, Phil Sutcliffe, and Nigel Williamson -- even giving those journalists mini-biographies in the "extras," which is a very nice touch. Gambaccini also gets to give another three minutes of commentary separate from the 86-or-so-minute documentary -- bringing Under Review in right around the 90-minute mark. AMG spoke with Beatles/Kate Bush expert Erik Taros, known on Boston radio as "Dr. Beatle," for his opinion: "If somebody didn't know Kate Bush at all, it's a good overview of her history, though it's a little frustrating to not see more than a 20-second clip. There's nothing here that I saw that most serious Kate Bush collectors don't already have, except for the journalist interviews. Those made it worth it." Taros feels the interviews are "interesting and terrific." Sure, some Kate Bush purists will find Under Review a bit redundant, but for those who aren't familiar with her work outside of the hits, Under Review is an interesting and entertaining documentary. Sian Jones' narration keeps one's interest throughout the nine chapters, which have their own separate icons if the viewer doesn't want to watch the hour-and-a-half from start to finish. As Kate Bush has around a half-a-dozen DVDs on the market at the time of this release -- more than many important singers -- this is a pretty good "bonus" addition to the collection. ~ Joe Viglione|