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The Verve: This Is Music (The Singles 92-98)Director: various Rating: E 75 Mins Virgin/EMI Anyone who already owns and enjoys the CD equivalent of The Verve's Singles collection 'This Is Music' may well be considering obtaining this companion DVD in order to take a look at the band's 13 music videos. After all, everybody's seen the clip to Bitter Sweet Symphony and that was quite entertaining and well shot, right? Just a warning then; many of the videos found here vary vastly in quality and style. Where many bands often break with tradition and create exciting music videos that often don't feature band members in them at all, The Verve - and in particular singer Richard Ashcroft - seemed to favour a more traditional stand-in-front-of-the-camera-and-lip-synch approach to video production. One thing all the videos have in common is a wealth of close-ups on Ashcroft's face, both in and out of focus. Early singles such as Gravity Grave and All In The Mind are a collection of random blurs of the band walking, driving, playing and looking pensive. Notably the music is edgy and quite original and far removed from the later slicker singles from 'Urban Hymns'. Although the early singles sound stronger, the early videos are so amateur they make a deliberate statement; this is an indie guitar band that despises making music videos but endures them as a necessary evil. I have nothing wrong with that philosophy, but if the images are so deliberately dull then why compile them for a DVD? The Verve's breakthrough 1997 album 'Urban Hymns' saw an obvious change in the way the band approached both songs and videos. The Drugs Don't Work and Sonnet are high budget polished items, visually engaging even if not all that innovative. Lucky Man is the most embarrassing clip here, as the band relax and mime in front of promotional banners for their own show. The US version of this song (also included on the DVD) is also quite awful as Richard Ashcroft strolls around a small flat, miming lyrics and clearly caressing his own ego. Even some fans will shudder at his vanity. As far as Singles collections go, the Verve's 'This Is Music' is an enjoyable CD, but the DVD companion is definitely a fan-only article.  |
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