| The
Review |
Arena remain one of the UK's premier Progressive rock
outfits and with a string of excellent albums, EP.s and Dvd's
to their name, quality has always been a word at the forefront
of all their releases. 'Smoke And Mirrors' is no exception
to that rule and turns out to be a very high quality DVD release
that they can be rightly proud of. This is the second Arena
DVD, (Caught In The Act being the previous one from 2003)
and was once again recorded in Poland in September of 2005
whilst the band was touring their latest 'Peppers Ghost' studio
album.***
Being an independent release, the quality on show is
excellent, and would definately give the bigger budget labels
a run for their money. The whole show is very professionally
shot, with a varied mix of camera angles that are always in
the right place to capture all the on stage action. The sound
is also top notch, with stereo or 5.1 surround sound mixes
to choose from. I can say pretty definately that the sound
hasn't been 'messed' about within the studio very much, apart
from a little mixing maybe!!! as this is pretty much how they
sounded at the UK show of the same tour (and on previous tours)
I witnessed, so what you hear IS what they are genuinely like
live, which can't be said of some other live DVD'S/ CD's I
have heard???***
The set list of the show is spread between all the bands
albums, although half are taken from their 2 strongest releases,
namely four tracks from the latest 'Pepper's Ghost' album
and six from the masterful 'The Visitor' from 1998. The rest
of the set is spread pretty evenly from the other four studio
albums making it a pretty comprehensive round up of the bands
best moments.***
The bonuses on the DVD are definately worthwhile as well,
as they feature six songs from the 'Reunion' concert from
last year in Holland, which feature Bass player extrordinaire
John Jowitt and Paul Wrightson, both from earlier Arena line
ups. Picture and sound quality are not as good on these as
the main concert footage, although this is 'Fan Foortage'
so is excusable. Good to have as extras though!!! Also included
in the bonuses is an interview with Clive Nolan and Mick Pointer
on all things 'Arena' as well as a Biography, Discography,
Photo Gallery etc etc. The big bonus here though is the extra
12 track Gold Audio disc that is included in the first pressing.
You will have to be quick though, as I hear that this double
package is strictly a 'Limited Edition' one.***
For existing Arena fans, this DVD is going to be a must
have release (especially the limited edition version), For
people who are new to the name 'Arena' then this is also a
highly recommended place to start, as it covers a good selection
of All the bands material from all the albums, as well as
providing a good visual document of the band in the live setting.
Grade: A
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