PHANTOM POWER

Released at the same time as its namesake CD, this DVD sees the SFA attempting to break through in a new dimension of multi-media. For the time being, let us take the music content as read, for it is the way it is presented which marks the real innovation.

In what is clearly a deliberate ploy, the DVD demands a lot of investigation and patience on the part of the listener. There are no less than 75 different tracks or segments, yet the sleeve lists only 14 plus their respective remixes. The viewer is however presented with options on how to watch and hear the contents. The simplest of these is to select the "Play album" option. The 14 album tracks are then played through in 5.1 surround sound (or stereo of course) while a static image of a model railway on a mantle piece is displayed. The image is virtually static throughout the album, with only the occasional diversions to watch for.

To get to the meat of the DVD though, it is necessary to access the individual track options. Each track has four options:

- To listen to the original album track while watching an arty video of little consequence

- To listen to the remix of the track while looking at a still image

- To read the lyrics of the song while listening to small sound bites of it

- To listen to the album track, overdubbed with some comments by the album's executive director while watching the same video as option 1

The best bits are actually the short cartoons which link the tracks together, rather than the visuals for the tracks themselves.

At this point I have to confess to some frustration. The track listing on the box indicates that there are 16 remixes, including two of "Hello sunshine", two of "Valet parking", and one called "Sir Doufus Styles" (a song which does not appear on the album). It also suggests there is no remix of "Father father no 2". The remixes though appear in the menus as one per original track, of which there are fourteen in all. Try as I might, I cannot track down the missing remixes. Reviews on other site make no mention of this, so I can only assume I am overlooking something obvious. (Anyone in the know, please tell me!)

In all, a DVD worth buy for the music it contains, but of far less value for the visual aspects. At the time of its release, SFA opined that this was the way forward for the presentation of music, and that all future releases would include this format. It seems they soon decided however that the experiment was a failure, and no further such DVDs have appeared alongside their CDs.

Incidentally, obsessives who wish to locate the deeply hidden clip should pop by at the Wikepedia page for the DVD where all is revealed.