Customer Reviews

The Chieftains - The Making of The Long Black Veil [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After the first 2 minutes of viewing I wanted my money back. There is not a single track of music unspoiled by boring commentary. Doesn't even include the title track. Unfortunately, I didn't read others reviews until it was too late. A total waste of shelf space.

I have never been a harsh critic of anything. I understand that different people like different things. If I watch a bad movie, I rarely give it a second thought. But it's not as simple as making a bad DVD, or recording bad songs. They ruined what could have been a great DVD of songs.

At no time can you listen to the music alone. It fades in and out while everyone talks about the recording of the song. I truly wish they could have had separate chapters for the talking and the songs themselves. I am very disappointed in this DVD. Not to mention it's as simple as a DVD can be. Only 46 minutes of people talking.

Mostly talk, even over the sparse music.

If you are expecting a video version of Long Black Veil you'll be disappointed (one of my favorite Chieftains album). Covers many of the songs on the album and the production that went into to making the album. Many of the songs are truncated or given commentary over the music. I found it disttracting. Sinead O'Connor doing The Foggy Dew is probably the highlight of the album. Missing is Van Morrison doing "Have I Told You Lately".

This DVD is better left as a video documentary of the people who fuel that great Chieftains sound. It is not a concert DVD and songs are heard in snatches rather than in whole. There are interesting interviews with the members of the band as well as artists who collaborated on The Black Veil album, especially Sting. This does prove in a pleasant fashion that musicians who lead quiet lives, who do not engage in substance abuse, egotism, vulgarity or vandalism, can be fascinating and worth attending to. The discussion is intelligent and not the least bit sentimental or melodramatic like VH1's Behind the Music series. In the end, though, little use is put to the DVD technology and it is frustrating not to hear the songs in their entirety. I have to wonder if that was the plan all along or if copyright and permissions issues defeated a more musical approach.

I have a VCD of this which I acquired at dirt cheap prices. In my opinion, it would make an enjoyable programme on TV, telling viewers how this wonderful album was made. But to pay [this much] for this? Only for the die-hard fans who collect everything about the Chieftains.

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After reading the reviews I thought maybe everyone was being a little harsh. I listened to a used copy in a record store and understood why the reviews were harsh. No wonder the used copy was where it was.

This DVD isn't even worth reviewing.