Customer Reviews

Planet Drum - Indoscrub/Endless River (DVD Single)

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I was so excited when I heard that one of my favorite albums had gotten a visual angle added to it. Mickey Hart (former drummer for the Grateful Dead) brings us Planet Drum. The album itself is incredible, meddling Hart's sound with various tribal rhythms from around the world. The DVD delivers, but I have one major complaint. It only has two songs from the album on it. Come on now, this could have been longer.

Indoscrub. Doesn't it sound like the name of a facial cleanser made by Herbal Essences? Mickey Hart invested a lot of money into the promotion of "Supralingua." Along these lines, "Indoscrub" is not intended to be a complete experience but a tool to motivate the consumer to purchase the accompanying CD. "Indoscrub" has three issues. First, the music just isn't very compelling. Supralingua was a fascinating concept that never crossed that fine line between good and great. To add insult to injury, the project hijacked the "Planet Drum" name. Those of us who saw the real Planet Drum live know that there will never be another and the name should have been retired after 1991. Perhaps Hart was desperate for a good seller after the flop known as "Mickey Hart's Mystery Box." In any case, the second issue is that the videos aren't very good. Visually, they're composed of stock footage. They communicate the same generic world vibe that's expressed on the main album. As a strength, 'Indoscrub' and 'Endless River' are dynamically mixed for surround sound. In separating the songs for 5.1, the sound engineer did an amazing job. Since very few people had surround sound systems in 1998, this shows great foresight on Hart's behalf. In addition to the two songs, there is a nine minute interview with Mickey Hart. Despite being a promotional tool, it's a great interview. In particular, the articulate Hart discusses his epic computer drum, R.A.M.U. Those of us who originally had enough confidence to buy the bonus disc version of "Supralingua" already have this interview. The third issue is the length. "Indoscrub" is only two songs and a nine minute interview that's included on certain versions of the accompanying CD. In the end, it seems that this never sold for more than eight bucks and at the time of review about half a dozen used copies could be picked up for only a few dollars. At a reasonable price, "Indoscrub" is worthwhile for the curious.