Customer Reviews

VNV Nation: PastPerfect (Special Edition)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

To some extent I have to agree with both the supporters and critics of this DVD. The main point should be that VNV is one of the world's premier electronic bands, their music is grand and forceful, and they give excellent, energetic performances. The DVD has the ability to show elements of what makes their shows so good, but fails to fully translate the energy and mystery of actually being there. To me this DVD, despite meticulous editing and wonderful sound quality, is better at highlighting the flaws or what's missing from a VNV show than it is at showing what's great about them. When you are actually there, the power of the music, the majesty of the video accents and passion of Ronan flow directly to you. I have to violently disagree with our friend in SF who claims that VNV is better seen than heard. Their shows are great but this DVD can't capture that magic... had he ever gone to a show he would know that. That is the conclusion that one can draw... not that they are poor live.

Having said all of that, I still am glad that I own the DVD. The interviews and extra footage were interesting even though it's not as insightful as you'd hope from artists with such a painstakingly creative vision. To be honest, I find the Apoptygma Berzerk DVD better although I slightly prefer the music of VNV.

Good value being 2 DVD's and 1 CD in the package (and a poster and a sticker).

I think I see why it took them so long to produce -- the videos of the live shows are excellent. It's not just one long video of one concert, it's actually a mishmash of the best shots from the best shows with what I believe may be a mix of sound from live action and recorded dubbing (the recorded sound is a lot better quality than I expected coming from concerts -- I think it actually says something about this during the intro).

So basically it's like the best concert you've ever seen, with better sound.

And it's great to finally see the guys behind the music and hear them talk about music issues, as well as a nice "Making of Futureperfect" which shows you some of the technical aspects (hardware/software) of how that album was made. I found that piece (one of the things on disc 2) to be particularly interesting.

I haven't watched the whole thing yet (it's a whole lot of material) but I'm already really happy with the purchase. This is a quality release.

I would suggest this isn't JUST for hard-core VNV fans, it's something I think anyone who's into this type of music would get a lot out of. Most of the interviews aren't dealing with VNV specific topics, but more general topics about the challenges and goals of artists in this genre.

I only recently began listening to VNV Nation, having collected a few songs over the years but never really listening to them. I bought their "Genesis" single a few months ago because I loved the Icon of Coil remix, and only picked up "Futureperfect" last week. I was lucky enough to see them live for the first time on their mini-tour in Detroit on January 5th, 2005. I was pleasantly surprised by just how authentic and human these guys are as people; Ronan is great to listen to and Mark completes everything - the show was brilliant. This live DVD captures their chemistry on stage, but the real worth here is the 2nd disc with interviews and "studio" footage. Yes, there are some syncing issues with the first disc's live footage, collected from multiple shows, but it's still a great DVD. Highly recommended!

Let me start by saying I am a *huge* VNV fan. I attended the DC show where a portion of this was shot. And I was at the VNV/Apop show earlier that year when Apop cancelled at the last minute. And it saddens me to have to say...as far as production quality goes, this DVD is excellent. However, as a "live" DVD, it's awful. As a previous reviewer stated, the video clips are a mishmash. S/He liked the technique, I don't. A single song has one audio clip (live from say, NY for example) while the video may come from half a dozen sources. One shot the band may be in a dark club in front of 200 fans, while a second later, they're shown on stage in the rain in front of 20,000 fans. I don't like it at all. It is reminiscent of a Motley Crue video from the 80s (what was that ballad with the piano?). Also, it leads to the audio not synching with the video, typically during Ronan's banter in the middle of songs. Example: Ronan may be saying "Give me your hands!" while the video is showing him standing in the rain with both hands (and mic) raised (in slow motion no less). Yuck. I would have much preferred a whole song with it's original video. You can pick "song a" from NY, "song b" from DC, "song c" from Philly if you want, but don't pick snippet by snippet from all over the world with an audio track that only mostly matches.

I haven't gotten into the second DVD or the CDROM, but I'm sure both of those will be great (since I doubt the can pull the same technique with them).

Not a horrible job editing the two shows together, but it could have been better. I am a huge VNV Nation fan, and being able to have the concert experience in my own home is something I truly treasure. Excellent DVD.

This DVD includes several songs filmed at three locations. If you've already seen VNV in concert then this dvd will do little more than refresh your memory. If however you've never seen them in concert it will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. Overall If you already have live mp3's of vnv, or you've been to a concert you've probably already heard these versions so it won't be anything new. I own quite a few concert DVD's from various bands from Tori Amos to Rammstein and this is far from the best one I own.

The sound quality of this DVD is excellent, the editing is average and cuts seem to be frequent and pointless. The dvd fails to capture the full energy you'd actually feel at a live concert, and only partially captures the performance of the band.

If you're a fan of VNV then this is probably worth the investment, unless they happen to be coming to your area in concert.

I am thoroughly impressed and sated by this 3 disc release by VNV Nation. This is so far their first and only release for a DVD. This was the special edition 'Pastperfect' DVD that covered the 2001-2002 Futureperfect Tour of Europe and the United States. This is great value for money and a must for any true-blue VNV Nation fan. This DVD comes with 2 DVD discs and a bonus CD for computer content. I will go cover all three discs separately;

Disc 1: Live Concert Footage from Europe and the USA

There are 12 songs included (11 if you don't take 'Intro' into consideration). These include the hits of 'Kingdom', 'Epicentre', 'Honour', 'Fearless', 'Forsaken', 'Genesis',

Dark Angel', 'Standing', 'Solitary', 'Beloved' and 'Electronaut'.

All the tracks above are great Live with top notch crowd footage and the delightful antics of Ronan on stage. It is not until you see Ronan performing LIVE that you realise and understand how talented and how much heart he puts into each song.

Disc 2: Bonus Tour Featurettes/Interviews

This was my favourite part of the limited edition DVD. It included a 30 minute interview with Ronan and Mark that is insightful to how VNV Nation began and their thoughts and ideas about music and fame in general. You have a short video of tour preparations and stage set up to the theme music of this great future pop outfit. Then you have the 3-city specials and behind the scenes featurette of Ronan and Mark and friends goofing off. Probably the best part was the 'Making of Futureperfect' where Ronan brings the viewer into their makeshift small home studio and gives advice and pointers about music and working with electronica and synths. A small tour.

Disc 3: CD-ROM Bonus Edition

This covers the second part of the Interview with Ronan and Mark that carries on from Disc 2. You have two further live in concert performances at different concerts and years of the songs 'Procession' and 'Standing'. You also get a view of the online photo gallery of live pictures and hidden items that can be downloaded.

This special edition DVD comes with a poster and a banner sticker that I enjoyed. Overall this DVD is perfect and has shown me more about VNV Nation, their passions, driving force and above all music ideology. I look forward for more future DVD's from this great artist.

Please Amazon, fix the information here!
The DVD will be released in May through Metrpolis Records.

Finally, after being delayed many many times it has finally arrived and I am pleased to say the wait has been worth it.

VNV nations first DVD is awesome and a must have for any fan of ebm, synth, electro, industrial type music.

The picture quality on the concert footage disc (DVD 1) is superb and the audio quality is excellent. DVD 2 is packed with interviews and footage from various stops on the futureperfect tour and is both entertaining and amusing.

If you have never seen VNV Nation perform live and want to see what it's all about, get this DVD and enjoy.

This review is of the special edition which features 2 DVD disks and a CD Rom containing videos, poster and sticker. A very nice package which is worth the price.

If you know the studio albums of VNV Nation, never saw them live and have not seen the DVD yet... you will be in for a big surprise. The VNV Nation you knew are dead, long live VNV Nation, the very different VNV Nation.

The sound is rougher and yes, the beats are harder (what excited me as an old school raver from the early 90's) and Ronan's voice does also not sound that pretty anymore. What you get in return is pure energy you can feel when it grabs you and pulling you right into it.

I saw VNV live three times already and the most listened to VNV CD I have, is my homemade rip of the audio from this DVD, which I asked them to replace more than once (Email, MySpace) by the first real, original and legal VNV Nation Live Album.

So far no luck and my self made live album has to be sufficient for now or the DVD itself when you are home and have a TV and DVD player.