Customer Reviews

Video Collection [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This collection of 24 videos is probably one of the best additions you'll ever make to your collection. Containing sons fro 1973 to tracks from Ferry's 'Mamouna' release in 1994, this spans one of the most artistic singers of this generation. Included are rare never-before-seen in the US clips of 'The Main Thing', 'A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall', 'These Foolish Things', along with the standards of 'Slave To Love', 'Jealous Guy', and 'Same Old Scene'. A cherished treasure that looks as good as it sounds.

I purchased this collection to try to ease the pain of not getting my act together in time to see Roxy/Ferry live during their San Francisco area stop (follow the tour on Manzanera's web-site). But, the video is so good that it only reminds me that I missed something special.

The great features of the video include:

Terrific variety. The pieces span over 20 years and the fact that the videos are not presented chronologically makes it more interesting. Even those who have been listening to Roxy/Ferry music for years may be surprised that videos were made for some of these songs; that these were not overplayed on U.S. television makes them easier to appreciate now. The videos make it even clearer that Roxy/Ferry was a key influence for the many British bands that ruled the world's airwaves in the 80s (e.g. Duran Duran, Talk Talk, ABC, Spandau Ballet, Scritti Politti). Is it art-rock, punk-inspired jazz-pop, new romantic, British adult contemporary, glam'n'roll, or the official music of Agent 007? No one label can accurately describe Roxy/Ferry and the wide range of videos allows all of their styles to shine through.

Rich in content. There are 24 videos with a running time of 98 minutes. The newer videos have lots of action and beautiful cinematography. Even the older, lower-budget videos are fun to watch, between the heavily made up models and Ferry's theatrical presentation. His facial expressions, wardrobe (didn't know they made pink suits for men) and mysterious hair are well suited to video.

High quality and good selections. While the older videos are often simple, the quality of production and editing is good. As with any Roxy/Ferry compilation, some will wonder whether the selections are tipped in favor of Roxy or Ferry's solo stuff and, unlike the 2001 reunion tour (which seems to by playing Roxy material exclusively), this video seems to tip the balance towards Ferry's solo work. Most people will not care (most Roxy songs are composed by Ferry and he sings on all of them), with a few notable exceptions -- Love is the Drug, Avalon and More Than This are missing and would have been nice to have.

For those who were told this is the new children's video from Disney, be forewarned that these clips are overtly sexual and were made when smoking was still consdiered stylish. Ferry's trotting around the globe at age 55 so presumably the smoking scenes were performed by a body double or he didn't inhale. As to the models, at least they're adults, which is more than can be said about the half-nekkid women in today's music videos.

Anyone who likes even one Roxy/Ferry song or is a fan of one of the 80s bands listed above will probably love this video.

Evidently, this DVD release was NOT authorized by either Bryan Ferry or his Management and they have pulled future release of this due to too many omissions. Not only are the releases "More Than This" and "Avalon" missing, but so are Bryan Ferry's solo releases post 1995. Also, there are more earlier video releases both from Roxy Music & Bryan Ferry that are missing. On top of that, the picture quality is lacking on some of the videos on the DVD. Bryan Ferry is going to release a NEW and COMPLETE version between 2003-2004 with many extras. I would imagine the NEW version that will be released will be like the recent two DVD release by David Bowie which is excellent in every way with every release including rare BBC & Dick Cavett performances. It may be a good idea to avoid this release and wait for the Bryan Ferry AUTHORIZED version.

The videos in this collection give a good cross-reference of Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry's solo work. The quality of the early videos is fair, but the sound is good, nonetheless. The later videos are fantastic, and sound better than the remastered CD's. But, there's one big omission...where is the video of "Avalon"? I've always considered "Avalon" one of the most sensual and atmospheric videos of all time, and was disappointed to find that it was not here. Still, the DVD is worth it, as we see the evolution of Roxy Music's style from avant-garde art-rock to a more soulful and almost-mainstream band, with the charismatic trio of Ferry, Manzanera and Mackay holding things together throughout the years, and Ferry's development as a single artist growing with each release.

In all, I think Roxy and Ferry fans will be pleased...but, I still want to see "Avalon" sometime in the future. :-)

I was a little disappointed that except for re-make/re-model, none of Roxy Music's early works appear on this video. Where is Mother of Pearl? Ladytron? Even Virginia Plain? On the other end, I sorely miss not having Avalon on here. Bryan Ferry is well represented in terms of his early solo work, and his videos are supremely stylish. Most of them feature bone-thin models, but some have more personality -- sometimes even laughing! The bit with Jerri Hall in "Let's Stick Together" is hilarious! The band is well-represented as well, with shots of Manzanera, McKay, Chris Spedding, even Eno.

The amazing thing about this video is you see Bryan Ferry span almost 20 years, and hardly change at all! My favorite odd pairing is Anna Nicole Smith and Bryan in the "Will You Love Me Tommorrow" video. All in all a great collection, and everything here looks so good. Only one gripe, really! WHERE IS THE VIDEO FOR AVALON THAT RIDLEY SCOTT DIRECTED? It's not on here, and I wonder why. Other than that, I loved all the videos and if you are a fan you will too. A wise purchase!

As a fanatic Bryan Ferry fan, I was thrilled with this video collection because it spans over 20 years of Ferry/Roxy music and shows Ferry's development as a singer and lyricist. Some of the tracks are very sophisticated and artistic, although my absolute favorite was the simpler "Let's stick together" which if I am not mistaken, contains a very stunning Jerry Hall in a cameo appearance. If you are a fan, you will love it. I agree with a previous reviewer about the "Will you love me tomorrow" track, which I found quite intoxicating both visually and musically. I only wish there were more tracks, particularly since one of my favorites, "Love is the drug" is not in the collection.

I personally don't understand the in's and out's of this particular situation - but looks like Video Collection is OOP in America, and maybe soon to be in Canada (until it sells out). Anyway, I got mine just after getting the video. Well maybe it isn't the greatest collection on earth but its better than nothing and that's what we have right now (until something else comes out). In the meantime you get a bunch of videos that are going to impress and some maybe not but hey, that's what the fast forward/next track buttom is for. And that's the beauty of DVD. When it comes to this disc there are a lot of videos to explore and they are really good, from the first Your Painted Smile to my favourite Don't Stop the Dance.

I think the real reason for the problem with the release of this DVD is the cheese factor, which could be a slight embarasment for The Man. I'm thinking of videos like These Foolish Things, What Goes On, Angel Eyes, You Go to My Head. These are my least favourite and could have been left out. Still, that leaves 20 videos that are well worth the price of this DVD. I've never seen the More than This video but I have seen an excerpt from Avalon and I don't miss it.

So get this disc in the meantime if you can't wait for a nebulous promise of something in the future. Oh, and in case Ferry and company are reading, how about releasing Live in Europe on DVD? That would make up for the fact that every North American release of the video had a sound problem in the audio. Now there's a greatest hits live video from yesteryear that would be a great compliment to this disc or any release in the future. So in the meantime, enjoy this disc!

I have bought a number of DVD music video collections within the last few months, only to be disappointed in some respects with what I receive. The Tina Turner "Video" collection has about 5 live performances instead of the music videos for example. Now, I get the Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music video collection, only to have some disappointments there as well. There are 24 tracks and most of the older,early 70's Roxy Music songs are again, live concert shots. At least the Bryan Ferry solo videos are all videos. There are some GLARING omittances as well. SHAME ON VIRGIN HOME VIDEO! They did not even include the videos for "More Than This" and "Avalon". I was so hoping that they would be on there, since the fans consider the Avalon album a masterpiece! Nevertheless, I am glad to have many of the rare videos that are on this dvd. Such as "Limbo", "Is Your Love Strong Enough" (also on the Legend DVD), "Angel Eyes", "Slave To Love", "Don't Stop The Dance", and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". I would recommend this for the rarity of what is on here, but still feel a little let down that 2 of the most important songs/videos are not included. I think some of these companies need to take a harder look at what they are putting out in the marketplace!

I've been a Bryan Ferry fan for many years so getting this video collection on DVD was a no-brainer. I must admit that I was a little bit disappointed to see that this release is identical to the VHS release that came out few years ago so the most recent video clip to be found here is Mamouna. Picture quality is something of a mixed bag, ranging from poor to almost perfect. To be quite frank I can't see much difference between the video quality of the DVD and the VHS edition (which I also own) but then again the DVD doesn't wear out on repeated viewing so I can't really complain. Still it would have been nice to see some increase in video quality like you have come to expect from DVD but I guess it all comes down to the state of the source material used. That said this is a brilliant collection of video clips and if you like Bryan Ferry and/or Roxy Music you will not be disappointed. This DVD offers both Dolby Digital 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio remixes. They both offer great sound quality so you can just sit back and enjoy the music. That's what this is all about!