Posted on: September 2, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Kate Bush – Under Review / 2006 MVD / 90 Minutes / http://www.katebush.com / http://www.mvdb2b.com / Reviewed 12 August 2006

I had heart of Kate Bush but had not really heart much of eir in the past. I guess I’m just too young. Anyways, the “Under Review” series of DVDs is really good at filling individuals in with what they need to know about all the major artists of the late thirty or forty years. One of the first things that individuals should know about this DVD is that there are actually Bush songs present throughout the documentary. This gives individuals some idea of what exactly Bush merited an entire DVD’s worth of documentary. The documentary starts off feeling more like something that would be put on BBC television, which means that there are a number of rock critics weighing in on the importance of Bush. I also had no clue that Bush had so many albums and years in the business.

The use of pictures and other firsthand information about Bush is what Bush fans will thirst for, and what this volume of “Under Review” provides in droves. The titling of who is speaking is clear, although I would like to see more than “journalist” adorn their names. I mean, did the person write for NME or did they write for some rinky-dink town’s newspaper? However, that minor issue is really wiped from the books considering the array of video footage of individuals, both of Bush and eir contemporaries and own videos, that assault the listeners at all points during “Under Review”. This documentary is better than any tell-all book or magazine about Bush; there is another dimension added to Bush’s life and times that makes even the person most unfamiliar with Bush into a solid supporter.

The blend of drier discussion and more lively music and Bush clips makes this 90 minute special go by as it was nothing. There is not much extra provided to viewers of this documentary, but a little additional interviewing and a quiz are wait await viewers in the extras section of this DVD. Considering that all of the live and studio footage of Bush has been (up to a point) in the not-too-recent past, the fact that there is so much material about Bush is impressive. In the days before VCRs and the like, to pull out some of these gems for television stations’ vault is amazing to say the least. Going off of that, it is also very impressive that the videos from the late seventies and early eighties are as sharp as they are. This is not only because of the fact that the cameras were not as good back then, but also because there should be some tape degradation in the last twenty or twenty-five years of sitting on a shelf, no matter how climate-controlled that shelf may be. This may just be the strongest “Under Review” DVD yet; it provides enough information for listeners to properly contextualize all of the Bush albums equally well. It is recommended for new fans and experience Bush-heads alike. Give it a go.

Rating: 7.0/10

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