Review of Cranberries, The: Beneath the Skin Live in Paris

Introduction

I`m not a fan of the Cranberries as such - I like some of their material and when I got the opportunity to review "Beneath the Skin - Live in Paris", it seemed a good chance to familiarise myself with some more of their work.

There`s not much else to say in this introduction really, this DVD contains a 22 track concert and a considerable amount of extras...read on for more!

Video

The video is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is good quality throughout the concert. There are no signs of grain or compression problems.

Visually, I`m afraid that this extremely uninteresting. All you get is ninety minutes of the band remaining static (apart from some amusing/cringeworthy robot-like dancing from Dolores on occasion) and a some lights. Add some crowd shots and you`ve got the picture.

Audio

The soundtrack comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 and like the video is of good quality.

Vocals are clear and the music sounds good, but there seemed to be a slightly restricted frequency range across all channels compared to other live performance DVDs I have, leading to a slightly dull sound.

Musically there are some good tracks, but to someone like myself who is not a true fan of the band, a great deal of it sounds samey and 22 tracks is too much to listen to in one go.

Features

Features include a "New Band Documentary", "Exclusive Technicians Documentary", a still image gallery and various videos and live footage.

These are wrapped up in some of the most irritating menus I`ve yet come across. Featuring kaleidoscopic backgrounds which take too long finish and annoying sound effects, these menus have nothing to do with the band and just annoyed me even before I`d sat down to watch!

The DVD is packaged in a Black Amaray case and contains a single-sided colour insert detailing the tracks. This is actually pretty pointless as they are also listed on the rear cover!

Conclusion

Overall, I was disappointed by this DVD. Video and sound are both good, but the band lack stage presence and watching musicians remain static on the stage for 22 tracks is not much fun. To be honest, you may as well turn the TV off and just listen to the music (or buy a CD instead).

I also didn`t think that there was enough variety in the music, and I wouldn`t want to watch 22 tracks in one sitting, although big fans of the group probably won`t mind. I found some of the music to be uninspiring and quite dreary at times.

Any extras on a music DVD are welcome, and two documentaries plus the videos and live footage are much more generous than the average release.

This is one for established fans only, anyone like myself who wanted to try and get a "bit more into" the band will probably find this one hard work.