V/A--Goth: The Ultimate Collection
MVD 2004
One of Cleopatra Records' main claims to fame is their neverending ability to put together solid, inexpensive, genre-specific compilations. Thanks to this collaboration with MVD, you get the video equivalent to those CDs in Goth: The Ultimate Collection. As always, when dealing with such a large quantity of material, you do run into some cons. Fortunately, as is more often than not the case with those aforementioned CDs, the pros of this two DVD set virtually negate any shortcomings.
Pairing both the Goth Box and Gothic Industrial Madness DVDs into a single pack, it should be stated that Goth: The Ultimate Collection is an incredible value for the money and very worth owning. Still, when introducing the visual element into the equation, parody within the genre becomes much more apparent and somewhat offputting. Mainly, this problem is held to the Gothic Industrial Madness protion of the program--there are several instances where the bands blend together, due in large part to similarites in the way certain videos were put together. The result is an occasional lull in interest---luckily, this ultimately only adds up to a minor annoyance.
Most of Goth: The Ultimate Collection is filled with enough amazing footage from classic bands to kill any vamp a second time from forlorn joy. Gothic Industrial Madness highlights include clips from Einsturzende Neubaten, Throbbing Gristle, and Chrome. The absolute best from that disc are Eva O Halo Experience with "Angel of Death," William Burroughs' "Commisioner of Sewers" (featuring great interview footage with the legendary writer), and Nik Turner doing "Ejection" live, which is just as inspired as his work with Hawkwind. That said, Goth Box wins top honors, thanks to its overall quality, plus the fact is has the two best clips of the entire collection--Lords Of The New Church doing "Open Your Eyes" and the Chameleons UK with "In Shreds," both live. In fact, the Chameleons UK clip alone is worth at least twice the list price of this set--getting to see the intuitive melodic brilliance of this grossly underrated band in onstage action is chill inducing.
Clocking in with a whopping 55 videos, combined, plus 12 bonus audio tracks, Goth: The Ultimate Collection is the definition of getting more bang for your buck. Most of the best clips off this collection are culled from live shows and, hopefully, Cleopatra will get together with MVD and make full concerts DVD available for those bands. In the meantime, this set will make for the perfect visual backdrop to your next indutrial dance party or brooding session. Very much worth it.
Score this DVD directly from MVD
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