This is a DVD strictly for fans and possibly only suitable as a memento of a specific concert.

The band under their impressive conductor Major Graham Jones is filmed at Buxton. Sadly there is very little to show you that we are in Buxton. There is no real feeling of live atmosphere and the audience is hardly seen.

The picture is 4:3 format and generally the camera work and technical production is unenterprising and compared to other DVDs verging on the amateur. You also have to sit through a five minute fanfare intro every time before reaching the menu.

The programme includes a Beatles medley and a World War II song anthology. The band are not necessarily shown to their best advantage. The exception is the Rossini "Introduction" with fine clarinet playing from Colour Sgt. Gareth Preston. Overall though there is a lack of excitement. I prefer military bands to play music specifically composed for the medium. The Beatles medley simply fails to work. The arrangements seem at odds with the music and fail to show off the band.

The second "bonus disc" is a series of uninspiring interviews which could have been so much more interesting. Just sticking a microphone in front of a bandsman and enquiring how long he has been in the band is not an example of great interviewing.

The playing and sound is fine and might work on its own without the pictures if the music appeals. I have attended concerts in the open air and enjoyed them but the visual dimension needed to be handled with much more imagination.

I have been trying to consider who might like this disc but it really only works as a memento of the concert.

A disappointing disc. Much more effort would have been needed to make this work as a commercial DVD.

David R Dunsmore

 

 

 

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