All Saints - The Videos DVD

The All Saints had a lot to prove in their short-lived career. After the onslaught of the Spice Girls Britain really was not ready for a "serious" girl band. However, prior to their departure from the pop scene the Saints managed to knock out credible hit after credible hit. The Videos captures the best of the urban girl band who only ever managed to produce two albums. As hits go there's a great selection, from the theme from The Beach, "Pure Shores", to their most memorable of numbers, "Never Ever". Good as the songs are, however, most of their videos leave a lot... to be desired. The best is the brave cover of "Under the Bridge"--which was not only a hit but musically a surprisingly intelligent cover--set against an urban landscape which was not only beautifully lit but also introduced Khaki combats as a fashion item. Many of the others, though, hold to the traditional pop video format of the girls parading around a strobe-lit studio singing to the camera--possibly the worst examples are "Pure Shores", with the Appleton sisters attempting to look "scary" in a bamboo cage, and their cover of "Lady Marmalade" (which clearly never made it across the Atlantic since Missy Elliott believed that she was charting new ground with her cover for Moulin Rouge). The gems of the collection are the MTV tracks with a live band and great scratching, where you can see proof of Shaznay's songwriting abilities in full-- if nothing else, this collection proves that there only ever was one real talent leading the All Saints forward to global stardom. On the DVD: This disc contains very little in the way of special features, which is a shame considering the success of the band and the wealth of interviews that must be available. There's a discography and track selection, along with the ability to "karaoke" the songs by turning the song lyrics on. The picture format also leaves a lot to be desired with its 4.3 ratio, however the sound is adequate.--Nikki Disney [show more]

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