Bond - Live At The Royal Albert Hall DVD

Filmed at their Royal Albert Hall debut gig in September 2000--actually a media junket launching Bond to music industry execs--Bond Live is a slick showcase for four classically trained ex-session musicians' fusion of string quartet and rock music. Whatever the hype, four beautiful women wearing scanty tops and dancing with violins while backed by a five-piece rock combo and small, rarely seen string section, has nothing to do with making classical music cool and everything to do with sex. No heterosexual male is going to have any difficulty remaining glued to the... screen, especially during "Duel" in which first and second violins Haylie Ecker and Eos trade licks "guitar hero" style. Further setting classical claims aside, most of the tracks are new instrumentals written by Magnus Fiennes or Tonci Huljic for the album Born, though "The 1812" does manage to reduce Tchaikovsky's overture to a five-minute dance number. With rock-show lighting, synthesisers, dance beats, band members chatting to the audience and a finale involving the "James Bond Theme" followed by a Rio-style fiesta for the closing "Victory--Carnival Mix" this is camp, melodramatic, sexy fun for lads everywhere. Purr-fect for a double bill with Josie and the Pussycats. On the DVD: The hour-long gig is presented with a very clear anamorphically enhanced 1.77:1 image, which despite the often low lighting is packed with detail and largely free of grain and artefacts. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is exceptionally full with very powerful bass. Special features include three music videos and a section going behind the scenes of the shoot for the "Victory" video, though two of these can only be accessed by working through a 10-part multimedi a quiz. The 13 minutes of interviews are standard promotional trivia, though the gallery of 10 studio-posed full-screen photographs will raise pulse rates. DVD-ROM content includes a Web link, poster and screensaver. --Gary S Dalkin [show more]

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