| Stryper - formed in the early eighties, celebrating their heydays from
the mid eighties to the early nineties, reunited for a show in Puerto Rico in 2004. The
show was filmed and released on DVD in 2006. The title is misleading - greatest hits. None
of the songs from the successful In God We Trust album, including the popular MTV song
Always There For You, are not on this compilation. Here's the list of songs on this DVD: 1.
Sing Along Song
2. Makes Me Wanna Sing
3. Calling On You
4. Free
5. More Than a Man
6. Caught in the Middle
7. You Won't Be Lonely
8. Reach Out
9. Loud and Clear
10. The Way
11. Soldiers Under Command
12. To Hell With the Devil
13. Honestly
14. Winter Wonderland
All these songs, except You Won't Be Lonely were also on the live-CD 7 Weeks Live In
America. What makes this DVD interesting for the fan, is that Stryper was fully reunited.
This is the original line-up, including bassist Tim Gaines, who was later replaced by
Tracy Ferrie. The other members are, of course, singer/guitarist Michael Sweet (the back
side of this package says Matthew Sweet twice), drummer Robert Sweet and guitarist/singer
Oz Fox. Brent Jeffers assisted the band on keyboards.
The DVD starts with a few glimpses of people eagerly awaiting the show, and a few shots
taking behind the scenes. Then the concert starts. Stryper heavily leans on the songs
they've produced in the past. It's the songs that makes this bands interesting. To get
their sound, they use vocal tracks and there's possibly some play backing (in Calling On
You). The crowd receives the band with open arms, singing along with songs like Loud 'n
Clear and Soldiers Under Command. There are funny moments, like Robert Sweet changing hats
all the time.
The Live In Puerto Rico DVD looks like a home video recording.
Though the show was filmed with several cameras, the quality is far from professional.
Some moments the footage is vague. The music volume is sometimes louder, sometimes softer.
Sometimes the music sounds clear, sometimes dull. In other words, this DVD is not a
pleasure for the ear.
Only when the show is over, the dvd menu turns up, giving the possibility to choose
between three different sound formats: Stereo, Dolby 5.1 Surround or DTS 5.1
Surround. Why a menu at the end? Anyway, the DVD contains no extras, which would have made
this fanclub release a bit more interesting. Why no band interview? Why no real footage
behind the scenes? And why can't you choose between different camera angles? And then the
cover, showing some pictures from other concerts from ages ago. Looks silly!
In other words, this release is poor. Only interesting for the die-hard fan. |
