Peter Gabriel - Play: The Videos

Rating:
Summary: Groundbreaking Music Videos That You Won't Forget!
Review: Before I bought this Peter Gabriel dvd, I was seen only one his video called Steam, which was a very terrific and funny video. I read some public reviews about this dvd in Amazon. Those people praise Gabriel's Play dvd and I come to sure about that dvd could not be bad. I bought this dvd and watched it immediately. I was really surprised because, I couldn't believe that there were so many excelent videos. Gabriel is a lucky man because he has worked with the real professional video directors.

Sledgehammer is the most played music video on the MTV's history. This groundbreaking video is funny, personal, strange etc. Video uses clay amimation and its visual style is unique. See dancing barbeque chickens and Gabriel's lightdress!

There are also many other unbelieveable great music videos.
My favourites are disgusting good Digging In The Dirt( Gabriel is singing under groud and snails are wondering on his body.),
visually great Kiss That Frog ( Gabriel is a big frog that tries to catch up princess. This video looks like a video game),
critical The Barry William Show ( blood is a very realistic thing to provide the message of this song) and mad I Don't Remember( See men without faces and sova that eates Gabriel)
In my Opinion, there are no bad videos. You can watch these videos all over again and again.

Extras are fine. Games Withous Frontiers(live at 2004) is even better version that original. Gabriel's dother Melanie is in this live video background singer. The Nest That Sailed In The Sky is filmed during OVO-millenium show and it shows the electronic Nest's building process. Modern Love(original version in 1977) is young Gabriel's performance dressed up fenching mask and singing with model dolls. There are also Anna Gabriel's Family Portrait video filmed before and during Peter's Growing Up tour 2003. You can find also advertisment videos for Growing Up and Secret World live dvds.

Finally, If you like Gabriel's music and terrific videos, buy this.
If you don't like Gabriel music, but you like great videos, buy this because soon you'll like also Gabriel's songs.
These videos are important part of music videos history!


Rating:
Summary: Only listening to Peter Gabriel is like being blind...
Review: A Peter Gabriel collection limited to his albums only reveals half of his artistry. As his fans know, he is a stellar visual artist, and "plays" in all media. That's why I was so thrilled to receive PLAY, a compilation of his greatest music videos.

For the uninitiated, a word of warning. You might expect to see some of Peter Gabriel's videos at Movie-Nite at the sanitarium. His pop is unapologetically edgy, often times his videos draw on exotic parts of his imagination to match his music. I tend to like his 80's videos best, but its all here and some of it is certain to satisfy any taste, from his 70's video, Modern Love, where he looks like Ashton Kutcher -- to his recent and stirringly sentimental tribute to his father. Even in those videos that I find overwhelming, I still respect his courageous artistic decisions.. for that is Peter Gabriel for you.

This DVD is better than most other music video DVDs because it features a custom programmability mode that allows you to play your own mix of songs. The menus and trance-inducing bumper music are also well done, and there are trailers from some of his concerts and a live stage performance of Games Without Frontiers included.

However, where it falters slightly is that I couldn't get the English subtitles wouldn't come up for me in some videos (so I could follow along with the lyrics, if you've ever questioned what some of them were.) Also, it could've been made much better by including commentary from Peter Gabriel himself, where he explains just what he was thinking when he designed the video in the way that he did.

Definately a solid purchase, and a must have for every Peter Gabriel fan to enjoy the full diversity of his talents.


Rating:
Summary: You Need To Listen To This In DTS 5.1 !!!
Review: Amazing!! This is one of the best DTS 5.1 mixes out there. The production quality is outstanding. If you're not listening in surround you are sorely missing out. Most 5.1 mixes are tame and tend to back off of the surrounds. Not this one! Peter Gabriel boldly puts half of the mix in the surrounds and it is exquisite!!! This will easily be one of my reference DVDs for showing off how great surround sound really is.

Rating:
Summary: masterful
Review: comprehensive display of expert artistry by an infinitely talented musician who has seldom compromised and frequently pushed the creative envelope to the benefit of his fans. A seminal piece of audio/visual magic that shall go down in the hall of fame of rock and all music!

Rating:
Summary: So, tell me about your childhood......
Review: Mind you, I like Gabriel's music and have found in many instances, like the concert supporting US, that he taps a major root in the psyche of anyone sorting out exactly the pickle they are in. So, when you get a collection like this, you can't help but donning the Freudian beard and glasses and wondering where the electrodes were placed on that monkey. Sure, most of it is entertainment, but with Gabriel, there is also that element of lifting the curtain so that you see behind the Wizard of Id's mask.
The music herein has been effectively remastered and I suspect remixed, as I noticed keyboards and percussion treatments on several songs that I'm sure I never heard before. Gabriel's most touching video is the one for FATHER AND SON, his most ridiculous BLOOD OF EDEN, perhaps the funniest five minutes of film you'll ever watch, and all credit goes to Sinead. The most embarrassing is the video with Kate Bush, not that I wouldn't mind trading places, but, it is a bit overwrought, like the song itself.
You gotta give Gabriel credit for the very high standards he maintained throughout his video career. Unlike Bowie, whose SOUND AND VISION videos are often really stupid, Gabriel was always looking to draw the viewer in first and then create a psychological disturbance. He's damned good at it. My mother always thought his music was perfect for Halloween, not in an Alice Cooper way, but as part of that Anglo-Celtic tradition that reveres the plight of souls set adrift from their mooring in this world. Before we leave our bodies, Gabriel often sings about what ropes are coming undone. The videos enhance that.
Still in all, both as a video and as a tune, BARRY WILLIAMS should have been left on the cutting floor. 'Twas a tune that did not singing and a film that needed no shooting.
The rest has enough material to keep a symposium of shrinks busy for years.
Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Un DVD à posséder dans sa collection !!!
Review: Peter Gabriel nous a une fois de plus gâté avec ce merveilleux DVD.
Nous revoyons avec joie ces clips dont certains comme 'SLEDGEHAMMER' qui ont révolutionnés le milieu artistique.
'FATHER,SON' est un clip très émouvant on l'on aperçoit les 3 générations des Gabriel, filmé par sa fille Anna.
Sans oublier l'incontournable 'DON'T GIVE UP' pour les plus romantiques.
Un cadeau à mettre sous le sapin absolument !!!

Rating:
Summary: Great compilation, nearly.
Review: Peter Gabriel's Play DVD is a great product to own for any Peter Gabriel fan as the videos on the whole are very creative pieces of work. The only problem on this dvd comes with the 5.1 mixes which I found to be far too radically different from the original mixes of the songs. This can be quite distracting as one gets use to a song over the years the way that it was originally recorded. The stereo mixes are closer to the originals however, but are still somewhat different on quite a few of the songs. Sometimes I think both artist and producer can get carried away with technology to the detriment of the music. Highlights on the dvd are the videos for Father, Son, Modern Love, Games Without Frontiers, Steam and of course Sledgehammer.

Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: This collection of Music Videos by Peter Gabriel covers most of them from 1977 when music videos were very rare (only Queen and the Beetles made Music Videos before this) to 2003. All are innovative and well done showcasing the singer/songwriter/musician in perfect form. Now all thats left is video documents of the best former member of Genosis's live work in that band like 1973s Genosis live, the 1982 reunion concert, The 1973 Rainbow concert and The Lamb in America in Janurary 1975 as well as the music videos for the new Carpet Crawlers and new It.

Rating:
Summary: Kissing frogs and shocking monkeys
Review: This DVD is fun to watch, particularly if you haven't seen some of these videos before. I was in my early high school years when 'So' broke PG into the big time, pun intended, and who could forget the wonderfully wacky and visually engaging videos for 'Sledgehammer' and 'Big Time'. They look a little bit dated now, with CG and special effects so ubiquitous in movies and music videos, but you really appreciate how much hard work went into creating these works. Perhaps it's like 'Wallace & Gromit' vs. 'The Incredibles'. Of course the computer animation in the latter is impressive but the sheer craziness and physical labor of the former scores extra points in my book.

That's not to say that PG hasn't used computer-generated special effects, far from it. I was in college when 'Us' came out, and the videos for 'Steam' and 'Kiss that Frog' contained generous helpings of computer animation, especially 'Frog', which looks too video-gamey.

I was impressed by the powerful version of 'Biko', which is a collage of a live performance in 1987 and footage from the film 'Cry Freedom'. 'Washing of the Water' is different from the album track (on 'Us'), and the much less-produced and live sounding version here is a nice match to the gentle and straightforward images, in contrast to the weirdness of several of the edgier songs (e.g., 'I don't remember'). 'The Barry Williams Show' is a wonderful, over-the-top, and pretty dark interpretation by Sean Penn. I just wish PG hadn't worn those cut-off black gloves. With his wizard goatee and black cape he looks like a horror movie villain, but perhaps that was the intent.

I don't have surround sound capabilities but apparently the music has been remixed to take full advantage of this technology, so audiophiles will probably enjoy this disc.

PG's introductions to each video (a special feature) are generally not that interesting. I found them to be too short and too descriptive (e.g., 'for this video i hired...', 'this video feautures the guest vocal of...') rather than insightful. Don't expect a lot of Peter Gabriel sharing deep reflections, although his remarks about 'Biko' are an exception.

I was also disappointed by the absence of several PG favorites, including 'San Jacinto' and 'Come talk to me'. (I don't know if videos even exist for these tracks, I have never seen them).

All in all, this a very eclectic disc that will please and perhaps shock those who are not used to seeing musicians take videos very seriously. It might also shock some monkeys. It's a very colorful and engaging journey through PG's musical world. Some of it is cheesy (e.g., the 4 minute embrace with Kate Bush in 'Don't give up'), some of it bizarre (e.g., 'Modern Love' where PG looks like a character who escaped from the movie 'Tron' and can't quite figure out an escalator; the cabbage dress in 'Solsbury Hill'), but most of it is satisfying and a pleasure to watch.





Rating:
Summary: Come Play with Peter
Review: Well worth the wait.Peter has packaged a power house collection of most of his great videos.All remixed in 5.1 audio and visually cleaned up frame by frame.A great value for the price! VIY (view it yourself)