Fresh from the pre-Christmas cash in you can now find A's hit album 'Hi-Fi Serious' back on the market for all those who weren't tempted the first time round. Backed with a DVD with all kinds of footage, the appropriately named 'DVD Serious' is one for the hardcore fan, or just good value for the music lover yet to purchase the album.
I won't regurgitate too much of what Dan Punktastic has already said when he originally reviewed this release way back when, merely pointing you in the direction of this link: http://www.punktastic.com/index.php?navID=2&reviewID=154 Suffice to say he's almost spot-on, with the standout tracks quite possibly the singles everyone has come to love and cherish. Whether it be the mini-mosher anthem 'Nothing', the coffee house-baiting 'Starbucks' or the cheeky pop-punk of 'Something's Going On' it's an album which is worthy of a place in most pop-punk collections.
But it's the DVD that is special to this release, and what I shall briefly focus on. DVDs are a wonderful thing,a nd if like me you are lucky enough to possess one, shoving in the extra disc brings about all kinds of wonderful magic. 'Nothing' and 'Starbucks' are weightily hammered out at the 2002 Reading Festival, with Dan Carter's basslines particularly crunching and his screams menacing. Perhaps the disc's best feature is the multi-angled version of the A anthem 'I Love Take Tahoe', which means you can merrily pogo along to your heart's content from any of the three options available.
There are also three mini movies which aren't particularly groundbreaking, but offer a reasonably interesting insight into life on the road with A. Witness Jason Perry's dodgy beard in all its glory, and watch some delightfully pissed up behaviour at the Kerrang Awards with glee. It's probably the closest most of us will every get to a, ahem, glitzy awards ceremony, so sit back and take it all in.
On the whole, if you haven't purchased 'Hi Fi Serious' already, 'DVD Serious' is good value. I'm not a big fan od re-issues, and I wouldn't recommend any owner of the record to buy it again, but if like me you fancy a bit of A once in a while, you could do a lot worse than this.
Paul.
