PINK FLOYD
Live At Pompeii: Director's Cut (Universal)
     Pompeii sees Pink Floyd moulding their post-Barrett era psychedelic soundscapes with minimal electronica in a film that is as pretentious as it is comical. Comical? Well yes, the four Floyd boys play the role of the token middle-class art school progressive rockers to a tee: short and sharp without being rude and more jolly hockey sticks that R&R. The newly added interview segments are hilarious for all of the wrong reasons: think Spinal Tap after a Public School education. Nick Mason talking about pies and Roger Waters explaining the technicalities of synths in the studio are highlights! 
     But what about the film and the music? Well, as with the big rock films from the time like Zep's The Song Remains The Same, the multi-camera angles, rear projections and lunar footage are all a bit too earnest. Staggeringly so. The band's performances in the spookily empty Pompei amphitheatre however offer better versions of favourites like 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun' which have more character than the studio efforts. The DVD sound and image are also very good, and Nick Mason sports a wonderful butterfly top too. (I want one).
     Floyd aficionados have had much to criticise about the new Director's cut, but if like me, you enjoy Floyd in small doses this is a worthy DVD to add to your skinning-up collection. The new menus, designed by SDer Dan Abbott catch the era in a digitised manner nicely, and the few new interview segments and studio footage of the recording of the Dark Side of The Moon make this is a worthwhile purchase for the hardened fan too.
Jon 'Mojo' Mills