First off, let me say that this is the first m*****n DVD in 19 years of existence as a band... and Amazon got the title wrong. It's "Lighting the Candles" not "Lightning."
Second, this DVD is definitely packed full of stuff. It is good value for the money if you are a m*****n fan. So, why only 3 stars? Well, several reasons...
I think everyone will agree, the classic Mish line-up was Wayne, Craig, Mick and Simon. So, here you have a whole concert from Wayne... and a bunch of new-hires. Rob Halliday (who played with Toni in CURVE) is a great guitarist and his killer tone gives the songs more crunch and a harder edge. The bass player is serviceable but definitely no Craig Adams. The drummer is atrocious. About 4 songs in I thought that, while energetic, there was just something off. Then I realized the drummer was playing the same Boom-Bap-Boom-Bap through every damn song! Not a great drum tone and just Boom-Bap-Boom-Bap until that's all I could focus on. "Brothers, sisters, give me deliverance, deliver me!" Boom-Bap-Boom-Bap. "You are a Tower of Strength - to May-hay" Boom-Bap-Boom-Bap. I never realized what a good drummer Mick Brown was until watching this. Now, I realize I may be biased, having seen the Mish in 1987, '89, '90, and '95, but this just isn't "The m*****n" - it's Wayne and some dudes playing m*****n songs.
What this DVD also illuminates is the frustration of being a fan of this band. In the Bootleg section you can see a couple performances from the classic line-up that are quite exciting, beyond the ridiculous attire and make-up. But somewhere after Simon left the band in '90/'91, the plot was lost. They went from the rockers who ripped off plenty of Zeppelin riffs to pretentious rockers with U2-like aspirations to aping the Cure's abominable cutesy side. (A funny aside is that nowhere in the 355 minutes is any mention made of Simon's replacement - The Etch).
So, Wayne made the very Cure-like "Masque" which had some decent songs but was essentially a Wayne solo album and sticks out like a sore thumb in their catalogue. By the time they returned to sounding anything like themselves, on "Neverland," it was 1995 and most people had forgotten about them. By that point it was Wayne, Mick, and a bunch of new-hires. And much of that album features a drum machine. Anyway, watching the BIO secton, one can see what could have been, but never was. And at the end of the day, still the burning question remains - how can someone come up with such great music as "Deliverance" and then write some totally absurd lyrics about Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake to go with it?!?!?
My other complaint is just the usual about song selection. The live CD features "Wing and a Prayer" and "Grip of Disease" while the DVD concert does not. Also, why are you using the same horrid drum sequences for "Butterfly on a Wheel" as you were in 1990?? And what's worse, for "Tower of Strength" the band are essentially playing over the 1994 remix. I mean, it really sounds like somebody just popped in the CD and the band then plays over that. L-A-M-E. And actually, if you watch the Wayne solo stuff on Disc 2, it gets worse. There is actual footage of Wayne doing some live shows where he simply played guitar and sang over pre-recorded music. It's The m*****n Karaoke! COME ON!
I hope somebody gives Von a copy of this for Xmas. He will soil himself in uproarious laughter.
) - for better or worse, the current lineup is certainly no FALAA covers band.
