FROM THE FRONT ROW...LIVE!

For several years now I've had this DVD on my list of things I'd get around to buying at some point, if for no other reason than to say I'd finally completed my Kansas collection and to verify what I suspected, which was that this would be a colossal disappointment (it was). A few months ago I was buying something good off Amazon, can't recall what now, and I needed something that only cost a few dollars so I could qualify for free shipping. That's how they get you to spend more money BTW, by slipping something into the cart that you would have had the sense to pass on if you were shopping in an actual store. Anyway, now I've got it in my collection so a full accounting is in order in the interest of the next potential victim who may fall prey.

This is one of the last of the shockingly bad "From the Front Row Live?" series of Audio- DVDs (yes Virginia, there was such a beast) released by the apparently now-defunct (imagine that!) Silverline Records in 2003. I distinctly remember there being a big deal in Rolling Stone and other music rags at the time about some company who had bought up the rights to a crapload of live music with the intent of releasing it all on DVD in order to leverage that media's ability to create better sound separation than CD, and at the same time support a mixed-media package of live audio along with still photos and the occasional video clip. Keep in mind optical discs had already been around for more than twenty years at this point, and the Blu-ray format had already been announced. Yet somehow still photos scrolling like a slideshow over old concert audio clips seemed like a good idea to someone at Silverline at the time.

It wasn't.

The first problem was a complete misunderstanding of the technology on Silverline's part. The second problem was piss-poor timing what with folks like Steve Hackett, Uriah Heep and even Ozric Tentacles having already released live concert video footage on DVD. Seems like a no-brainer now, but I guess 2003 was still a transition period.

And finally, the choice of this 1989 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Valentine's Day concert as the Kansas entry into the Silverline sweepstakes simply goes beyond the pale. Those who have read any of my previous rants about this concert already know that it had already been sliced, diced, gutted and spewn out no less than four times by various labels in the five years or so that preceded this release. For those keeping score at home that included CDs from EMI International ('Dust in the Wind', 2002); King Biscuit ('King Bisquet Flower Hour Presents Kansas', 1998 and 'Greatest Hits Live', 2003); and BMG's 'Extended Versions' in 2000. As with all of those worthless releases this one breaks up the concert and shuffles the tracks into some order that makes no sense whatsoever. On the positive side at least this version leaves most of the stage banter and audience feedback intact, although considering how coked-up Walsh was that night I'm not sure that flattered the band all that much.

And the only 'video' on the record is a short CGI recording of instructions on how to position the speakers in your "home entertainment studio" to take full advantage of the "5.1 channels of discrete audio". In case you pick this up and are tempted to follow said instructions I'll save you the time by suggesting you not bother since the sound quality isn't any better than that on any of the cutout bin CD versions mentioned above. Other than that, the only visuals are snippets of still photos taken during that concert, displayed one-per- song as the tracks play out. And even then there are actually only about seven pictures, alternated during songs with different croppings being applied to them. Some of them aren't even in color, and one photo was applied inverted making Steve Morse appear to be playing his guitar left-handed. Good God, what a load of crap!

Even the liner notes suck, nothing more than a single sheet slid into the front cover of the jewel case with a list of songs and production credits. That's it.

So anyway, on the off chance anyone reading this ever thinks about actually buying this disc, please take my word for it when I say paying more than a few cents for it would be a waste of your money. If you really want to hear the concert just pick up the King Biscuit 1998 CD as you pass the cutout bin the next time you visit your local record store. Should set you back whatever the equivalent of $2 USD is in your local currency. And for a much better actual video DVD of Kansas from 2003, check out the CMG DVD version of 'Device- Voice-Drum' from the 2002 Atlanta concert of the same name. This thing doesn't even belong in the collection of the most ardent Kansas fanboy, and I myself would dispose of my copy except that I've pasted a note on it for my next-of-kin asking them to please hang onto it when I'm gone just in case anyone in the future ever needs reminded how worthless it actually is. One star 'cause I couldn't post this review without giving it some sort of rating, and not recommended for anything except as a coaster.

peace