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Where do I begin? The first of its kind, this "DVD album" of the Super Furry Animals' instant-classic Rings Around The World (2001) is a colossal synthesis of sound, image and design. Short films accompany each of the album's tracks, followed by a complete remix of the album featuring big names such as Kid 606, High Llamas and SFA themselves. Five additional tracks are offered as supplements to the album proper, each accompanied by a short film of its own. Lastly, an enormous collection of photographs is included, featuring SFA and their collaborators during both the recording of the album and the production of the films. Released simultaneously as both a CD and DVD in the UK, the album was finally made available in Region 1 DVD format in North America this spring. It was well worth the wait, as Rings Around the World provides further evidence of SFA's mad genius and the epic scope of their artistic vision.
For those of you unfamiliar with the album (have you been living beneath a rock?), Rings Around The World was one of the event albums of 2001, galvanizing critical acclaim and spawning an enormous multimedia tour. Fusing a reverie of conventional pop songwriting, an intelligent command of studio trickery and hi-jinx that is completely of their own design, SFA construct a complex sonic environment that is both classical and contemporary. The DVD, like the album, sustains this spirit.
It must be said that the Rings Around The World DVD is worth experiencing for the superb sound quality alone -- the entire album has been mixed in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and DTS, offering a listening experience far above that provided by conventional compact discs. Although the surround mix is not very aggressive, there are many instances in which SFA take the opportunity to emphasize particular elements of the album's sound through their appearance in the surround-sound environment. Horn and string sections often float into the central stereo field via the rear speakers, while of much of the extraneous compositional effects (i.e. Paul McCartney's guest appearance, munching on celery and carrots during "Receptacle For The Respectable") dance around the surround speakers over the course of the song. The quality of the video transfers is also fantastic, while the animated navigation menus are something to behold in and of themselves.
"I don't know what more people could ask for: there's violence, pornography, dance routines, monsters, platform games. It was an excuse to work with fifteen different people we wanted to work with. Some of them were designers of video games we liked, some of them were artists who'd never made films before. One of them was the guy who cuts our hair." - Gruff Rhys, SFA
While some of the short films are certainly less adventurous than others, none are merely music videos (although several clips have been released to video stations as promotional fare). The filmmakers, working closely with the band, have produced work ranging from digital video art to short documentary subjects. The directors range from established music video makers and celebrated graphic artists (the gifted Pete Fowler and Simon Pike) to a selection of leading-edge video game designers (check-out Mark James' "Roman Road") and digital effects wizards.
Peter Gray's film for "Shoot Doris Day" is a lyrical portrait of India; almost ethnographic in its observational tone, it is photographically stunning. Dylan Jones' clip for "It's Not The End Of The World?" is a wry found footage compilation, sardonically recasting the footage of nuclear missile tests we have all come to recognize in a new light. It is work like this that contrasts well with Pete Fowler and Simon Pike's trademark absurdity. The duo's now infamous cast of imaginary critters representing SFA appear in a video animation piece capturing an illusive narrative ("Receptacle For The Respectable"). The highlights are definitely London-based design collective 4K's brilliant allegorical interpretation of "Presidential Suite" and D.O.N.A.'s (Dawn of the New Assembly) completely irreverent clip for "Juxtapozed With U". Cut-out cigar illustrations stand-in for Cuban missiles while dancing portrait models from 1950s department store catalogues destroy the art designs of once-popular household brands in 4K's contribution, while D.O.N.A.'s vision for the latter track is comprised of a live-action, larger-than-life cardboard video camera and its playful search for friends. Rest assured, the camera finds his companions: a clipboard, a light fixture and a creepy, bear-like doll with gigantic, flailing arms. Utterly hilarious. Confused? It's only the tip of the iceberg.
The remixes offer both conventional and avant-garde interpretations of the album tracks. While some suffer from an excess of deconstruction, most rediscover the original melodies of the individual compositions and represent them in refreshing ways. The visual aspect of these pieces is limited to freeze-frames of the original films; it seems this is a fair compromise, as the majority of the remix tracks fail to observe the pace and flow of their predecessors. That said, the remix video for "Fragile Happiness" takes advantage of DVD's supplementary angle ability, which allows the viewer to cycle through the seven progressive layers of graphic rendering involved in creating the short subject that accompanies the album version of the track. It's an inventive interactive approach to illustrating the work involved in such digital animations, and a fine conclusion to the disc's video offerings. There is a secondary angle available on all of Rings Around The World's album tracks, which replaces the screen image with a static shot of the sound engineering device used to mix surround sound in a mastering studio. Making visible the aural environment of the disc, it is a simple yet ingenious touch.
Rings Around The World is essential listening without the flair of additional bells and whistles. From the first appearance of its dramatic opening sequence, however, this ground-breaking DVD edition, with its copious extra features, propels the album and its visual component into a stratosphere apart from the majority of the music-themed DVDs currently available. Although it will surely be imitated, Rings Around The World will never be duplicated -- such is the individuality of SFA's musical ability and pioneering vision to offer listeners and viewers alike a home theatre experience that is (cough, cough) out of this world.
Note: The initial Region 1 pressing of Rings Around The World contained a programming error that made the supplementary material unavailable. In the event you experience this problem, fear not -- Beggars Banquet has established a simple exchange program that will have a new disc in your hands (along with some extra goodies) in the blink of an eye. Check out the Beggars US website for full details.
-- Mike Baker
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