2002 UK Compilation

D103 2002 UK COMPILATION

For every good quality complete or near-complete concert film that circulates there will be numerous others half as good, half as complete, in some way compromised by adverse circumstance (sometimes one, sometimes a whole welter) that renders them poorly suited for sharing. Such is the taper's lot. Such footage is still of use, principally as a source for decent (and often otherwise lost) individual cuts that, lifted and (if necessary) sound upgraded, form the basis of releases such as D533, D569 or the TTYL series. D103 offers us four such "failed" films, collected together here in a sort of bootlegger's out-takes compilation. Each is separately chaptered on the menu page (first screenshot), but no additional chapter marks have been added, making film to film skipping possible, but song to song skipping not. Audio quality throughout is four star - okay but a bit hollow - with, as so often, acoustic sounding appreciably better than electric. Dates covered are the first four of the eight D played in the UK between 4 and 12 May 2002.

(1) BRIGHTON (58:20)

This is exactly the same film as presented on D157, so for comments, see review of that disc. Best source for footage from this show remains the near pro-quality though sadly incomplete D685.

(2) BOURNEMOUTH (13:45)

Clean, close, slightly wavery, hand-held footage offering just three songs, with first and last clipped down to four minutes each, but, sandwiched in between, this disc's highlight - a complete, beautifully performed and well-filmed Mama, with even the otherwise-troublesome heads conspiring for once to give the taper a sustained clear run. (And, for another sparkling gem from this show, see D569's Des Row.)

(3) CARDIFF (26:12)

Two near-complete songs - Things and Wind - plus longer or shorter slices of six others (for details, toggle blue link below track-list above). But this gig comes complete and in fine shape on D239.su, which is the place to be for it.

(4) NEWCASTLE (21:12)

Newcastle footage, on the other hand, appears to circulate here only. Though the catalogue lists D238 (Bournemouth, 89 minutes) and D240 (Newcastle, 141 minutes, two discs) strangely, no-one seems either to have or even know anything about either one (see, too, D242 below). So, in their absence, what of this? We see a steady, right-side film, initially (last screenshot) not close then, from SH Blues on, nicely zoomed in, but plagued by recurrent cuts. Only Solid Rock is (almost) complete. The substantial chunk (near four minutes) of LMZ we're offered sounds just the ticket and this mutilated Hard Rain is its usual resplendent self. Hope that the mysterious D240 emerges someday soon, then, for this tantalising, teasing taster is ultimately a poor substitute.

MERCI BIEN Viner Xavier
STARS In D239.su and D555.su, two enjoyable upgrades, the UK 2002 mini-tour is well documented. Judging by their DASH-F ratings, and whether upgraded or not, D241 and D243 also look like the real McCoy (with D242 another of those Missing In Action). D103, meanwhile, offers a Brighton film available elsewhere and little else, thus of tangential interest only. Two and a half.