Damn Yankees Uprising
May 2007 Reviewed by: Anthony Di Marco Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Music videos can get old -- fast. Production values vary from capturing the genius of a superb stage show, without editorializing, to collecting badly edited vignettes with heavy-handed video effects irrelevant to the songs or the mood. And while well-produced surround sound can expand the video constricted by the tight shots and quick cuts, it can’t replace the group dynamic, energy, and excitement of a live show.

The producers of Damn Yankees: Uprising seem to have realized that two hours of concert footage on DVD can’t compare to the real experience. Like Depeche Mode’s ground-breaking 101, Uprising alternates live concert footage with anecdotes about the band. Pulling the audience into the personal lives of these famous musicians makes the story-telling more interesting. Interviews with friends, family members, and even a priest, along with funny bits and jamming sessions, take the audience beyond the egos in the band and reveal them as genuine human beings. Viewers are exposed to some very laid-back people who don’t take themselves too seriously. I laughed at Ted Nugent’s comments about how he loves "killing his dinner" and the loving jabs between band members.

The video quality is surprisingly good, at times bordering on superb. Concert footage demonstrates excellent clarity, color separation, and dynamic range. In the live interviews, skin tones seem natural, and high-frequency detail contributes to a surprising depth of field that gives the image "pop."

This front-heavy recording begs to be played loud, and I expected the hard driving guitars and intense vocals to be flattened by dynamic compression. Instead, voices and instruments were given enough room to stretch their dynamic range. The overall timbre of the recording is natural and smooth, with crispness and a nice sense of space. The concert portions of the program are well recorded and engineered. I could tell a lot of time and money was spent making sure the sound was top notch.

There are no formal extras, though one could argue that what typically count as extras are included within the main program. This concert DVD with its good-natured fun and collection of colorful characters is an entertaining waste of time.

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