U2 - Popmart - Live from Mexico City [VHS]

Packaging
The promo release is only a double jewelcase with disc 1(wich contains the show) and disc 2(bonus material).
Disc 1
The show start as all the other U2 dvd's, immediately after putting the disc in the player.

Picture
There is a real improvement on the picture compare to the vhs release. The picture are much
sharper and has much better colours. Seeing the dvd on a normal tv works very good. But if you have a very good Plasma/Lcd it is
easy to find pixles in the picture.

Sound
Well, here you will find a big difference from the vhs release. The options is PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and ofcourse
DTS 5.1 sourround.
The sound is very warm and and much clearer then the vhs. You can realy hear Bono's voice much better and clearer, wich was
a problem on the vhs.
The volume mix between music and crowd are excellent.
I think the vhs release didnt have the capacity to show how good the show was with the big screen on stage and the
sound techniques. It was an unfair release, but the dvd finally gives the show a fair presentation.
The show
This show is togheter with Rotterdam, Sarajevo and Santiago the best show on the tour. The band is on a very playfull mode.
The songs are very good played.
A lot of fans has been worried about Bono's voice on this show. For people who don't know
Bono had serious problem with his voice durning this tour. His voice is a bit weak on this one, but that makes the show even better.
He puts so much emotion to his singing durning the show.
The show starts with an amazing version of "Mofo", wich immediately drives the crowd
mad. The crowd are very good and loud on this show.
The versions on the songs from Pop on this show compare to the album
version is huge, a real improvement. You can hear it on "Gone", "Last Night On Earth", "Please"... The version on New Years Day
on this show is one of the best ever, Desire gets a very funny feel, Edge does an acustic version on Sunday Bloody Sunday and also sings the
whole song. On Bullet The Blue Sky Bono comes on stages with a military outfit and an umbrella with a Usa flag on it in his hand.
After that song one of the biggest highlights of the show starts, In the end of "Please" Bono starts to sing in a beautiful
falsetto and slowly the song shift into "Where The Streets Has No Name". After that the band goes of stage and a dance mix of
"Lemon" is playing in the speakers. The Lemon starts to move out over the crowd and then stops. Then the Lemon opens and U2 goes
down from the stage and starting play Discotheque. The version of "With Or Without You" is a very emotional one, mainly by Bono's
voice. Wich is weak on the song . Another emotional moment are the version of "One", the song is dedicated to Michael Hutchence from
INXS. Michael died just two weaks before this show. The songs ends with "Wake Up Dead Man"

Bonus disc
The menus on the Bonus disc got a very nice MART feel
The bonus material are very interesting.
Live shows
1997-07-18 - Rotterdam
On this show Bono's voice is very strong. Amazing versions of "Please", Where The Streets Has No Name" and "If You Wear That Velvet Dress".
But why didnt the dvd also contain the fantastic version of Staring At The Sun from the same show?
1997-06-14 - Edmonton
Only filmed with one camera? Good versions on Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, Mysterious Ways and a
excellent version of One. You can hear that this is more earlier in the tour on Bono. His voice is much more stable
and clearer on this show.
Documentaries:
Lemon For Sale
Commerical for the lemon
The Road To Sarajevo
This one is different from the the Documentary on the Best Of 90-00. It contains more footage from the Sarajevo concert.
The songs that are showed are Where The Streets Has No Name and Even Better The The Real Thing.
A Tour Of The Tour
Lead by Paul Paul mcguinness
Last Night On Earth
A Documentary about the making of the video to the song.

PopMart Tour Visuals Montage
A mix of fooatge and music from the tour.

This may be one of the best U2 dvd released.

I won't say it's the best U2 concert on film ever, but I personally think it's as good as any other. Just seeing the extravagance of Popmart again is a real joy. I don't think we will see it's like ever again. I mean, the amazing mirrorball lemon, the Mc D's influenced arch and that huge video wall with it's Roy Lichtenstein animations. Truly stunning. The 'Pop' album may be flawed, but the tour and this era of U2 wasn't the lemon that some say it was. History will be kind I think, and this DVD records a band at their most playful and musically inventive.

The band are clearly having a blast in the OTT world they have created on stage. It's almost as if in response to those po-faced fans/journo's that were trying to make U2 feel ashamed of the Pop album and the subsequent tour the band actually revel in it all, and make the most of what they had created - two fingers up to the critics and all that....

The main concert has been cleaned up visually and sonically to as good a standard as you can expect for a 1997 filmed show. It really looks/sounds great for those with nice A/V gear.

But it's the bonus DVD (and the packaging) that shine for me. Some U2 2-disc sets have disappointed (Vertigo, Chicaco anyone..). But not here. The band and the exec produced Tara Mullen (Larry's sis) have clearly put a lot of love and attention in to the whole package, in particular the bonus disc which has lots of great stuff on it. You can feast yourself on as much Popmart as you can handle quite frankly! The Popmart shopping game is cool.. it's like your own personal Generation Game conveyor belt.

The packaging is great too. I mean, in the spirit of Popmart you even get a pop-up The Edge to marvel at ;) Nice.

So all in all a great 2 disc set here. The best yet from Dublins finest. One curiosity though..... When you select in-store security camera content from the bonus disc you get this weird homemade video featuring this couple in Dublin. It's set to music with Karaoke words on screen! What the hell is that all about boys!

***** 5 Stars. Buy it.

U2 have a great vision for video. They have embraced the media. This is a great concert film. From the familiar black and white begining to the technicolour mirrorball flashing round the stadium and from the acoustic version of Staring at the Sun to the fully blown opener of a rock funadellic song of Mofo this has it all.
It is (as most U2 shows are) a significant night as far as the U2 camp is concerned, they have just had word that Michael Hutchins has just died, a close friend of the band and a great singer. All I want is you becomes Never tear us apart and emotion is all over the place, Bono visibily moved by his own lyrics.
The hits are also here, but the whole show only makes sense when we see the triple wammy of Bullet the Blue Sky, Please and Where the Streets... it is simply U2 at their prime and it is simply breath taking. The music and the band and the screen all fight for attention and sometimes its hard to decide who will win.
Low points are few, but you have to question the inclusion of a weak Velvet Dress and With or Without You.
Discotheque and the comming out of the Lemon is a great spinal tap moment in their career, and I think they will never regret doing it, it was what it was supposed to be, kitsch, silly and funny, but because it's U2 it worked.

A real Music Video, if you looking for Britney here put your head in the ground, because this is how it should sound and look.

JB, Belfast