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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A slightly cheesy rendition of a masterpiece, 29 Mar 2006
Operation Mindcrime is the only Queensryche album that I own, bought due to a fondness for concept albums, and I consider it to be an absolute masterpiece. It has an extremely coherent plot combined with great individual songs that fit together to make an album that flows seamlessly.I knew nothing about Queensryche before buying this, not even what they looked like, and I found this DVD to be a bit of a letdown. It is typical overblown 90's arena rock in the worst way. From the sly wink at the camera mid-guitar solo, to the Kevin Keegan-style permed mullet of the bassist, the constant phallic gestures with the guitars, the dodgy leather outfits, the spinning round on the spot by the guitarists and bassist, there's just something a little embarrassing about watching it. Technically the music is flawless, although on a few occasions the singer fails to hit the high notes, or tries to vary the vocal delivery by speaking certain phrases syncopated to the music, which doesn't really work. This is the only allowed deviation from the original though, and the performance is almost note for note what is on the album. Personally, I would much rather listen to the album than sit down and watch this. With the album you can concentrate on the music and the storyline, but here too much of your attention is taken up by cringing at the band, and this tends to detract from the experience, despite the excellent songs and the undeniable quality of musicianship. It's difficult to give this anything other than a fairly neutral 3 stars. If you like Operation Mindcrime then you certainly will not hate this, but in my opinion it is far from essential.
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