Eagle Vision presents

Atomic Kitten: Right Here Right Now (2003)

"Come on baby do it to me good now..."- lyrics from Right Now

Stars: Liz McClarnon, Natasha Hamilton, Jenny Frost
Other Stars: Mike Stevens, Ciaron Bell, Adam Wakeman, Julian Emery, Steve Barney, Gordon Pemberton
Director: Steve Kemsley

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 01h:14m:43s
Release Date: 2003-08-26
Genre: music

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B-	B-	B	B	B-

 

DVD Review

It is true that every pot has its lid, and in the musical world it is certainly not any different; there is always a specialized genre to appeal to a specific market. In the case of Atomic Kitten, Britain's latest all-girl pop marketing money machine, that market is apparently screaming pre-teen girls. So be it, I say. And while Atomic Kitten is a noticeably more sanitized, less blatantly sexual version of the current crop of hip-grinding Britneys, Kylies, and Christinas, it is obvious that their success is largely based on the fact that they look smashing in low-cut jeans and tiny tops while singing pop songs.

The Atomic Kittens are, at their very core, a trio of undeniably attractive young women named Jenny Frost, Natasha "Tash" Hamilton, and Liz McClarnon, and the blandness and sameness of their songs is counterbalanced by their overall bubbly effervesence and perky dance moves. In this concert disc, which captures the final performance (at Belfast's Waterfront Theater), of what we're told was a highly successful European tour, the girls change outfits often, share the lead vocal duties, and basically thrill the socks off an audience of glowstick-waving young girls.

This is largely pre-teen safe music that is less suggestive than most of their contemporaries, and though the lead off track has lyrics about "do it to me good" and "do it slow", most of the material is forgettable dance/pop sold handily by the Kittens' dancing and posing. There is the usual smattering of covers, this time The Bangles' Eternal Flame, Kim Wilde's Kids in America and the old Martha Reeves' chestnut Dancing in the Streets, and even these songs are transmogrified into slick, glossy pop clones of each other. The most surreal moment here is the noticeable pregnancy of twenty-year-old vocalist Tash Hamilton, and oddly enough it doesn't prevent her from wearing low slung pants and belly shirts.

Set List:

Right Now
Turn Me On
Eternal Flame
Tomorrow and Tonight
Hippie
Get Real
Strangers
Cradle
You Are
Follow Me
It's OK
See Ya
I Want Your Love
Kids in America
Bye Now
Whole Again
Dancing in the Street


Rating for Style: B-
Rating for Substance: B-

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, this concert disc is hampered by a bit of grain and sometimes spotty concert lighting. Colors, by and large, are well-rendered and properly bright, with even, natural fleshtones. Image detail is nice and sharp, and you can pick out the tiny freckles on Tash Hamilton quite easily, if that's your bag.

Effective and nice looking transfer.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	yes
DTS	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: Kudos to Eagle Rock for providing audio in DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1, as well as a somewhat less robust 2.0 surround track, because if I have to listen to a concert disc that I'm only marginally interested in, it is far more tolerable if the mix is at least impressive. The DTS and 5.1 mixes both have unexpectedly deep bottom ends, and the chirpy vocals are clean and well balanced.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 17 cues and remote access
Music/Song Access with 17 cues and remote access
1 Documentaries
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Music videos

Extras Review: Atomic Kitten fans will be pleased with The Kitten Diaries (47m:44s), a long series of clips capturing the girls backstage, at rehearsal, and plenty of general tour nuttiness. This is really more info than I needed to know about the band, but I did find Tash Hamilton's discussion of her pregnancy (and what it means to the future of the Kittens) to be unintentionally hilarious.

Also included are a pair of music videos, one for It's OK (featuring the girls frolicking on the beach) and a by-the-numbers cover of Blondie's The Tide is High.

The disc is cut into 17 chapters, and does not feature any subtitles.

Extras Grade: B-
 

Final Comments

It would be unfair to give this disc a poor grade just because I'm not a fan of the music. The Atomic Kittens have an audience, and I'm sure their fans will no doubt adore this concert disc. The sound mix is impressive, the girls are cute, and the lengthy backstage documentary will likely sate their fan wishes.

Rich Rosell 2003-09-29