Released by Magnum Music, UK, September 29th 2003

Running time: 55 minutes. No region coding (playable in all DVD machines) with NTSC format picture.
 
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In a year where a number of DVDs featuring Pink Floyd are being released, here's another to join them. Ostensively containing the same Floyd material as the Stamping Ground DVD, this disc is being released in the UK (and available elsewhere as an import from the UK). Stamping Ground, you may recall, is a Brazilian only release, so incurs relatively steep shipping charges from the country of origin, to some regions. This disc may be the answer... or is it?

Unlike Stamping Ground, which is a document of the Dutch music festival of 28th June 1970, Psychomania is a compilation of various video clips, TV performances, and promos, most from the late sixties. The material within may well be more enjoyable for many, thanks to the higher profile artists included, playing a good selection of hits.

Upon inserting the disc there is no opening menu before going straight into the feature, just a series of opening logos and messages, one of which betrays the origins of this title as it refers to "this videocassette"! Whilst a competent job has been done in the transfer from VHS to DVD, it is very annoying that there are no chapter points! As with all various artist compilations, some you like, some you don't, but with no chapter points you are unable to skip past/skip to any tracks.

The DVD has been mastered with a Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack, and bizarrely enough for a UK release, an NTSC picture! You should ensure, then, that your equipment plays NTSC discs (most do though). The picture format throughout is 4:3 (aka "fullscreen").

The sound quality throughout varies according to the source material, but isn't the best I've heard. Dynamically it is OK if a little flat and compressed. Clarity and definition are lacking in places, but again, some of this is an inherent fault of the originals.

Nick: "Get that ****ing logo off the screen!"

The one thing that does annoy is the constant BB&B logo in the top left corner throughout the feature. Why is it there?! Implies that the original VHS had been taped off TV - it looks the same as a satellite TV channel's Ident, although as with those, you quickly grow to ignore it. Just a real shame it is there in the first place, though.

So, the feature starts. An intro of Cream's "I Feel Free" leads into David Bowie's "Space Oddity" promo, with David looking and acting very cheesily. Nice vintage looning around in futuristic/spacey attire!

Seven minutes in (remember, no chapter points to move to!) an incorrect caption appears for Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (correctly listed on the cover itself). A very similar picture and sound quality to the Stamping Ground DVD, but in this case you only get two and a half minutes of the track as opposed to four on SG. This misses the whole "flare in the crowd" segment, cutting straight in to Nick's drumming.

Nine and a half minutes in, therefore, you then get what the cover calls "Saucer Of Secrets". This time, you get the whole six minutes as on SG. Two nice if frustratingly short segments of their whole performance that night. As I mentioned in our SG review, I wonder if any of the rest of their performance still exists on a dusty roll of film or two, rather than the ten minutes that were released by the director?

The typically restrained Arthur Brown follows with "Fire", showing how good he was at miming! "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds is great, as expected. Indeed, a song covered by Gilmour in late eighties soundchecks, too! Another mimed performance - and hilariously, the drummer seems completely lost throughout!

Jefferson Airplane's drug anthem "White Rabbit" is next, featuring a "chick" larking around on the shore line, pulling significant poses, interspersed with shots of caterpillars, white knight chess pieces, and the Surrealistic Pillow album cover. Robert Wyatt's Soft Machine perform "We Know What You Mean" live in a studio, followed by the Grateful Dead's "Sugar Magnolia", where the dance du jour seems to be twirling around. Strange. The band look to be enjoying themselves - a nice contrast to the serious and sombre faces elsewhere.

The jaunty theme continues with Dr John's "All On A Mighty Fine Day". Then, Julie Driscoll's somewhat unusual performance of "Wheel's On Fire". Very 1967! A change of pace for Steve Miller's "Space Cowboy", followed by Captain Beefheart's "Open The My Oh My" (performance credited to Jimi Hendrix on the cover!). A weird performance - the good Captain miming (poorly) and two strange old fellows coming onstage behind him, clutching a silver trophy of some sort, but just standing behind him looking confused...

Normality returns with Hendrix and a fiery run through of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love" (from the Lulu show?), followed by that band and "I Feel Free". This features Cream making no attempts to mime to the song, instead choosing to lark around in a park, wearing monk's habits, going down the slide, etc. A fun end to the feature.

A cheaper and arguably more enjoyable option than the Stamping Ground DVD, the only question is do you need the extra minute and a half included on the other DVD? Oh, and the lack of THAT logo in the top corner!