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Jessica Simpson: Dream Chaser
Sony Music // Unrated // January 22, 2002
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
With DVDs becoming more and more a staple of the music industry, teen pop has seen fit to use the format as not only a fine way to present videos and concerts with stronger audio quality (see some of Britney Spears' 5.1 remixes of the videos), but to also offer documentaries that, while promising the "real story" behind the stars and starlets, really is simply a way of promoting their latest effort. I've sat through - remarkably - nearly every one of these efforts. Christina Aguilera had "Genie Gets Her Wish", Britney Spears had "Time Out With Britney Spears", Mandy Moore had her "Real Story" and now, Jessica Simpson is presented in "Dream Chaser".
I've talked to some people who aren't fans of the recent teen pop trend who have trouble telling these four apart. The problem is understandable, as these four really haven't done that much to distinguish themselves from the pack. Spears is certainly the most visible and talked-about, while Moore has started acting taken risks musically, delivering a recent album that I felt was actually quite good, combining her vocals with actual instruments and an often exotic and interesting sound, not plain beats. Unfortunately, I've found most of Simpson's material to be rather generic. It's obvious that she has a terrific voice (although I'm more impressed with Leann Rimes' vocals), but her ballads seem bland, while the pop tunes are rather plain.
As for this 50 minute program, it offers the singer's videos, as well as interviews and a performance on MTV. There really isn't much insight into the singer's career offered - she mainly discusses how proud she is of her efforts and how thankful she is to her fans that have brought her her success. I'm sure that fans of these singers are thrilled to learn even a little more about their backgrounds, but I doubt that any of these programs will ever offer more than generalities. It would be interesting to actually have a director shoot a documentary of one of these pop starlets on tour - going from city to city, having to make appearances constantly, having to deal with publicists and trying to have their own image created by others for them.
The teen-pop DVD parade continues in a few weeks, as the 5th "Britney Spears-related" DVD, capturing her performance in Las Vegas on HBO, is released.
The DVD
VIDEO: The presentation is a mixture of 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 full-frame. There are some occasional faults with the picture quality, but nothing too distracting. Sharpness and detail are quite good, although there are a few segments that look a little soft and were likely shot on video.
While no pixelation or edge enhancement is apparent, some shimmering is occasionally seen. Colors look strong and well-saturated, with no smearing or any other problems.
SOUND: "Dream Chaser" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM 2.0. The entire program is presented in 5.1, but the videos that are presented clearly open up the mix, while the interview segments are definitely front-heavy. The video mixes are suprisingly good and really open up the music into the room in terrific fashion. While I haven't been pleased with some of the surround mixes from videos that have been released on previous Sony Music DVD video compilations (see the Mandy Moore DVD), these are not only creatively mixed, but the sound quality is dynamic and enjoyable.
The rear speakers are quite well used for the more uptempo videos, especially "A Little Bit", which actually has some sound effects specifically distributed to each of the rear speakers. As many of these video remixes simply sound like the same thing distributed to every speaker, it was nice to see 5.1 video remixes that seem as if a fair amount of effort was put into them. The additional touches in the surrounds on the videos are appropriate, not taking things overboard and becoming gimmicky. The sound quality is quite good, as Simpson's vocals are clearly and distinctly heard, while there's a fair amount of bass on tracks like "A Little Bit". While not as stunning as the powerful low-bass on some of Spears' 5.1 tracks, the amount of bass was satisfactory.
Comparing the PCM 2.0 soundtrack and the 5.1 soundtrack revealed a definite difference in sound quality. The 2.0 soundtrack for the video of "A Little Bit" sounded a bit muddled - switching to the 5.1 soundtrack revealed an impressive difference in clarity. As for the other elements of the program, the interviews are captured clearly and cleanly.
MENUS: Aside from some very basic animation, the menus are very minimal.
EXTRAS: Bio and discography. I was a bit displeased that, unlike the other video compilations I've seen, the videos can not be chosen to view on their own from a menu.
Final Thoughts: While Simpson clearly has talent, the material seems too similar - and even a bit less interesting - than all of the other performers who populate the teen pop landscape right now. "Dream Chaser" will likely thrill her fans, but those looking for much insight into her career probably aren't going to find it here. On a positive note, though, the videos have been very nicely reworked into 5.1 audio.
With DVDs becoming more and more a staple of the music industry, teen pop has seen fit to use the format as not only a fine way to present videos and concerts with stronger audio quality (see some of Britney Spears' 5.1 remixes of the videos), but to also offer documentaries that, while promising the "real story" behind the stars and starlets, really is simply a way of promoting their latest effort. I've sat through - remarkably - nearly every one of these efforts. Christina Aguilera had "Genie Gets Her Wish", Britney Spears had "Time Out With Britney Spears", Mandy Moore had her "Real Story" and now, Jessica Simpson is presented in "Dream Chaser".
I've talked to some people who aren't fans of the recent teen pop trend who have trouble telling these four apart. The problem is understandable, as these four really haven't done that much to distinguish themselves from the pack. Spears is certainly the most visible and talked-about, while Moore has started acting taken risks musically, delivering a recent album that I felt was actually quite good, combining her vocals with actual instruments and an often exotic and interesting sound, not plain beats. Unfortunately, I've found most of Simpson's material to be rather generic. It's obvious that she has a terrific voice (although I'm more impressed with Leann Rimes' vocals), but her ballads seem bland, while the pop tunes are rather plain.
As for this 50 minute program, it offers the singer's videos, as well as interviews and a performance on MTV. There really isn't much insight into the singer's career offered - she mainly discusses how proud she is of her efforts and how thankful she is to her fans that have brought her her success. I'm sure that fans of these singers are thrilled to learn even a little more about their backgrounds, but I doubt that any of these programs will ever offer more than generalities. It would be interesting to actually have a director shoot a documentary of one of these pop starlets on tour - going from city to city, having to make appearances constantly, having to deal with publicists and trying to have their own image created by others for them.
The teen-pop DVD parade continues in a few weeks, as the 5th "Britney Spears-related" DVD, capturing her performance in Las Vegas on HBO, is released.
The DVD
VIDEO: The presentation is a mixture of 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 full-frame. There are some occasional faults with the picture quality, but nothing too distracting. Sharpness and detail are quite good, although there are a few segments that look a little soft and were likely shot on video.
While no pixelation or edge enhancement is apparent, some shimmering is occasionally seen. Colors look strong and well-saturated, with no smearing or any other problems.
SOUND: "Dream Chaser" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM 2.0. The entire program is presented in 5.1, but the videos that are presented clearly open up the mix, while the interview segments are definitely front-heavy. The video mixes are suprisingly good and really open up the music into the room in terrific fashion. While I haven't been pleased with some of the surround mixes from videos that have been released on previous Sony Music DVD video compilations (see the Mandy Moore DVD), these are not only creatively mixed, but the sound quality is dynamic and enjoyable.
The rear speakers are quite well used for the more uptempo videos, especially "A Little Bit", which actually has some sound effects specifically distributed to each of the rear speakers. As many of these video remixes simply sound like the same thing distributed to every speaker, it was nice to see 5.1 video remixes that seem as if a fair amount of effort was put into them. The additional touches in the surrounds on the videos are appropriate, not taking things overboard and becoming gimmicky. The sound quality is quite good, as Simpson's vocals are clearly and distinctly heard, while there's a fair amount of bass on tracks like "A Little Bit". While not as stunning as the powerful low-bass on some of Spears' 5.1 tracks, the amount of bass was satisfactory.
Comparing the PCM 2.0 soundtrack and the 5.1 soundtrack revealed a definite difference in sound quality. The 2.0 soundtrack for the video of "A Little Bit" sounded a bit muddled - switching to the 5.1 soundtrack revealed an impressive difference in clarity. As for the other elements of the program, the interviews are captured clearly and cleanly.
MENUS: Aside from some very basic animation, the menus are very minimal.
EXTRAS: Bio and discography. I was a bit displeased that, unlike the other video compilations I've seen, the videos can not be chosen to view on their own from a menu.
Final Thoughts: While Simpson clearly has talent, the material seems too similar - and even a bit less interesting - than all of the other performers who populate the teen pop landscape right now. "Dream Chaser" will likely thrill her fans, but those looking for much insight into her career probably aren't going to find it here. On a positive note, though, the videos have been very nicely reworked into 5.1 audio.
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