S Club 7 - Carnival

Amazon.co.uk Review

With an accompanying "access all areas" television series, S Club's Carnival 2002 tour was billed as a defining moment of live music to match Lollapalooza. From the opening sequence of seven warrior drummers marching from the auditorium on to the stage, to the walkway that hovers precariously over the heads of the audience, the show clearly has enormous aspirations. Assisted by stunning stage projections, colourful dance routines and costumes, the seven singers successfully manage to conjure up what the title promises: a flaming hot fiesta. Apart from the inclusion of selected tracks from their third album Sunshine, the show differs little from their previous nationwide tour, with favourites such as "S Club Party", "Bring It All Back" and "Reach" all getting priority billing in the show. In a belated acknowledgement to all the mums and dads in the audience, Jon performs a powered-up rendition of Beatles classic "The Long and Winding Road", and the show ends with a pumping medley of 1970s and 80s party hits. The Carnival show may not go down in the history books as one of the defining moments of 21st century popular culture, but it's certainly a spectacular which deserves to be remembered (well, in the short-term at least).

On the DVD: Carnival on disc has glossy and colourful visuals, just like the photos in the teen magazines S Club regularly front. The material is occasionally spoilt by cheap-looking visual effects, which would not look out of place on a 1980s edition of Top of the Pops. The 5.1 Stereo soundtrack, though, is excellent and successfully recreates the dynamism of the concert. The bonus features are an improvement on previous S Club DVD releases but not particularly original (an episode from the tour TV series Don't Stop Movin' and a lacklustre picture gallery). --John Galilee

Customer Reviews:

S Club 7- Carnival 2002.......2004-03-02

this dvd is the best i have seen it and the performances are the best. all the sclubbers did a very good job of singing. the best part is that they all sing there own songs and the music sounds so cool. i love the fast beat that tina does. over all i think this dvd is the best and s club best concert i think for the 2002

The S Clubbers Do It Again.......2003-07-11

I'm not a huge fan of S club 7 but have always enjoyed their music.
This DVD captures the S Clubbers on the last date of their Carnival tour 2002. The set list of this concert is as follows along with a description of how it is performed and a rating out of ten:

S Club Party - The members of S Club appear from under the stage on trapdoors and perform the opening song 10/10

Bring It All Back - S Club move swiftly on into their debut single which has an unrecognisable introduction 8/10

Good Times - After a small rather amusing chat with the audience they perform a track off their 'Sunshine' album and which should have been a single. On lead vocals is Paul who sounds great. 10/10

You're My Number One - Always been a favourite with the fans and they perform it in the energetic way that it should be done 10/10

Friday Night - Not S Clubs strongest track and I get the feeling it was only there to give Bradley a chance to shine. At the end of this song the members disappear under the stage 4/10

Sunshine - The members re-appear from behind a giant video screen to sing the title track of their third album. Jon sings lead and does a great job 8/10

Show Me Your Colours - Again not a particularly great song but it gives Rachael her moment in the spotlight 7/10

Never Had A Dream Come True - This song is possibly one of S Clubs best songs. Jo sings lead and it becomes clear immediately that she has the strongest voice in the group and tears through that song with the other six members almost fading into the background. Again at the end of the song they disappear under the stage. 10/10

Stronger - This is the beginning of the disco section of the concert and the members re-appear from under the stage on a DJ's box to sing another cracking song. Unfortunately Tina who quite obviously has the weakest voice in the group sings this song and fights her way through the song by basically speaking the lines of the song. 7/10

Bring The House Down - Another favourite of S Club fans the song is very energetic and fun and at the end they use some cool pyrotechnics. 9/10

Dance Dance Dance - This song is fantastic and probably the best in the whole concert. It has a fantastic dance break (credit due to the choreographer 'Pricilla Samuels'). It is sung by Hannah who seems to be lip-syncing which is a little disappointing to say the least. But overall it's a highlight. 9/10

The Long And Winding Road - This is possibly the worst part of the concert. This is not because Jon sang it badly because in fact he sounds fantastic. It is actually because the song is bad. The performance of it was dull to say the least. 3/10

Have You Ever - The other members of S Club re-join Jon to sing the second song that they recorded for charity and is another killer. Jo again rips it apart. Utter brilliance. 10/10

Right Guy - While the girls leave the stage the guys sing a song, which is surprisingly good, and Bradley sounds Fantastic. Three female dancers accompany the guys on stage so there is something for the guys and something for the girls. 8/10

Viva La Fiesta - It is at this point where we finally fully understand why it is called the 'Carnival Tour'. The members appear from under the stage and run onto a giant suspended walkway, which hangs right out over the audience. Although the song is a little 'kitsch' it works well is context of the concert. With confetti and foil streamers coming from the ceiling, this adds up to a memorable performance. 9/10

You - A brilliant song from the 'Sunshine' album. They are still on the walkway but they don't give the song the time that it deserves (although I suspect that they were bored of singing it as it was then their latest single and were promoting it all day). Over all a good song and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. 7/10

Reach - Another favourite and probably one of s club's trademark songs. This gets priority billing. They perform most of the song on the walkway and move onto the main stage where they sing the chorus twice accapella all along encouraging the crowd to join in. At the end of the song they introduce the band and wave goodbye. 10/10

Encore - Don't Stop Moving - This is probably the best song that S club have recorded. The group put in a great performance of the song but there is something missing - I don't know what, there just is.9/10

Carnival Medley - Jammin - The group simply do a freestyle dance to a quirky piece of music

- Don't Stop Until You Get Enough- the group do their own version of this Michael Jackson classic. 10/10

- Hot, Hot, Hot - A sizzling and exciting take on this classic song. The song and concert closes with a huge explosion of pyrotechnics. 10/10

Now for the technical stuff - The sound comes in only Dolby Digital 5.1, which is quite good although it could be better. And the picture couldn't be crisper.

The extras on this DVD are quite good. There is an episode from the TV series that was made that followed S Club on tour, which gives you an insight as to what it is like to be on tour with S Club. There is also a photo gallery.

Overall S Club 7 have outdone themselves with this concert. Overall I would give this concert a 9/10 - it would have got 10/10 if Hannah hadn't lip-synced her way through 'Dance Dance Dance'. If you like this you should check out S Club 7 - Party Live.

luv it.......2003-06-19

it is a v. good dvd of the s i own it and it brings happieness every time i play it buy to support amazon and sclub

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