Video

Rip It Up, Issue 100, 1 November 1985, Page 26

Video

Kerry Buchanan

Mental As Anything Monumental As Anything (CEL) A cornucopia of visual delights, put together by those clever Mental boys and the B-Sharp animation team (who tend to be a little heavy on the Terry Gillam influence), a tasty mixture of sight and sound.

The Mentals’ songs are constructed around some great hooks; the visuals, like all good videos, have their own hooks, like the editing in 'Didn't Mean To Be Mean’ and the sped up images and hand-coloured film of ‘Let’s Cook! The earlier material like 'Romeo and Juliet’ and 'The Nips Are Getting Bigger' is played straight and seems real primal in comparison.

Video is a tightly edited collection of images (and unfortunately, at times bad cliches) that in the Mentals' case tend to have a humorous bent. This video is real funny. Highlights include a dancing Tegel chicken, a la Eraserhead, Reg Mombassa dressed as a Vik-

ing chopping liver, and some great puppets in 'Apocalypso'. My favourite song is ‘Live It Up) and it's also my fave video, with Greedy trying to lure a bunch of real gone guys and gals up to his place to live it up, and ending up with a real dog. Neat fun and great value for $29.95. KB

Gary Moore Emerald Aisles (Live In Ireland) (Virgin) Britain’s newest favourite HM son, guitarist Gary Moore returns to his native Belfast after a 10 year hiatus and literally blows the place apart. Gal and his bunch of cohorts, veteran bassist Bob Daisley, ex Roxy drummer Paul Thompson, and Neil Carter on keyboards and guitar (ex UFO) triumphantly blast through an 11 song set, including their latest single, 'Out In the Fields', ‘Murder In the the Skies’, ‘Victims of the Future’, ‘Shapes of Things; ‘Parisienne Walkways; etc, a virtual best of (naturally so, I guess) and give their ecstatic fans in the trouble-torn homeland something of an aural bombardment. Gal is doubly lucky in having a band of the calibre of the above-mentioned they were also the only ones who'd set foot in Belfast. Madmen, I say. Moore is an exceptionally gifted guitarist to say the least, whether it be the straight-out hard rock assault (‘Wishing Well), or the passion and power of ‘Empty Rooms’, the man is stunning.

Interspersed with the live cuts are some interesting backdrops of Ireland; the hauntingly beautiful, rugged coastline, etc, and the horror, desolation and grimness of riot-torn Belfast. It all goes to make this an A 1 video, well worthy of any rock fan’s attention. Greg Cobb

Valley Girl (Roadshow) Americans are really good at this sort of teen exploitation flick name any youth cult and AIP would have produced something for it. Valley Girl, like the more recent Corman production, Suburbia, is almost anthropological in its examination of teen rites.

Valley Girls live in a world of 24-hour Gucci shops, sushi parties, and a sea of designer jeans, the product of rich suburban living. Their parents might have protested against the war, but now work on the stock exchange, or have become rich through hippie capitalism. Against this world are the inhabitants of the old Hollywood and the Strip, in this film "punk’’ rockers. I use the word punk lightly not exactly Black Flag or the Meatmen, sort of power pop in fact the music stinks.

Valley Girl is a sharp little film about the clash of these two cultures. Julie meets Randy and something has to give. A neat film despite the wimpy music, and boy, you really get to hate those rich guys with those 'For Earth Only' jackets.