Bliss n Eso’s hugely successful album Flying Colours escalates to yet another level. The boys have re-released the album along with a bonus track; but the real selling point for the re-release is the live DVD that accompanies this great record.
Selling records is something Bliss n Eso don’t have to worry – just ask a sold out Metro’s worth of people. Anyone who witnessed their recent show, filmed at Sydney’s Metro Theatre will definitely want to pick up a copy. Everyone who missed out, this is your chance to catch an amazing set.

Anyone out there with even the slightest interest in hip hop from this country would now be familiar with the Flying Colours record. The track listing remains the same as the original release, with the exception of the bonus track On Tour. It’s fair to say we’ve all been let down at some point in our lives by a so called ‘bonus track’. Usually just a B-side or remix thrown on the end of an album when it’s re-released, fans are forced to re-buy the record. As for On Tour, however, I really like this track and believe it’s easily strong enough to have been included on the album’s original version. It’s an up tempo track featuring entertaining lyrics about life on the road, and its well worth a listen.

But now to the real reason people will buy this upgraded edition: the DVD. I reviewed this show when the boys performed it back in February, and I ended my review by saying: “I’m sure the footage they got will make for a great DVD, which I will happily recommend now before it’s even reached post-production…” I love being right. The DVD is slick, well produced and has captured some fantastic moments from the night.

Since the show, something that stuck with me was the performance of Field of Dreams which featured Paris Wells, blowing the crowd away with her huge vocal in the hook. I was looking forward to seeing whether I had remembered this track exactly as it was, or whether I was putting a big shining light on it in hindsight. Not in the slightest! They have captured the immense sound of the whole show, and the clip does absolute justice to their great live effort with Paris.

The DVD also includes the documentary Out of Africa, a behind the scenes look at the making of Bullet and a Target, which includes the boys getting the beat on tape with the Zulu Connections Choir here in Sydney. They then headed over to South Africa to experience life in the country firsthand before writing the lyrics, and you can see from the DVD that Africa obviously had a big effect on Bliss, Eso and Izm. What comes out of it is a powerful song, and this DVD provides further insight for anyone who is a fan of the track and the band.

I’m struggling to fault this record…so I’m not going to. The only thing that may be a problem for the boys is that they’ve set the bar extremely high for their next release…not such bad problem to have for any band