File Under: Punk Rock rating: A features: - Feature length documentary - 50 song "set list" of live footage - Double DVD set - Nearly 6 hours of material in all! - 6 Music videos - Animated menus - Over an hour of deleted scenes, never-before-seen studio, tour, and archive footage - behind-the-scenes look at the "Gone" video related links The Bouncing Souls Chunksaah Records

I have been searching for the words to describe Do You Remember 15 Years of The Bouncing Souls? for a little longer than I should have been, but I think that I have been able to pin down just one word to describe this DVD: exceptional. The basic gist of this DVD is that it is a chronicle of how the Bouncing Souls have come to be the band that we have grown to love today, and unless you are a super-hardcore Souls fan, you might not know about all the problems that they have had to over come, and about all the fun they have had doing it.

The movie itself starts in the early days before the band was even a band, and progresses up to the point of their most recent endeavor, How I Spent My Summer Vacation. In a surprisingly well-documented fashion you can see how the Bouncing Souls lived a punk rock life style for many years in New Jersey before they, as well as punk music, broke. Very few bands in the past can rival the amount of destruction of residences that this band has left in their wake. If most bands had the same sense of determination that that the Souls did when they were a young group, the music industry would currently be overrun with good bands that, otherwise, wouldn't get a chance. For example, the revelation of DIY to the Souls is where the band really started to get serious. It is becoming a trend that is more and more predominant in today's music, but some younger bands just don't understand the concept.

Do You remember Fifteen Years of The Bouncing Souls? is not just a documentary about a punk band that sprung forth from the loins of New Jersey; it is actually extremely interesting. Virtually anyone with any interest in music, or even just a good story, can sit down and enjoy watching this band mature, and hone their sound and over turn into the band that so many punks enjoy today. It has a healthy balance of live concert footage, mixed with band member interviews, and, the best part, candid, random recordings of the band members just being themselves. In comparison to some other DVDs about bands out there today, this ranks among the better ones, for sure.

This is usually the part of the review where I talk about the things wrong with what I'm reviewing, and try to establish equilibrium with the good parts of whatever it is. However, Do You Remember... needs no compression. Everything found on this two-disc DVD set should be seen by every man, woman, and child on this earth. Well, at least everyone that has even the slightest inkling for music. When you're done watching it, you want to just go out and do something with your life, either musically, or whatever field interest you. Simply, it is very inspirational, without being sappy, and boring. The actual documentary on Do You Remember… will hold your attention for the entire length, but your interest will send you searching through the special features, and second disc for more clips, deleted scenes, and live performances from The Bouncing Souls.

Go out and watch this DVD. It is one of the best things I have watched in a while.

Jason Cipriano is the Senior Editor. Contact him at jasonc@rockzone.com.