To complete my collection...

Can you blame me?
Well, can you? Can you blame me for purchasing just about the only (legal) music video product of Kanye West? No, because after listening to Late Registration I have been snatching up any new Kanye material just to get a taste of some new Kanye beats. So naturally when I saw this DVD with unrealesed music videos and unreleased songs, I had to check it out.

Different
Strange though, how Kanye didn't advertise this DVD more. If I hadn't seen it in the store I would have never know about it, and I usually keep up with Kanye's new products. The Video Anthology almost seems like one of those Unauthorized DVDs. You know the ones, the documentary types that only show footage that is in the public domain. So when I noticed that Roc-a-Fella and G.O.O.D. Music were responsible for this DVD, I was surprised to say the least.

The Vids
The first video on the DVD is Through the Wire. The famous song that Kanye wrote and recorded while he was still recovering from his car accident. The video is good because the music is good and there really hasn't been another music video done like it. It's interesting to see pics of Kanye in the hospital, but really you don't see enough of Kanye rapping in the video. Great video nonetheless.

The second video is the video to the hit song Slow Jamz. The video features Jamie Foxx and Twista much more than it does Kanye, which is too bad. For being such a vain person, Kanye doesn't steal the spotlight nearly enough in my opinion. Great beat, fairly good music video. This is when I realized that the music videos are edited! That sucks. The case says that it has a parental advisory and then the music videos still have to be edited. Grrr.

The third video is for All Falls Down featuring Syleena Johnson. She isn't in the video, but her voice is still there. The video is a little bit strange. It is a first person view from Kanye as he follows his lady through the airport. It even shows Kanye go through the baggage checking machine, trippy. Common makes a cameo as a security guard at the end of the vid. Not a bad video.

Two Words is another video where Kanye could have put himself in a little bit more. It mostly follows Mos Def and Freeway in a black and white Chicago. The song is again excellent, but the video is boring. Hopefully Kanye will participate more in his later videos.

The next three videos are all for one song. The legendary Jesus Walks. The first video is the Church version. The Church version is the 2nd best version. It follows three black people: one woman (prostitute), one young black man (victim of assault) and one old black man (alcoholic). Throughout the video Kanye plays a preacher giving a sermon at church to his congregation. At the end of the vid the three people overcome their struggles to get to Kanye's sermon.
The second version is the best version by a long shot. It actually portrays the issues described in the song. The content is too much to explain. See it for yourself, but I am telling you now that it is excellent.
The third version is very different. A man that resembles Jesus walks follows Kanye around a neighborhood. It's almost comical.

The New Workout plan is the longest single music video I think I have ever seen. It included cameos from Anna Nicole Smith, GLC, Consequence, John Legend, Miri-Ben and many more. The video is well done even though it should be cut short a couple of minutes.

Extra Songs
There are seven unreleased songs on the CD that comes with the DVD. It's Alright and the Jesus Walks remix are the best new tracks by far. Two of the songs are cinematic so they don't have lyrics.

Verdict
They could have done so much more with this DVD. Kanye was almost non-existent, and he's the reason i bought the DVD.

See this DVD for the music vids. Don't buy it though.