In 2006, the magic world was given a taste of what was to come four years later. The taste was a well made performance and lecture DVD called Tom Stone: Caught On Tape. Since that time, Tom, in partnership with Hermetic Press, released Vortex (2010) and Maelstrom (2011). For owners of these volumes, Caught On Tape is a perfect companion. For those who haven't purchased them (yet), this disk is a great introduction to Tom’s work and, most importantly, his thinking.

Of the eleven items, all but one can be found in his two books. Two items, A Toast for Charon and Gold Welder, are platform while the rest are close-up. All of the effects are well within the range of the intermediate to experienced magician. Time and space prevents me from writing about each effect, so I will discuss only a few. I will also note which book they can be found.

A Toast for Charon (Vortex) is a perfect parlor opener that cleverly marries the work of Dai Vernon and Bob Read into a magical coin routine that climaxes with a bottle production. Gold Welder (Vortex) is also a parlor routine. This is Tom’s very clean and very deceptive Himber Ring routine.

Of the close up effects, all are strong but Occhammon Now (Maelstrom), the Hoarders (Vortex), and Monty Walks Again (Vortex) are my favorites. Occhammon Now is a streamlined version of Brother John Hammon’s Signed Card. The Hoarders is a clean version of the Collector’s plot. Monty Walks Again is another marriage of effects. This time, the Boston Box meets Ring Off Rope inspired by a Jay Sankey routine.

The DVD is well shot and assembled by Helge Fredheim who accompanies Tom doing the explanations. The downside is that Helge is not mic’d and his questions and comments are muffled. That minor issue aside, this is a fine release that showcases Tom Stone and a sampler of his work and thinking.

I really like Tom's performing style. He's relaxed, confident and sincere. The material is solid and he's obviously been performing these routines for years.

A Toast for Charon
This is Tom's version of Vernon's “Silk and Silver”. It's done to music and quite lovely to behold... classic magic at its best. It even ends with a surprise bottle production that caught me totally off-guard. Not only is this a professional routine, it would be perfect for someone new to magic who wants to learn how to choreograph and present a parlour routine. You'll need to learn some very useful skills that won't take decades to master.

Gold Wielder
I think the linking finger rings is one of the hardest pieces of magic to perform. You're trying to present magic that happens in the space of a few inches, but usually for an audience that is rather far away. Tom does an excellent job of procuring the rings, displaying the link, proving their authenticity and then returning them safely to their owners.

Occhamman Now
This is Tom's version of the signed card to impossible location. There's not a lot new here in method, but the presentation is a gem. Tom milks every ounce of psychological setup possible. You're even left with a lovely gift for one of the audience members. If there was one routine from this DVD that I'd add to my repertoire, this would be it.

Time Operator
I've been playing with the time-travel theme for years. It's very difficult to pull off, mostly because we're very used to the linear time-line we perceive in our daily lives. Most of the routines I've seen (and developed) end up being confusing. Tom adds a sentimental tone by telling a story about his childhood and his relationship with his father. He does a pretty good job of making the whole thing hold together, but I still think it could be cleaned up a bit.

The Hoarders
A collectors/sandwich routine with a moment of “failure”. The initial premise of making it more difficult by removing the kings seemed a bit of a stretch to me. However, the moment of “collection” is startling.

Reality Glitch
I wish I had Max's encyclopedic knowledge to know if this was a new plot or just my own ignorance. Regardless, I had never seen this before and even though I followed some of the moves, I was totally fooled. It starts out as a standard sandwich plot, but then the sandwich itself transports to an impossible location. Very cool.

Monty Walks Again
A borrowed ring changes places with a stack of coins. It's a combination of an Okito box move and a standard ring-on-string move. While this all sounds pretty boring, Tom manages to make it meaningful for the audience.

Ambivalent Travelers
Four card-halves to four pockets. It fooled the crap out of me. Plus it's got a great story (not surprising).

The amount of thought that goes into Tom's routines should be an inspiration to all of us. Even if you don't do any of the routines on the DVD, you should watch all of the explanation sections. Some of the tips were priceless (including how to make coins “soft”).

Production quality was quite good. I like the split-screen views used during some of the explanation sections. The cameras were at bad angles during some of the performance segments. On one level, it doesn't matter since were going to be taught the methods later. But it still seems like a mistake that could have been easily avoided. I also found the camera work during the explanations to be a bit jerky at times.

There are two things need to know before reading this review. First, I'm not a fan of magic DVDs. While I acknowledge their obvious advantages in some areas I believe that books are a better way to teach, and learn, magic. Secondly, you should know that I am a fan of Tom Stone. I have several of his privately published (and lovingly produced) manuscripts and I've long appreciated his approach to magic.

If you're not familiar with Tom Stone, he's a Swedish magician whose workman-like approach to conjuring results in practical methods and clear effects. It's creative stuff, but typically not in the sense of being unusual or offbeat, his magic is more often "magic for magicians" that has been reworked until is suitable for a regular audience. This attention to detail is more evident on the DVD than his books, where the long discussions reveal that Stone has refined each down to the smallest detail, all in the service of making it play for laymen.

Most of the DVD consists of close-up card magic, although there is a routine with a Boston box and finger ring that adds variety to the mix. There are also two items suitable for stand-up; a silk and coin routine that ends with a bottle production and a straight-forward arrangement of the Himber linking finger rings. If you are a cardician you'll find interesting variations of classic plots from the likes of Vernon, Jennings, and Hammon. My favorite is the last trick, Ambivalent Travelers, where four pieces of a card that have been personalized by different spectators vanish and end up scattered amongst the magician's pockets. Its worthy of repeat viewings and study.

In fact, being well-versed in card magic is a requirement for learning the most from Caught On Tape. Stone assumes you know basic principles and common sleights when he explains the tricks. The focus here is on the choices and changes he's made, not on teaching false counts, palming, and other fundamentals. I think this is a fine approach, the slow pace of the DVD would become glacial if every sleight were explained, but beginners should take note of these requirements.

There are a few pleasant surprises, too. The "bonus effects" consist of some impromptu bottle-related magic that you'll enjoy playing with. The most intriguing thing, however, is a brief segment about cognitive science and "change blindness" that's fundamental to the trick Reality Glitch. It's not a princpal used very often in magic and Stone's demonstration, as well as the way he's exploited it, are fascinating.

The quality of the DVD is quite good, the explanations are shot in widescreen format using multiple cameras to keep things interesting and the viewing angles appropriate. The performance segments aren't quite as interesting, as much as I enjoy Stone's creations I found that the performances lagged a bit, but perhaps there is a cultural difference between Sweden and the US that's getting in the way. Apparently the performances were taped before real audiences which gives them a different, and more realistic, flavor than the hyper-enthused assembly typically seen on L&L-produced discs. It's true, real audiences don't always know when to applaud. Even in Sweden.

I'm giving this 4 stars. It could have been better with tighter (and scripted) explanations and a less card-focused selection of effects. But if it falls within your area of interest I think you'll feel that you've gotten a good value for your money.