Anyone checked Creative Control DVD from Thomas Lang, I got it recently and watched a bit, it's nice, but his playing seems a bit too technical and emotionless to me... Opinions?

I thought the DVD was impressive as a showcase for Lang's skills, but thought it lacked in it's educational value. 

There were so many times Lang would demonstrate his ability to--insert complex polyrhytmic pattern here--but only show how he does it in it's final stage, with little or no advice on where to start if you actually wanted to reach that level someday.

Perhaps he's so good he forgets sometimes that what he's doing is impossible for most people, and the "breakdown" gets left out. 

I know there was slow motion and individual limb breakdowns, but I didn't think there was enough "You should start with these excercises to get to this pattern" kind of advice.

www.hudsonmusic.com will send you a sampler CD for free. Some of the "creative control" was in there. Impressive but I won't be buying it. Get Steve Smith's. Impressive and educational.

Boomerweps

Funny, I have the DVD and I was just watching it last night, showing it to my girlfriend and roommate who were curious about the technique videos that I'm habitually buying.  While I can appreciate his absolute monster chops, I can tell you that some people outside of the drumming world (i.e. my girlfriend and my roommate) find his style and music to be dull at best.  However, some of the lessons he gives are really great, especially his ideas on incorporating several different aspects of drumming technique in order to practice efficiently.  However, he almost immediately goes way over my head in terms of what I can personally accomplish, so I've been thinking about selling the DVD, as it is mostly collecting dust on the shelf. 

I personally prefer something videos Igoe's "Groove Essentials" because I can, with a little work, play everything that he presents, and use it in a musical setting. Videos like that and Steve Smith's focus on being a musical drummer instead of a monster technician, which is my goal anyway. However, I am excited about the new Jojo Mayer DVD, which should be in my mailbox when I get home!

Ditto.