The Corrs – Live In London DVD – Kate Thornton, Anthony Drennan

The Corrs–Live in London lacks the atmosphere of their 1999 homecoming Dublin gig, Live at Lansdowne Road. The London stadium location creates a sterile atmosphere and adds an uncomfortable, claustrophobic edge to their performance. That aside, the concert once again affirms their position as one of the best live acts around and resolutely challenges the assumption that studio recordings are always better than the live versions. Perhaps this is why it was decided to release another Corrs live show rather than a greatest hits video collection to coincide with the launch of their Best of audio anthology. Hearing and viewing their stunning performance of tracks such as “Forgiven, Not Forgotten” and “Dreams”, it’s easy to understand why the band still has such universal appeal.On the DVD: the group’s exquisite rendition of “Happy Christmas (War is Over)”, included as a bonus track, is one of the numerous added features. Choose from three different audio formats to listen to the concert and view the show in wide screen or standard picture format. The concert cinematography is excellent, with crystal-clear picture quality. The live performances of “Dreams”, “Radio” and “Breathless” can also be viewed from five different camera angles. However the 360-degree camera angle version of “So Young” (available only to those accessing the disk on a DVD-ROM drive) fails to live up to expectation: the viewing window is tiny, and the picture quality particularly poor. The 20-minute “Access All Areas” documentary (made by and originally shown on Sky One) is excellently produced and provides an added, more personable dimension to the DVD.–John Galilee