Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan - Mirrorball

Arista

This video companion to the Canadian singer-songwriter's triumphant live album confirms in sight what that recording advanced in sound--Sarah McLachlan and her fine, flexible stage band have evolved into a superb live performing unit, breathing added fire and nuance into McLachlan songs that were already stunning in their original studio versions. Always a strong, charismatic singer, McLachlan now conjures a rare balance of delicacy and power, measured here in performances of signature songs that add a new, more muscular edge matching her band's rock firepower. Thus, "Possession" expands beyond its already sensual promise to touch on truly erotic abandon, while "Building a Mystery" focuses its portrait of a narcissistic poseur with a harder edge and a newly amended, R-rated lyric that's entirely appropriate.

Shot on McLachlan's 1998 headlining tour, the concert captures her in a more theatrical and frankly glamorous (if slightly funky) vein than her fabled Lilith Fair shows: in her floor-length blue gown, sparkling blue mascara, and bare feet, she evokes a more demure, Gen-X cousin to Cabaret's Sally Bowles. With 23 featured songs, Mirrorball on video adds 9 tracks not heard on the CD. The audio mixing is generally excellent, especially on the DVD version, which provides some hall ambience but retains a front-array, proscenium placement to instruments. Shot on film, rather than videotape, the concert preserves the stunning, subtle lighting effects of McLachlan's touring production, albeit at slight visual sacrifice in lower-light segments in which the resolution is grainier. --Sam Sutherland

Sarah McLachlan: Video Collection 1989-1998

This updated compilation appends three of Sarah McLachlan's biggest Surfacing hits along with fan favorite "I Will Remember You" (from the Brothers McMullen soundtrack) to the 1994 video retrospective issued by Canadian label Nettwerk. It follows the Nova Scotian songstress from her days as a sentimental, round-faced youth through her breakthrough success on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy to the explosion of fame, thanks to Lilith Fair and the multiplatinum sales of Surfacing. The earliest of the collection clearly displays hints of great things to come, although viewing the pre-glory-days videos, half of which are alternating takes on Canadian and U.S. versions, is akin to checking out your coolest friend's high-school yearbook. Expecting the brilliance to which you are accustomed ("Building a Mystery," "Adia"), you instead learn that McLachlan herself struggled through some decidedly uncool artistic pretensions prior to connecting her vision to her work. A song from her 1988 album Touch, "Vox," is rendered post-new-wave cheesy (Canadian version) and aimless (U.S. version), and Solace's "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" features a nude McLachlan crooning in the shared space of a modern ballet couple. Despite a misguided turn at "Possession" (a nefarious mess of religious imagery), it is McLachlan who successfully guides the straight-ahead black and white performance of "Ben's Song" and also that of the Celtic-inspired "Drawn to the Rhythm," evoking Loreena McKennitt's smash hit "The Mummer's Dance." Yet it is the U.S. version of "Possession" on which we begin to see McLachlan as we have come to know her--dressed down, picking hard, and singing with eyes wide open. Fully connected to each other and the material, McLachlan and her band are filmed home-movie style in an otherwise empty theater space. As proven by McLachlan's magical turn on the Surfacing videos, those seats wouldn't stay vacant for long. --Paige La Grone

Lilith Fair - A Celebration of Women in Music

If you assumed that this video of Lilith Fair, the gathering of female rockers, folkies, and everything in between, was for women only, well, you wouldn't be far wrong. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The 80-minute video mixes interview clips and backstage footage with concert performances by such performers as Sarah McLachlan (Lilith Fair's founder), the Indigo Girls, Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Meredith Brooks, and Shawn Colvin. Individually and together, they talk about the industry pressures on women in popular music and the sense of community that developed between the performers, as they shared the collective experience of Lilith Fair. And if you guessed that this is a lengthy collection of gently lilting folk songs, guess again. While there is plenty of ultra-sensitive warbling, these women can also rock, including the Indigo Girls (on "Shame on You") and Meredith Brooks (on "Bitch"). --Marshall Fine

Lilith Fair made rock and roll history in the summer of 1997 as the first all-female music tour. These sold-out concert performances could only be described as magical, boasting many once-in-a-lifetime collaborations. That magic is captured here in Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music, which also includes never-before-seen backstage jams, intimate interviews and behind-the-scenes documentary footage of the artists. Songs: Building a Mystery (Sarah McLachlan), Water is Wide (Indigo Girls/Jewel/Sarah McLachlan), Bitch (Meredith Brooks), Tried to Be True (Indigo Girls/Sheryl Crow), Sunny Came Home (Shawn Colvin), Strong Enough (Sheryl Crow), Near You Always (Jewel), Shame on You (Indigo Girls), Ice Cream (Sarah McLachlan), Closer to Fine (Indigo Girls/Meredith Brooks/Jewel/Sarah McLachlan), I Need (Meredith Brooks), Wichita Skyline (Shawn Colvin), Angel (Sarah McLachlan), I Shall Believe (Sheryl Crow), Morning Song (Jewel), Big Yellow Taxi (All Artists).

Paul McCartney & Friends - The PETA Concert for Party Animals

Though benefit concerts are usually musically uneven, this 1999 show for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an exception. Following an amusing Laugh-In-style intro and brief stand-up by Ellen DeGeneres and Margaret Cho, Sarah McLachlan performs her wistful "Angel" accompanied by stills of Sir Paul McCartney and his late wife (and avid PETA advocate), Linda. The B- 52s follow, bopping their way through "Love Shack," "Roam," and "Rock Lobster," then are joined by Chrissie Hynde, who dedicates her powerful ballad "I'll Stand by You" to mistreated animals. Climaxing this 65-minute concert is Sir Paul and his crack band (including Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour), cranking out a half-dozen back-to-basics rock & roll tunes from his album Run Devil Run. --Kevin Filipski

Paul McCartney hosts and gives a rare live performance at PETA's Concert for Party Animals--a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of stars who have made the fight for animal rights one of today's most popular causes. Includes appearances by Gillian Anderson, Pamela Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Margaret Cho, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ellen DeGeneres, Andy Dick, Anne Heche, Ricki Lake, Bill Maher, Brian McKnight, Kathy Najimy, Alicia Silverstone and more!

Songs:
Angel (Sarah McLachlan), Love Shack (The B-52's), Roam (The B-52's with Chrissie Hynde and Sarah McLachlan), Rock Lobster (The B-52's), I'll Stand By You (Chrissie Hynde and The B-52's), Honey Hush, Brown-Eyed Handsome Man, No Other Baby, Try Not To Cry, Lonesome Town, Run Devil Run (Paul McCartney).

Sarah McLachlan: Video Collection 1989-1998

This updated compilation appends three of Sarah McLachlan's biggest Surfacing hits along with fan favorite "I Will Remember You" (from the Brothers McMullen soundtrack) to the 1994 video retrospective issued by Canadian label Nettwerk. It follows the Nova Scotian songstress from her days as a sentimental, round-faced youth through her breakthrough success on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy to the explosion of fame, thanks to Lilith Fair and the multiplatinum sales of Surfacing. The earliest of the collection clearly displays hints of great things to come, although viewing the pre-glory-days videos, half of which are alternating takes on Canadian and U.S. versions, is akin to checking out your coolest friend's high-school yearbook. Expecting the brilliance to which you are accustomed ("Building a Mystery," "Adia"), you instead learn that McLachlan herself struggled through some decidedly uncool artistic pretensions prior to connecting her vision to her work. A song from her 1988 album Touch, "Vox," is rendered post-new-wave cheesy (Canadian version) and aimless (U.S. version), and Solace's "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" features a nude McLachlan crooning in the shared space of a modern ballet couple. Despite a misguided turn at "Possession" (a nefarious mess of religious imagery), it is McLachlan who successfully guides the straight-ahead black and white performance of "Ben's Song" and also that of the Celtic-inspired "Drawn to the Rhythm," evoking Loreena McKennitt's smash hit "The Mummer's Dance." Yet it is the U.S. version of "Possession" on which we begin to see McLachlan as we have come to know her--dressed down, picking hard, and singing with eyes wide open. Fully connected to each other and the material, McLachlan and her band are filmed home-movie style in an otherwise empty theater space. As proven by McLachlan's magical turn on the Surfacing videos, those seats wouldn't stay vacant for long. --Paige La Grone

Includes Three Videos Not on the Vhs Collection.