DVD - The Best of Janet Paschal (A-)

I'm not a huge fan of the genre but I have a genuine appreciation for Southern Gospel, not least because of my childhood exposure to it. Well, in my limited experience, one of the greatest vocalists ever across any style is Janet Paschal. She has been a favorite of mine since the early 1980s when she toured with tenor John Starnes in Jimmy Swaggart's band. Within a few years she went entirely solo and soon became (and remains) a fixture in uberproducer Bill Gaither's series of video specials. This DVD is a collection of Paschal's most popular moments from those shows over the past two decades.

Paschal has always been a much better performer live than she is in the studio. The audience and the opportunity to physically embody the song for them energize her in ways that a sound-proofed room could never do. And at the half-century mark, she still has the broadest smile and her eyes still have the brightest sparkle I've ever seen onstage.

Between songs, Gaither and Pashcal discuss her feelings for each song and they share memories of the Homecoming tours. Gaither reiterates her reputation as a perpetually positive and thoughtful person and she giggles in response. In an understated moment, Janet also recounts her recent battle with breast cancer and her tortuous rounds of intensive chemotherapy. She has been cancer-free for a year or so and is now touring again.

Here, in a low-quality version of a highlight from the early '90s, Janet floors George Younce, Jessy Dixon, Vestal Goodman and a host of other Gospel legends with a gotta-shout, gotta-dance rendition of "Born Again". If this don't light your fire, your wood's wet!



In this clip, she acts as worship leader to the Homecoming team and ends in a moving duet with gospel pioneer Vestal Goodman.



If I have any complaint, it's that the second half of the disc contains virtually no uptempo numbers and this breaks up the rhythm of the package.

Final score: A minus

TV - Drumming Fun

Three of my favorite things: Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos, a cute brunette (aka, Torry Castellano of The Donnas, who's usually blonde), and good drumming.

Hey, I was told honesty was the best policy!

DVD - Celtic Woman: A New Journey, Live at Slane Castle (A-)

Featuring Chloe Agnew, Orla Fallon, Lisa Kelly (PBA), Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, Mairead Nesbitt, Hayley Westenra
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Ever since they began conquering the world a couple years back (or at least the part of it that watches PBS) the Irish vocal troupe Celtic Woman has owned the top spot of the Billboard World chart, with each disc knocked off only by their own projects. This concert will only further entrench them in that position.

Even with those breakout CD sales, the core of their success has lain in their concert presentation. The CDs have been like talismans that invoke the concert experience and keep it fresh until you have time to sit and watch it again. But the stage is where they truly rule.

The first video, recorded at Dublin's Helix Theatre, was beautiful, ethereal, and occasionally almost spiritual. But "A New Journey" adds one more element: Fun! Only fiddler Mairead Nesbitt did any real moving and shaking in the original. The vocalists were - apart from gracefully walking up and down ramps - fairly static. This actually lent itself to the otherworldly quality of the show but also subtracted color from the ladies' personalities.

Well, they are alive and in living color in this show filmed outdoors at famed Slane Castle. The greatest benefit goes, hands down, to singer Lisa Kelly. More than the other vocalists, who hearken primarily from classical and traditional roots, Kelly's background is predominantly in musical theater. Her skills in dramatic presentation, audience connection, and dance are unleashed here and she absolutely relishes it. And Nesbitt? Her already energetic presentation takes off into the utterly dynamic.

This shift is apparent in all the performances. Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, only months removed from maternity leave, seems to find a whole new level of characterization and assurance and it suits her. And the addition of the nearly operatic Hayley Westenra gooses everyone's vocal game up another notch.

If I have a nit to pick on the concert, it would be that the setlist frontloads much of the new material and leaves you with repeats from the first video toward the end.

Something else I'm mulling: The crowd reaction shots that punctuated the PBS version are largely gone in this home video edition. That gives more uninterrupted screen time for the attractive ladies but it takes away some of the emotional energy generated by the visibly captivated and moved audience. As an example, here's the charming Lisa Kelly's performance of "Caledonia" from the PBS edition:



On the DVD. I sort of miss the people.

Overall, however, the concert video scores a solid A.

The extras are thin. There's a well-done "Making Of" featurette that explores the logistics of pulling off this massive production outdoors. But it contains little on the show's stars. And that's it, folks! Unlike the Helix DVD, there are no individual interviews with the ladies here. I'd give the extras a B at best.

Total DVD score: A minus

CD - Postcards (A-)

Artist: Cindy Morgan
Producer: Wayne Kirkpatrick
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Perhaps the most underrated singer/songwriter in CCM's postmodern era, Cindy Morgan is still as strong an artist as ever. Although she's a fifteen-year, nine-album veteran in an industry with an average life-expectancy of fifteen months and one album, Morgan is not merely a survivor. She has matured and improved, experimented and learned, and never stopped taking risks.

Her clear, strong voice and cover girl looks had the label stuffing her into the Dance/Pop Diva mold on her debut CD - but her true colors shone through even then. The haunting, worshipful, self-penned piano ballad at its close ("How Could I Ask for More") marked her as a sonic and lyrical force to be reckoned with. That talented young woman has become a truly unique voice in the world of Christian music and Postcards shows how.

After a five year break between albums (Morgan became a mom again after her last), Postcards is a breath of fresh air. In addition to her piano-driven center, Morgan here tries her hand at roots music and semi-industrial pop to largely successful effect.

And she continues to grow lyrically. On 'Enough' she really takes on a confrontational edge worthy of classic troublemaker Steve Taylor. And then there's the jaw-dropping honesty of "Mother," which is a cry to Morgan's own mother over the recent breakdown of their relationship. It is a heartstopper. The urgency of approaching middle age really strips off the nonsense in one's life - and it sure show on this album.

This is certainly among her best albums and improves with successive listens.

Final score: A minus