Corrs, The-In Blue (DVD-Audio) (2000) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Notes-Track Commentary Gallery-Photo Lyrics Music Video-Breathless Discography Booklet
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	58:47
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Programme
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	Andrea Corr Sharon Corr Caroline Corr Jim Corr Anthony Drennan Keith Duffy
Case	DVD-Audio Jewel
RPI	$32.95	Music	The Corrs

    The Corrs don't seem to be afraid to try new things, especially if it will bring in a few extra bickies - witness their release of special editions of their albums (did anyone else end up buying a second copy of Talk on Corners to get the bonus track?). Now they've released their In Blue album on DVD-Audio. I already own this on CD, but, while I would have preferred either of their previous albums, I had to get this to see how much difference DVD-Audio would make to the sound of the album.

    I've heard this album described as a bit of a downer. When you learn that it is dedicated to their mother, on the occasion of her untimely death from a respiratory illness, I think you have to make allowances. If anything, it's a bit of a surprise that there are any uplifting songs, but I suspect that can be attributed to their desire to make sales.

    Do I sound a bit ambivalent about this? I guess I am. I really liked Forgiven, Not Forgotten - I liked the music from hearing bits of it on the radio, even before I got the album. I bought Talk on Corners without listening to it, because I wanted to hear their second outing, even if it might have turned out to be terrible. As you know, it wasn't terrible - I liked it, too. Heck, I liked it enough that I bought the second version (the ones with Dreams added) so I could have one copy in the car and one at home.

    So when In Blue appeared I bought it immediately. And I was a little disappointed. It just wasn't quite as good. It's better than most of the poppy froth out there, but I was used to more from The Corrs. I felt a bit let down.

    But now it's on DVD-Audio, and I have a nice shiny DVD-Audio player (my pretty Pioneer 733) and a dearth of discs to feed it. No way was I going to pass up the opportunity to feed it a Corrs disc, even if I considered it the least worthy of the three albums.

    Enough of the history. What's the DVD-Audio disc like? I was struck first by the similarities. The artwork is virtually identical throughout. The booklet has the same content, page by page; the DVD-Audio booklet is taller, so there are margins top and bottom, and some of the photos are larger, but it has the same information, and the same photos are on each page. The disc labels are almost the same, except that I think the DVD-Audio label is a slightly richer pink.

    The same tracks are presented, in the same order, as the CD (but without the bonus 16th track - more on that later). The DVD-Audio disc has three copies of each track. There's a 5.1 DVD-Audio version, presented in 6 channels of 24 bit, 96kHz goodness; a stereo DVD-Audio version, with two channels of 24 bit niceness; and a DVD-Video compatible mix for those people who have yet to lose their sanity and purchase a DVD-Audio player.

    OK, so I put the disc on, and start making notes about the menu. Before I realise what's happened, the player decides to start playing the disc, treating me to the 5.1 DVD-Audio mix. The first track is Breathless, and I'm a little surprised to hear it. It's not an aggressive 5.1 mix, but it definitely places me in the middle of the group performance. (Rather an attractive thought, that - being surrounded by the Corr ladies... Sorry, got distracted.) I like it a lot.

    Track by track passes, and I realise that I'm really listening to the music, rather than reviewing it. I think that's a tribute to the difference it makes. I feel more involved in it than I have been with the CD. Admittedly, I have mostly listened to the CD on rather lesser equipment than I have in the home theatre (Note to self - listen to more music in here), but I do think there's a real and noticeable difference. The silences between tracks are utterly silent (perhaps a tribute to the extra dynamic range of 24 bits over 16?). There's a feeling of greater resolution and finer detail. Maybe I couldn't pick it in a blind test, but I like it under my (unscientific) test conditions.

    Before I'm completely ready for it, the disc ends. Or rather, the 5.1 mix ends. The disc continues. Now it plays the stereo DVD-Audio mix, and I pay more attention to what's on the screen. During each song you can read the lyrics, or look at some photos - the photos vary by song (awesome quality!), but they stop after the first nine songs. There's also a paragraph of commentary on each song from one of the song's writers - although all the songs are simply credited to The Corrs, it becomes clear from reading the commentaries that all of the group write songs, but each song is generally the work of one or two of them. Interesting reading.

    When the stereo mix ends, the video clip for Breathless starts. This is a whimsical effort, based on a fantasy of the Corrs flying into a remote American airstrip in a DC-3, setting up for a concert, and performing for a bunch of the local bikers. It's entertaining, and lends the lyrics a bit of a sting when they appear to be directed at a local boy, urging him to leave the girls breathless - quite suggestive. I'm not fond of video clips, but this one is quite good.

    OK, the video clip ends - surely that's it? Apparently not. A screen appears, displayed by my player, inviting me to enter a four digit code to unlock a hidden group. What the heck is this? I try some numbers at random - no joy. I turn to the Web, and Google a couple of hours away, looking for information. Apparently there are many versions of the CD, some of which (including the Australian) have a sixteenth track containing a song called Judy. But the DVD-Audio disc is listed as having only fifteen tracks. I don't know the answer - maybe there's a bonus track, maybe there isn't. If anyone finds out, I'd be grateful for the information.

    I have more respect for this album now, having heard it on DVD-Audio. As you can imagine, I'm really hoping for the release of the other two albums on DVD-Audio, especially the first one. So I want you to all run out and buy this disc right away so as to encourage them to release Forgiven, Not Forgotten on DVD-Audio. OK?

Video

    The picture is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. That's fine. The image is NTSC, so your equipment will need to be NTSC compatible to display it.

    The image quality is high, particularly the photos, which are beautifully detailed.

    The lyrics are presented in an attractive and very readable font - I think it's the same font as used on the cover art.

    The video clip is crisp, clear and artefact-free.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The top level menu offers the surround (5.1) or stereo mix, the video clip, and the discography. If you leave the top menu displayed for a while the disc will start playing the surround mix. Whether it continues with the stereo mix afterward is controlled by a player setting (at least, it is on my player - yours may be different) - not sure that I want this behaviour, although it is useful when reviewing.

    I listened to both the 5.1 and 2.0 DVD-Audio mixes. Both are extremely good.

    The sound placement in the 5.1 mix is effective. Front and centre are the lead vocals (Andrea Corr). The drums are generally spread across the front, but don't extend all the way to the left and right speakers. The bass guitar is also frontal, but difficult to localise (not an uncommon thing for bass). Backing vocals and tambourine (and the xylophone in Somebody for Someone) are generally placed more toward the surround speakers. Lead instruments (guitar, Sharon Corr's violin, keyboards) vary in placement, and sometimes I couldn't place them. This is not the most accurately directional soundscape, but it is enveloping. The front three channels are in continuous use, while the surrounds come in and out. The subwoofer supports the bass lines in some songs (particularly Hurt Before), but not all - it's not required on the quieter numbers.

    The stereo mix is simpler, sounding very much like the CD, but offering more detail, and what sounds like cleaner high frequencies. Taking this as an example of DVD-Audio versus CD, I have to say that I'm prepared to replace all my most treasured CDs with the DVD-Audio equivalents.

    The frequency range extends from the deepest bass registers (including the subwoofer, used subtly - this is not a boomy sound) all the way through to the clear and detailed high frequencies. Midrange is superb - listen to Rain, with the contralto vocals - so sultry, and so superbly presented. The lyrics are always clear, never overwhelmed by the music. The vocals are processed on a few of the songs (Radio, for instance), but it doesn't stop you understanding every word. There are some bell-like sounds (probably synthesized) which sound a little mushy on the CD - they are clearer, and more crystal, on this disc.

    I did not try the DVD-Video mix, but I would expect it to be a shadow of the 5.1 surround mix, probably missing some of the detail due to the necessary compression.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menus are simple and fairly easy to operate, although I'm not overly keen on their choice of light blue as a highlight for white menu items - it doesn't stand out too strongly.

Discography / Videography

    This is nicely presented, showing a full page of album covers, then video covers, and allowing selection of each cover to lead to a full page detailed description, including a list of all the songs on the album. This is a good way to present the information.

Booklet

    A 12 page booklet containing the lyrics and credits for each song, and for the album.

    The two discs are identical except for the cover art, I gather.

    If you are a Corrs fan, then you should get this disc. You know you're going to get a DVD-Audio player someday, even if you don't have one today!

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall