| Up! (Live in Chicago) - Shania Twain | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
In the 3 and a half years between concert performances for Shania Twain a lot has happened to her. After moving to Switzerland, Shania and her husband/producer R.J. "Mutt" Lange, had a son, and worked on three different versions of the current Up! album. That song features a generous 19 tracks and was released worldwide as a double album. Along with the album being released, Shania signed some deals to perform a live show for TV. The first of these contracts was a huge concert for NBC. A two hour performance, the DVD released from this show features the complete concert, which due to commercials, features 30 minutes (6 songs) that weren't included in the special.
I missed the special and have yet to experience a Shania Twain concert so this DVD certainly opened up my eyes to her stage presence. Shania Twain seems comfortable on the stage and is equally adept at moving between the slow songs like "Forever And For Always" and "From This Moment On," and her better known songs like "Up!" and "Honey I'm Home!" After a splendid performance of the social song "Ka Ching!" Shania brings up a guy who proposes to his longtime girlfriend on stage. She accepts his proposal and the newly engaged couple dance to a new song from Up! called "When You Kiss Me." After seeing the song live, it has a distinct romantic feel to it and most surely will be a big hit.
Shania sings a couple hits ("Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)" and "That Don't Impress Me Much") from her mega hit album Come On Over before inviting a trio of young girls on stage to help introduce Shania's hit single "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!." The girls and Shania have fun while doing this then Shania performs the whole song before exiting the stage to change from her yellow and black outfit into a more glamorous sequined shirt and dress pants. The first song performed in this outfit is the mega smash hit "From This Moment On." Shania follows up that song by strapping on her acoustic guitar to sing "No One Needs To Know," a lovely hit single from her The Woman In Me album.
A trio of songs from Up! follow before Shania sings her first big hits, "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" and "Any Man Of Mine." Throughout the concert, it is evident to me that Shania enjoys not only singing live but also the camaraderie of her band along with feeding off of the energy from her fans. The encore songs are "You're Still The One," "Nah" and the concert favorite, "Rock This Country!" When the DVD is over, anyone who may have thought of Shania as a studio confection most surely will understand that this Canadian woman is not only a good singer but an even better entertainer. She knows what her fans want and she delivers it to them. Up!: Live In Chicago is a dynamic DVD experience that is sure to please fans for years to come. Those who have surround sound systems will be happy to know that the DVD features both stereo and surround sound mixes.
Song List:
Cover graphic used with permission of Mercury Nashville.
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