Review of Corrs, The: Unplugged

Introduction

Who’s your favourite Corr? Well, even if you are female, it is unlikely to be Jim who exudes an air of general naffness. So, that leaves the girls and, as Ali G says, all three are pretty fit. Most attention, however, is given to Andrea, the lead singer, who seems to be fancied by pretty much everybody, including Robbie Williams (mind you, there are probably very few women Robbie doesn’t fancy). Sharon, the big-lipped, Pre-Raphaelite beauty tends to garner the remainder of the attention. Caroline, the drummer, is ... well ... the drummer.

Now, I for one feel this is very unjust. Despite being tainted by the “drummer” stigma, Caroline is actually very talented. She’s certainly a good drummer, not to mention a dab hand at the piano. She also has a rather sweet voice and is generally a better singer than Sharon.

Physically, Caroline isn’t as waifish as the other two - cutting an altogether more robust figure (must be all that drumming) – but that’s no bad thing. So, Caroline fans unite and .....

Sorry. I’m supposed to be reviewing the DVD, aren’t I?

A extended version of the MTV presentation, The Corrs Unplugged is 72 minutes of Corrs hits and a few covers performed acoustically and with a backing orchestra. While The Corrs’ music will never be considered art, it is still decent adult pop and, mostly, a worthwhile listen. If you enjoy The Corrs music, this is a worthwhile DVD. If you are a Corrs fan for other reasons, this won’t disappoint.

Video

Video is a superb 16:9 anamorphic presentation. The image is exceptionally crisp and clear and is not subject to any discernible blemishes. The performance itself is nicely captured and Corrs fans of all types will find much to enjoy. Of course, the camera spends much of its time focussed on Andrea, but I guess that’s what most punters want to see. What would have been really neat would have been a multi-angle presentation where you could choose to stay with your favourite Corr. If disk space was a problem, the Jim footage could be happily dropped.

Audio

Sound is well reproduced in both PCM Stereo and DD 5.0. Lack of LFE is no disadvantage for this type of music. So, very good sound but it stops short of being excellent. I’m not sure why that is – I can’t put my finger on any obvious problem but, at times, I got the feeling that the sound could have been clearer.

The music itself is what you would expect – well mannered, melodic pop played rather nicely. If you enjoy the Corrs music, you will have no cause for complaint. All the hits are here and in their acoustic stripped down versions often sound better than the sometimes overproduced originals. “At Your Side” and “What Can I Do” are especially fine.

In addition to their own songs, they play 5 covers with varying degrees of success. “Everybody Hurts” flops badly. Sorry girls, but it’s crap. Phil Lynott’s “Old Town” and Jimmy McCarthy’s “No Frontiers” (popularised by Mary Black) are true gems and highlights of the performance. As Andrea says, “Old Town” with its trumpet solos is guaranteed to make you smile, and it does. “No Frontiers” is a remarkably poignant song and is sweetly performed by Caroline and Sharon. Caroline sings very well and deserves to get out from behind the drum kit more often.

Features

There are no extra features worth talking about. You get subtitled lyrics in English. You also get a small photo gallery. This consist of about 20 arty shots of the band. They are all very nice and are well reproduced but nothing to shout about. Interestingly, all the shots adopt a largely head and shoulders format. Except one. This shows one of the girls painting her toenails. All you see is the foot and a hand reaching down to paint a well formed toe. Indeed.

Conclusion

Overall, nice music, nice visuals, nice disc. It just needs a bit more Caroline.