Emerald: Musical Gems - Live In Concert[DVD]

When I buy a ticket for a show like Celtic Woman, I get the best seat I can, and when I say "best seat" I mean `one where I can watch the performers with as little distraction or visual strain as can be achieved'. But whether I sit in the first row, or in the balcony I have one and only one reason for buying the ticket. "I want to see the performers perform!" The video editors for Celtic Woman have decided that we are missing out on something if we don't get periodic doses of video of the audience, even while the girls are right in the middle of a song. It isn't enough to just pan the audience in between songs; the video editors are convinced that we need a visual confirmation of what the people in the audience are doing ALL THROUGH THE SHOW! Even if we can already hear the audience clapping, that's not good enough; they have to provide visual proof. I know there are those who say `seeing is believing' but for me ... when I hear people clapping I don't need visual proof. And further adding to the imprudence, is the incredible number of times they do it. It wasn't just once or twice (in a limited way) but dozens and dozens of times! I counted 89 times in the main show alone that they did it, and ... some of these shots are more than just a second or two. Probably 70% of the shots were clapping or smiling, but there were others with people singing and even several of a 5 year old girl dancing! What a treat that was! [The camera coverage she got made me wonder if it might be the video editor's daughter.]Now let me reiterate ... when I say clapping, I'm not talking about the applause between song selections; that is absolutely fine. What I'm talking about is people simply clapping and/or singing to the music or even worse ... in some shots they are not doing anything but `just plain staring'. Now by a show of hands ... who among you ... go to a concert to sit and watch the people sitting around you, sing and clap to the music? That's right ... we don't go to watch the audience, we want to see the people on stage.These `garbage shots' of the audience were not as frequently used in this show as the last Christmas show that Celtic Woman did, but for some reason that I can't explain, it was more annoying in this show. Something else that I find confusing is that 3 of the songs were pristine, not contaminated by any of the video adulteration. But then on the other hand ... even the bonus song selections were ruined with the same video junk, so I have no explanation for the songs that were not `doctored'.As for the concert itself ... I need some Prozac to overcome my disappointment. I was all psyched up for a lively new program. Their last tour had so many emotionally depressing songs that I figured it would be impossible for this one not to be far more `positive' and therefore exciting. NO SUCH LUCK! What we got is a trip down memory lane. There is hardly a song in the show that they haven't done before (although it wasn't always the same singers singing them). Additionally, when they were done before, they were done so beautifully that it's crazy to think they could do them as well again. A perfect example of this dilemma is the song Caledonia. When Lisa Kelly sang Caledonia she sang it like she `lived it'! Susan McFadden has an absolutely wonderful voice and she's a real charmer, but it was a mistake to let her sing a song which had already been preformed perfectly (by another Celtic Woman).I'm sure that not everyone agrees with my viewpoint of this show and I respect that. We are all individuals and we all have are own opinions, likes, and dislikes. I can only tell you what my feelings are about the presentation. Unquestionably many of you will TOTALLY disagree with me. But ... hopefully you will respect my honesty. I really expected something new and wonderful, and I didn't get it.Quite honestly, I hope everyone likes the show because these girls are extremely talented, and anything they sing is worth listening to, but `personally' ... I felt cheated because there are other songs that they could have sung just as magnificently. Why did they give us a rerun?[Please feel free to leave comments.]

As one who has loved Celtic Woman since discovering them in 2006, I am sadly in agreement with many of the other reviewers who felt this concert was a disappointment. This concert is sort of a greatest hits but with the songs sung, for the most part, by different members of the group due to the great turnover of singers in recent years. And there is the main problem. Susan McFadden is a lovely young woman with a sweet voice. However asking her to sing "Caledonia" and "The Voice" is a huge mistake. I first discovered Celtic Woman while listening to Lisa Kelly sing "Caledonia" on the "New Beginning" concert at my local electronics store. She has always been my favorite and asking someone else to sing her songs is a mistake.This concert begins with Chloe, Susan and Lisa Lambe doing "Awakening." Yet the most recent Celtic Woman concert (other than the" Home for Christmas" concert,)" Believe" started the same way, only with Chloe, Lisa Lambe and Lisa Kelly. It seemed strange to start this concert the exact same way. Chloe sings her own "Nocturne," yet it sounded better on the previous concert. Its that way with most of the concert: "been there, done that." Its enjoyable to watch only just not as good as the previous concerts on dvd. On the plus side, this concert does include 2 of the Celtic Woman dance numbers: "Nil Se'n La" and "Teir Abhaile Riu." They are fun but not as interesting due to the limitations of the very unspectacular stage used for this concert.Someone observed that the Celtic Woman concerts show too much of the audience. I am in complete agreement. There is a little girl shown singing and dancing to the music THREE TIMES!!. I think once would have been enough. (Celtic Woman did the same thing on their first Christmas dvd when they cut away from Lisa Kelly in the wonderful "Let It Snow" number to show an elderly couple laughing and clapping. I cringe whenever I see it.)Since this concert was filmed last year, Chloe has left Celtic Woman. However Lisa Lambe is an absolute doll and one of my favorites, Susan McFadden is lovely and Mairead is still amazing, the heart and soul of Celtic Woman. However it is obvious that not much thought went into this concert and its probably time to put "Dulaman" and "Danny Boy" to rest. As some have mentioned, David Downes does not even make an appearance until Lisa Lambe's thundering rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as part of the bonus material.In conclusion, I love Celtic Woman and will be seeing them in concert at Radio City Music Hall in May. However it is time for some new material. And if they are going to continue doing their old numbers, wouldn't it be nice to bring back Lisa Kelly, Meav, Orla Fallon, Alex Sharpe, etc. to perform them. I know this is never going to happen but it is nice to ponder.

Excellent DVD made better by Blu-ray.

Got this expecting great picture and sound on blu ray. I was disappointed. For me there was little if any improvement over the standard definition, and definitely not worth the difference in price between blu ray and standard.

Too much like the "Believe" concert and nowhere near as good. I think that it was a mistake for Susan to sing Lisa Kelly's song "The Voice" in her first recorded concert for Celtic Woman. She has a wonderful voice and could have selected one of many popular Irish songs.It was a pity that "The Believe" concert was not released in the blu ray format.For an international release, there are too many songs in an Irish dialect.John H

Very good show - excellent quality on blu-ray. Saw them live recently and had to have this to remind me of how good they are. The music and the show put on by the girls is first class - and the bagpipes and dancing add that extra touch. Only small criticism is that there are rather too many views of the audience cut in.

Fantastic show from my favourite group of artists!

WOW what a performance! Rates highly in my list of best concerts ever. Especially Mairead on the fiddle.