Rating: 
Summary: Melissa Etheridge: Live and Alone, the Deluxe DVD
Review: .
I was washing my car in a little car wash across the street from Christy's (the other Bono) restaurant when I remembered that that night was the premiere of the Movie of Melissa Etheridge's Live and Alone Concert.So I went. It is just like being at the concert except that you get to sit in a real seat. It begins with some footage from the last time Melissa sang in a particular bar in Pasadena, California in 1987. She had so much promise and poise, even then. The bar scene flows into the time before right before this Concert which was filmed at the Kodak in Hollywood, in 2001. Even Stephen Spielberg hobbles into this pre-concert footage. The concert is The Perfect Melissa Concert: the photography is great; her expressions are fierce and funny; and her voice just fills up the screen and the hearts of those who hear her. Among other songs, she sings the two piano songs, Please Forgive Me and the Weakness In Me; and other songs in which she accompanies herself on the guitar, Down To One, Lover Please, American Girl, Chrome, Scarecrow, The Only One, Come To My Window, Somebody Bring Me Some Water and The Way I Do. There are other songs; I'm not a scribe. Chrome is really a beautiful song and beautifully done. Lover Please, shows Melissa's pain to the point of pleading but also, through the use of that garble-machine into which Melissa sputters the words 'do you want me' (I think) and through the use of that harsh yellow light, I sense real anger, anger that I never heard in the song without the visual. The photography and editing are excellent, occasionally there would be three shots of her singing on the screen at once - the movie was really well cut and crafted. And Melissa is Melissa. It is extraordinary. The deluxe DVD of this concert/movie will also contain footage of Melissa at home. It is a must for every music lover.
Rating:
Summary: This is how all music dvds should be done!
Review: Absolutely fantastic, so much material. You not only get the full concert, you get to see EVERYTHING that went on during, just before and just after the tour. Every music dvd should be like this. Fabulous.
Rating:
Summary: The ONLY One!!!!!
Review: Any time you can get Melissa on film is a good thing...this DVD
captures her at her very best...alone with her guitars, showcasing her phenomonal songwriting and 12-string artistry.
The interviews, though choppy in places, allows the viewer a
unique opportunity to see the many sides of this amazing performer. If you missed the PPV concert, this DVD gives you that plus much, much more.....well worth the money and a must-have for a die-hard MLE fan!
Rating:
Summary: Never Enough
Review: As a long time fan of Melissa's, I was thrilled to see this under my tree at Christmas time. Each track in this DVD is better than the one before it. This is the only tour that I missed out on and now I have it right in my living room. If you are a true Melissa fan, then you will love to watch the way she interacts with her audience, the raw emotion she pours into each performance. I dare anyone to listen and watch her perform "Scarecrow" (the song about the Matthew Shepeard murder) and not end up with a tear in his eye. To quote Melissa, "sometimes I feel like it is never enough..."
Rating: 
Summary: Great Performance hindered by weak Presentation
Review: As expected you will most likly find Melissa very entertaining, but the quality of the filming leaves something to be desired. The lighting is poor and the entire concert is filmed in a grainy film look...especially grainy in low light scenes. All this is not good for viewing on a large screen TV. On the other hand the Audio is in full crystal clear 5.1 Digital sound. The quality of the sound does not match to the poor quality of the video. Problem here is that the disc will not default to 5.1 and must be selected each time you play the disc I understand the idea and the feel behind the grainy look, but the director and producer of this disc should learn from the James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles discs which are shot in beautiful "Jump off the screen" type picture quality. Great extras, Great Sound, poor picture. Three Stars
Rating:
Summary: Amazing,Amazing, Did I already say amazing?
Review: Being the huge Melissa Etheridge fan that I am, I would be one of the toughest critics. There's nothing bad I can say about this though. It shows Melissa at her best. Kicking some serious booty on every song she plays, even when she plays the piano. It's really easy to just pop it in your DVD player and get your guitar out and play along(that's what I do). Hats off to you Melissa for this outstanding video and of course, for all you've given to the gay and lesbian world. Once again, this is a must have for all Melissa Etheridge fans!!!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing,Amazing, Did I already say amazing?
Review: Being the huge Melissa Etheridge fan that I am, I would be one of the toughest critics. There's nothing bad I can say about this though. It shows Melissa at her best. Kicking some serious booty on every song she plays, even when she plays the piano. It's really easy to just pop it in your DVD player and get your guitar out and play along(that's what I do). Hats off to you Melissa for this outstanding video and of course, for all you've given to the gay and lesbian world. Once again, this is a must have for all Melissa Etheridge fans!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Highest Emotional IQ in Song and Performance
Review: Do you admire singer/songwriters? This DVD is a treasure. No back-up band, no glitz, no pyrotechnics. A gifted artist, a guitar, a piano ... absolute heaven. If you like Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading, Laura Nyro and other strong women with artistic and vocal genius, this DVD is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Alive, Alone & in your own home.
Review: Firtstly the important bit " what you get for your $'s" Disc 1 : Each separate section is marked with a *
* The concert. 2 hours of footage from the Kodak theater, LA. ( I think the Christmas songs are all that have been cut from the original show.)
* Song Access. Where can jump straight to your favorite bit.
* Audio setup. You can choose between a stereo setting or a Dolby 5.1surround sound.
* Special Features. At this point there are 2 options, The first,
Melissa's Commentary & the second, Multiangle Concert segments. The latter has 2 songs "All American Girl" & "Scarecrow" filmed from 3 angles, you can pick & mix your preferred version from your own handset.
* Links & Credits. Disc 2 :
* Live & Alone Tour Diary. Now this is very cool. There's a graphic that charts Melissa's whole tour & you can follow the plane from city to city in the US & then over to Europe. There's a day counter & mileage chart which also ( inexplicably ! ) tells you how much water Melissa drank & how many bagels the crew ate along the way. Starting from home in LA we see Melissa & partner Tammy in the house, ( Aug. 2. 01 ) fooling around in the kitchen,
get a mini tour of the office, bedroom & closet as they pack for the tour. Then it skips to short segments in Washington DC, Boston, Atlanta & Miami ( featuring the MEIN party & meet + greet ) Then there's a solo piece where Melissa relates being in Texas on 9/11, how she heard about the attack on NYC & what she did that day, it's a very emotional piece.
The next footage is backstage at the concert from NYC. Then the plane travels over to Europe & we see Melissa in London on the London Eye & at the Meet + Greet with her Fan Club. Next it's over to Amsterdam where we see Melissa on the canal doing the
tourist bit again finally to Berlin where we see some landmarks &
Melissa talks about the "wall" & it ends at her Valentine's Day concert.
This portion lasts about an hour.
My favorite part of the discs, although I have to say the camera work is quite shoddy in places, even I know you wouldn't film someone with a window being them as all you'd see would be the silhouette, but it does give a "home movie" feel.
* Melissa Interviewed.
Short interview, although you'd think it was a monologue as the
interviewer is barely audible, also the whole footage of Melissa
discussing 9/11 is repeated.
*Extra songs. 2 full versions, 'Yes I am' filmed in Atlanta & 'Dance without sleeping' from the first night at Amsterdam.
* 1987 Solo Performance. Snippets of songs from the footage that started the movie & ppv, found by Melissa when cleaning !
*Roxy performance with the Band, April 02. Again sadly only snippets of the songs ( LP, BMSW & ITOO )
*Bonus tracks. "The Weakness in Me" & "Alive". Surprisingly there is no visual accompaniment here at all, but it's in ' 24 bit / 96 kHz high resolution uncompressed stereo audio" ( is that a consolation prize <g> )
* Complete Discography
* Special links ( dvd rom features )
* Credits. This DVD is the first ( offical <g> ) release from Melissa Etheridge, after a multitude of videos & live tours finally fans have the chance to take Melissa home ( which will appeal to many <g> ) Watching, you can indulge in the performance as often as you like & get the opportunity to see why so many people follow & are in awe of this very talented artist.
It only lacks the 5th star because filmed at the end of a gruelling tour the travelling has taken an edge off Melissa's voice which doesn't do some of her numbers justice & I think some footage could have been given for the bonus track performances.
Never the less it's been worth the wait, you'll not regret this purchase.
Rating:
Summary: A Must
Review: For anyone who has ever wanted to see Melissa perform but couldn't afford to get this close, this DVD is a MUST have. I am usually within the first few rows for any ME concert and did catch two shows on this tour, but the DVD gets you closer than you ever could be otherwise. It takes you behind the scenes for ME getting ready, shots of the fans, and of course, uncut concert footage. The next best thing to being the guitar pick!
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