Review of Lorrie Morgan: Color Of Roses

Introduction

This is Lorrie Morgan`s concert performance recorded in Nashville in 2001. I don`t normally listen to any country music except for Shania Twain who crossed over big time into the mainstream, so to listen to Lorrie Morgan felt like I was going hardcore country. Would I actually like any of this stuff and if I admitted so, would this make me sound really old? I always associate country and easy listening music to that of an older audience.

Video

Presented with a 4:3 fullframe transfer, it`s quite clean with no visible signs of compression or other problems. The fullframe transfer of this concert seems fine as it is, usually I want to see more with a wider frame but there`s nothing visually demanding here so the square shape is okay. Lorrie plays in one venue with her band, an orchestra and has a few costume changes to boot. Even the audience are well behaved and seem content being quite still in their seats.

Audio

A little surprise feature here with the soundtrack. DTS, DD5.1 and DD2.0 no less. I was surprised that a DTS track would find its way here and what`s here is quite good. But then you have to be really into the music itself to want to pump up the sound that little bit louder. The DD5.1 track too is very good and I couldn`t really spot any differences over the DTS track. The 5.1 sound is mixed well and covers a very wide front stage. The DD2.0 sound is okay, but as with most 2 channel sound mixes for music videos it can sound detached from what`s happening onscreen.

Features

There are a few average extras here with the best part being the Lorrie interview. This is 45 minutes long and I found it to be interesting up to a point where it steered away from talking about her music and delved more into her opinion on how men should treat women. I don`t want a Cosmo interview thanks, I want to know about her professional life. There are some good questions hidden in there though.

Then there`s a two minute tour of Lorrie`s house in true `Through the Keyhole` fashion. Not interesting. There are two bonus tracks that can be selected from the extras menu. Only one of them is a real bonus however since the other, `The Color of Roses`, is also present in the recorded concert. These play with just a still of Lorrie herself on screen.

There aren`t any onscreen captions for the song titles which is a shame since I don`t know the songs and would have found this helpful. Lastly there are no English subtitles here for you karaoke fans or those that are Hard of Hearing (HoH).

Conclusion

There are some of the usual sounding country songs here, but also quite a few that sound sufficiently different for someone who doesn`t listen to country music to appreciate. There`s a popular almost jazzy feel to a couple of the numbers which adds a little spice and keeps it all interesting. I have to admit then that I enjoyed listening and watching Lorrie in action.

This is an enjoyable disc with a wide selection songs. Some of the songs are lyrically sentimental and are bearable since she sings them in an entertaining way. Normally such stuff would make me quesy but I got by okay and enjoyed the melodies more than anything else. A few ballads with a bit of old fashioned rock n` roll and easy listening country sounds are all backed up by her band and an orchestra too. Before you know it we`re into jazz territory with well orchestrated sting arrangments that sound really good with Lorrie`s singing style.

I think this is something different to the usual same old tired pop and dance music released every week, so I`m quite pleased that I can leave this DVD running in the background.

Carole King and Frank Sinatra songs are among many catchy tunes that she sings and she does this very well; she has charisma and looks every inch the performer. Lorrie is a charming, glamourous, attractive and talented woman and her passionate concert performance here is good. If you`re into country music then I think you`ll be pleased with this DVD. A running time of 75 minutes, a 45 minute interview and a DTS soundtrack makes this a must have for fans and for those that just want to try out some `alternative` music.