Bryan Adams - Live In Ireland (DVD)

Bryan Adams - Live In Ireland (DVD) ... Ireland is just one of the stops on his massive world tour in 2000. Adams, the gravely voiced "Groover from Vancouver", rose to prominence in the 1980s with rock hits such as "Cuts Like a Knife" and "Summer of '69", but has more recently been transformed into something of a Hollywood troubadour, scoring hits with songs such as "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" (from Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves) and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" (from Don Juan DeMarco). Flanked by drummer Mickey Curry and guitarist Scott on guitar, the trio perform amidst the stately surroundings of Slane Castle. Bryan and his band cover most of the singer's vast repertoire, including "18 Til I Die", "Heaven", "Run to You", "Can't Stop This Thing We Started", "Best of Me" and his recent hit with Mel C, "When You're Gone" (for which the indefatigable songstress pops in unexpectedly for a croon). Adams proves he is a confident and charismatic host, bringing fans up on stage to sing with him, cracking jokes and generally behaving like soft rock's "Mr. Nice Guy". Other musical guests are drafted in throughout the show, namely Davy Spillane and Chicane's Nick Bracegirdle. The crowd show their appreciation by singing well-known lines when the band fall purposefully silent and holding their lighters aloft for the more poignant moments. There are not a lot of musical adventures in Adams' music--just slightly anachronistic and often clichéd formulas--but for the 56,000 people watching at Slane Castle (many of them surprisingly young and enthusiastic), it certainly seems to do the trick. On the DVD: though the concert gives a good profile of Adams and his music, the extras on the DVD struggle to be quite so entertaining. The accompanying booklet is colourful enough with a few bad photos of Bryan inside, but is intensely uninformative. On the disc there are backstage sections, which show him rehearsing to a crowd of two, and the "nerve wracking" moments just before he goes on stage. As insights go, these are banal to say the least. The interview section also misses a great opportunity to ask the singer about a 20-year career full of big hits, concentrating instead on such racy and profound topics as pre-gig nerves and favourite song. The gallery of photography--some shot by the excellent Anton Corbijn--is tastefully done and there is also the option to view five of the songs from the 360-degree static view, a facility that is a novelty but hardly captures the moment. There is an opportunity to go "interactive" with Bryan by placing the disc into your PC.--Paul Sullivan