All the Way Home: A History of the Corrs (Plus Live in Geneva) [DVD]

Okay, it's 8 March 2006 and time to update my review since my DVD set of "All the Way Home" finally arrived via US Mail! The set I received is indeed Region 1 and is in NTSC format. From reading the other reviews, it looks as if Amazon may be shipping out Region 1 NTSC to some people and Region 2-6 PAL format DVDs to other people. It just pure luck that I received the correct region/format, I assume. Amazon needs to look at their stock of "All the Way Home" DVD sets they have and separate out the two formats! In any event, if you end up with the wrong region, then see my notes below regarding the Philips DVP642 DVD player....Another faux pas on Amazon's part that I found amusing is they sent me an e-mail that said "We've noticed that customers who have purchased All the Way Home: A History of the Corrs (Plus Live in Geneva) also purchased The Corrs: Live in Geneva on DVD." Huh? Why in the world would someone who purchased "All the Way Home: A History of the Corrs (Plus Live in Geneva)" also purchase "Live in Geneva" when All the Way Home comes with "Live in Geneva"?????? DOH!!!Anyway, as far as the DVD set is concerned, this is a documentary DVD which happens to include the concert, that is, it's not a concert DVD that includes the documentary. That said, the primary reason I bought this set if for the documentary and I must say it is a great documentary of a GREAT and VERY talented family band. Anyone who is a TRUE fan of The Corrs should have this documentary.Now, the second disc of the concert "Live in Geneva"... I was disappointed with the concert. It starts off with "Baby Be Brave" and then suddenly cuts to "Humdrum"...well, I would much rather see "Baby Be Brave" performed than "Humdrum"! Especially since the music was playing and I expected it! It was just bad editing.The concert, lacked audience participation, at least at the beginning. The concert gets better, probably around their presentation of "Runaway" halfway through. The concert picks up then.The one thing that absolutely killed me about the concert is the accordion playing during "No Frontiers." It just ruined the song, and it ruined it so bad I had to grab the remote and skip to the next song on the DVD! I don't know whose idea it was to bring a squeeze box into the mix, but it was a bad idea.I guess I expected more from this concert having previously bought and thoroughly enjoyed their other concert DVDs (but at least this one didn't have nearly as many as those stupid black & white shots someone insists upon inserting into the concerts).Overall, Live in Geneva just lacked the "party" atmosphere of their previous concerts. If you just want a complete collection of their DVDs, then, yes, you want a copy of Live in Geneva, but if you aren't that big of a fan yet still enjoy their music, then I recommend getting the DVD of "Live at Lansdowne Road" which totally rocks! "Live in London" is also great, just not as great as Lansdowne Road. If you don't care about the live stadium concerts and you just want to see them do a smaller performance where you can be bowled over by the ethereal sounds of Andrea's voice and her siblings' music/vocals combined with a background orchestra, then spend your money on their "MTV Unplugged" DVD, it is simply outstanding.What did I like about the concert? Well, Andrea's skirt and boots were HOT, but pretty much anything she wears looks good to me! Other than my male-centric opinion of Andrea Corr, this concert includes both "Angel" and "Goodbye" from the "Borrowed Heaven" CD. These songs relate to the passing away of Jean Corr, their mother. Having had a relative pass away recently, I, personally, can relate to those songs, especially "Goodbye" and I do appreciate their inclusion in the concert.--------------------------Original post from 12 February 2006:DVD Regions and PAL formatSeveral people have complained about the DVD set not being Region 1 and NTSC. This is a legitimate complaint since the description clearly says "Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only...."; however, there is a workaround for this: get the Phillips DVP642 DVD player available from Amazon for $59.49 or from Wal-Mart for $57.36 (at least that is the shelf price in Alabama). The player is capable of playing both NTSC and PAL formats from ANY region, but you have to set it to "region free mode" which is EASILY done via the remote (open the tray, press 7 8 9 OK 0 on the remote). Please note there is rumor that the newest firmware on this model disallows changing to region free mode, though, but I have not confirmed that. In addition to playing DVDs, this player will also play AVI files burn to blank CD or DVD that you would normally only be able to play on your computer!Okay, I didn't want to turn this into a product review for a DVD player, I just thought you guys would like to know there is a way to play this DVD set. And it's true you should not have to go to the expense of getting another player, but consider this: you may not want the North American release of this DVD. The release date for the North American release is currently March 14th, but it may very well be a single disc ONLY containing the concert in Geneva and not the documentary. From what I have read on-line, and I quote: "there are rumours about a special 'Live In Geneva' DVD being released in the US without the documentary and other goodies." That is, it may very well be only "Live in Geneva" without "All the Way Home: A History of the Corrs"! Personally, as a true fan of The Corrs, I want the documentary DVD, not just the concert, so I am ordering the non-North American version!

I was also worried about the region code problem. And the Corrs official website said the documentary was not available in the US, only the concert DVD. But I received Region Code 1 for US for both DVDs, so that was a relief.The documentary should be of interest to all Corrs fans. It was not a terribly in-depth or powerful documentary, but still worth your time for the 90 minute look at their rise to the top.The concert DVD is great for long-time fans. However, for those new to the Corrs I would highly recommend that first you buy Lansdowne Road (1999) and Live in London (2000) for the best big concert experience. Those performances are were energetic and magical from the peak years of this group. Geneva is a slight step down from those performances, particulary with Caroline being replaced on drums. Luckily she was at this performance, unlike most of the tour, and sat in on secondary percussion and harmony vocals.The new songs are a nice change, particulary Summer Sunshine and Long Night. But otherwise, they seem to be playing most of the same set from 5 years earlier. Obviously they will always play Dreams, So Young, Breathless, What Can I Do, Runaway, Toss the Feathers, Queen of Hollywood as the core corrs songs. But it would be nice to see new covers to show off their musicality instead of No Frontiers and Old Town for 6 years now.Documentary and extras make it worth while. Plus, it was probably their final big tour.Get the old stuff first and you will be hooked. My must-see rankings:1- Lansdowne Road 19992- Unplugged 19993- Live in London 20004- Geneva 20045- Royal Albert Hall 1998

Just when you think their last performance was their best, the Dundalk clan have outdone themselves with this CONCERT & DOCUMENTARY!!I've always thought as entertaining they are, they've seemed to be a bit stiff, but they were WONDERFUL in Geneva and really have come into their own onstage .. .. Maturity perhaps .. ..The exquisite documentary, early footage and EXTENSIVE background on their personal/family lives is unrivaled and you will never venture as deep into their lives as you will with this DVD!And, shockingly, the word 'retirement' has now popped up about the Corrs and with everyone married (except Andrea, I think), this great ride now has an end in sight .. .. We best appreciate them now and pray they make one last tour of the States!!BUY THE DVD NOW -- If you don't love this DVD .. .. well .. .. 'you never loved them anyways' .. ..