Sugarland - Live on the Inside CD/DVD review

_{Sugarland - Live on the Inside
© Mercury Nashville}

Sugarland has released their first live concert CD/DVD project. The audio portion was recorded at various stops on their Love on the Inside tour. The cities that are included are Minneapolis, MN, Lexington, KY, Austin, TX, Atlanta, GA, and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Fans will be especially excited that Sugarland has included mostly cover songs in the audio portion. I don't know about you, but while I love hearing live versions of Sugarland's big hits, I really enjoy hearing live versions of new songs even more. The band includes music from artist's as diverse as Beyonce, Kings of Leon, the B52s, Edie Brickell & the Bohemians and Pearl Jam.

For fans who haven't had the pleasure of attending a live Sugarland performance, the DVD is a special treat. Jennifer and Kristian are wonderful to hear on the radio, but to watch them perform their music live is truly exciting. They really know how to entertain, engaging the audience in singing along in some parts of the show, flash their glow lights, and even blow bubbles to fill the arena with a magical feel.

The first track on the DVD is "Love." You view the stage from the darkened arena, with a large trunk in the middle. One by one, the band members come onstage, and take a white umbrella out of the trunk, and walk to their spot on the stage. When everyone has their umbrellas, they open them, showing that each umbrella is outfitted with a series of lights around the perimeter. The camera moves back from the stage, and all you can see are the opened umbrellas and the crowd energetically waving their green glow lights. Kristian and Jennifer come out on the stage to begin the song, which has the room emotionally charged with the power of the song and the light show that accompanies it, featuring shooting stars. It's just plain magic to watch!

Sugarland had their first ABC special on August 3rd, which featured quite a few of the live performances from the DVD. One that wasn't featured was the humorous "proposal" to Steve Earle from Jennifer as she sang the album track, "Steve Earle."

For fans who have seen Sugarland live, this will bring back fond memories of the fabulous show they put on, and make you long for another ticket to experience them again. For fans that have never seen a live show, I hope that you'll be able to do so soon.

The package contains bonus features of slideshows of photos and posters. I was hoping for something more (no pun intended), such as an interview, or behind the scenes at their concerts. Maybe they'll do this on their next DVD.

CD Track List:

1. "Love"
2. "Circle" (Edie Brickell & the Bohemians)
3. "Better Man" (Pearl Jam)
4. "Sex on Fire" (Kings of Leon)
5. "All I Want to Do"
6. "Irreplaceable" (Beyonce)
7. "Nightswimming" / "Joey" (REM)
8. "The One I Love" (REM)
9. "Love Shack" (B52s)
10. "Stay"

DVD Track List:

1. "Love"
2. "Settlin'"
3. "Baby Girl"
4. "Want To"
5. "Nightswimming" (Intro)
6. "Joey"
7. "Already Gone"
8. "Steve Earle"
9. "Genevieve"
10. "All I Want To Do"
11. "Everyday America"
12. "Stay"
13. "Down in Mississippi (Up To No Good)"
14. "The One I Love"
15. "Something More"
16. "It Happens" (Audio only)

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