Live in Ireland

The incomparable Judy Collins delivers a tour de force concert DVD with a live show that celebrates both her famous songs and the songs of her Irish heritage. The five star effort involves a full array of instrumentation, with Russell Walden, her musical director, on piano, as well as a penny whistle player, a violin section, a variety of stringed instruments, and bagpipes.The set opens with a sing-a-long with the audience, amidst the backdrop of Ireland's beautiful Dromoland Castle, of Collins' rendition of "Wild Mountain Thyme", a selection from her first CD "Maid of Constant Sorrow" released in 1961. There is tasteful accompaniment to this version, while the original version was done acapella. Still, Collins' voice and the audience singing with her are front and center. Indeed her voice is the star of the show and is given center stage throughout.This is followed by the Joni Mitchell penned "Chelsea Morning", one of Judy's many signature songs, delivered here exquisitely. One of the highlights of the set is Collins' own underrated "Granddaddy", complete with a very talented young step dancer. The song, originally appearing on her 1982 masterpiece "Times of Our Lives" CD, is done even more gloriously here than on the original, the tenderness Judy felt for her grandfather palpable in every note, a song sure to evoke similar memories in the listener.Next is a chilling version of a Collins favorite, Leonard Cohen's "Bird On A Wire", which showcases Collins' remarkable phrasing and amazing range as a singer. Harry Chapin's "Cat's In The Cradle", a perennial concert favorite, scores as well. Collins digs deep into her back catalog to "Maid of Constant Sorrow" for the touching traditional folk tune "John Riley". Her voice today, so different from the original version in 1961, makes this version shine all the more. The story song, which describes a maiden who vows to be true to her lost love only to find that the strange man who is trying to test her is indeed her "long lost John Riley" is undoubtedly one of the strongest moments of the show.Next is a duet with the national treasure of Ireland, singer-songwriter Mary Black, with a superb version of "She Moves Through The Faire", which is markedly different with the shared harmonies and fuller instrumentation than the delightful version Collins alone delivered on 1999's "Judy Collins Live at Wolf Trap CD". Then fellow New Yorker Ari Hest joins Judy on stage for a collaboration on "The Fire Plays", a gorgeous song that makes its first appearance on a Judy Collins recording.The song is infectious with a catchy tune you'll find yourself humming long after a couple listens.Collins then surprises with a Broadway tune "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?", soon to melt the last hold out heart in the house. If that doesn't do it, the one, two punch of "Danny Boy" and a version of "Amazing Grace" complete with bagpipes should do the trick nicely. Interspersed with the music, Collins explains the significance of some of the songs and their special meaning to her. Bonus DVD tracks include Irish poet's W.B. Yeats' Lake Isle of Innisfree poem set to music, plus "Barbara Allen" and the "Gypsy Rover", songs that were instrumental in inspiring Judy to abandon her classical piano training in favor of folk music, leaving her piano virtuoso teacher Antonia Brico to lament, "little Judy, you really could have gone places". One could argue, as I do, that little Judy did quite well for herself.

Ms. Collins is a musical legend and one of my favorite singers. I have the audio digital download of the concert and curiosity caused me to buy the DVD. I'm so glad I did.

Would have been 5 stars except for the Bonus failure! All the other reviews are correct; you cannot get past the first bonus song. There are three bonus tunes from the concert and an interview but the 'selection' bar will not move from the first selection - no matter what you do. You can't even get back to the main menu without some serious manipulations. Don't think your player is any better than any others, the bonus songs are not available (except the first). Other than that, the concert is worth the price. I'm surprised they did not correct this problem; maybe they didn't catch it until the production run was done.

just wanted folks to know to def ck your dvd as far as the bonus selections as my brand new dvd has the same problem that others have mentioned sad to say. Judy is in fine voice and lovely songs (even though i could have done without the little girl clogging to Judy's song 'Grandaddy' which is one of the reason why i purchased this dvd and def just wanted to listen to Judy sing the song w/o hearing clicks n clacks or whatever sound this little girl was making with her shoes as she danced to the song. for me, i could have done w/o the little girl but everything else was fine. i loved Judy's new song that she wrote about 'moon over the hudson' as its just as good as her 'Blizzard' that she wrote for 'Fires of Eden'. just make sure you ck out your dvd and make sure you can return it for hopefully one that works properly.

I would love to give this DVD a top rating, which is what Judy's performance deserves. However, the bonus material menu does NOT work, which is VERY disappointing. I've tried two copies, and played both of them on FOUR different DVD players with the same results. I didn't get around to playing the first copy for a couple months after I bought it, so Amazon won't take it back, and I'm stuck with a defective disc...and still can't enjoy the bonus material. I hope Judy puts some pressure on the disc's manufacturer and gets this corrected! Keep in mind what I don't like here is paying for a DVD that is supposed to work, and ending up with one that doesn't, and not being able to get a good copy, or get my money back. I'll certainly revise these comments if I EVER get some satisfaction. I even tried contacting Judy's 'organization' via Facebook with no reply.As an update. I called Amazon and they agreed to give me my money back. They said they'd check their other copies in stock and if defective, would remove the item from their sales...if new copies are received and play correctly, this item will be relisted on Amazon.com.

I have several dvd players and on none of them can the Bonus Features be accessed. Also, the picture skips what seems like a frame quite regularly. This seems to be a real problem in manufacturing. I notice others have had this problem as well. I hope the manufacturer is taking notice and buyers will be notified when the problems have been fixed.What a shame. The concert itself is stunning. There will never be another Judy Collins.

The concert is great, of course, but there is a flaw in the DVD. It won't play beyond the first bonus song. I returned the first DVD that did this and got a replacement. The second one had the same flaw. I requested a refund on the second DVD and Amazon approved it....for zero dollars.

The problem before the puchase was the comment concerning the bonus. I cannot much get there on my TV set. But I can have easily access to the bonus on my great computer with great screen. So I am very happy. Wonderful video from the unique Judy Collins with other great singers and fine musicians and even a very young attractive dancer. From a french fan since the early sixties. It is a miracle to still have such a wonderful so pure voice over the years. The most interesting for me was to compare her ancient interpretation from her beginnings of " John Riley " full of life to her much more subtle (what a wonderful voice, indeed) new interpretation which is even much better. I was once in Ireland and I am eager to be back there soon ...

not great

This is a really lovely concert which any of Judy's many fans would want to own. She is in amazing voice and the picture and sound qualities are high. But there are serious problems.All of the items suffer from regular jerks in the movement of the picture which gets very irritating. I have seen two copies of this disc which, between them, have been tried on four different makes of players and two different TVs. The picture suffers the same on all.More seriously, the menu for the bonus tracks simply does not work! Gypsy Rover is the only one that can be selected and when it gets to the end of that track it goes straight back to the start of the bonus menu! I did find a way to make the extras play. Two of my machines (Sony and Pioneer) allow direct menu access to the titles and, by trial and error, I discovered that the four bonus items are titles 2 to 5. Many players don't allow this though.Furthermore, Amazon state that this disc is PAL. It is not; it is NTSC and is therefore exactly the same as the American issue.This disc is a mess and I would hope that Wildflower and Cleopatra Records will withdraw it swiftly and put things right.As a keen collector and fan of Judy, I will keep this disc for now - but she deserves better as do the customers.

A great concert by a consummate artist. I had to send it back because the bonus material wouldn't play properly.No hassles about that and am looking forward to my replacement disk.

This is the third copy i have bought from Amazon in September 2014 and despite being assured by the Amazon Fulfilment team that all copies in stock had no problems in playing the four bonus tracks the one received had exactly the same fault as the two previous copies i bought in April 2013 in that only the first bonus track 'Gypsy Rover' could be played. Not at all impressed!!!