VH1 Presents the Corrs: Live in Dublin

1	Would You Be Happier? 3:24
2	Breathless 3:27
3	When the Stars Go Blue / Bono 4:19
4	Little Wing / Ron Wood 5:14
5	Joy of Life/Trout in the Bath 4:05
6	Runaway 4:38
7	Only Love Can Break Your Heart 3:03
8	Radio 4:50
9	Summer Wine / Bono 3:54
10	So Young 4:52
11	Ruby Tuesday / Ron Wood 3:39

Barnes & Noble

They're stars the world over, and this live release -- the Irish darlings' first for the American market -- shows just why. Released in conjunction with a live concert broadcast, VH1 Presents the Corrs follows their platinum-certified In Blue and casts hits from that album, as well as older material and covers, in a new light. A plush production from Mitchell Froom (Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow) allows the layers of the group's sound -- lovely vocal harmonies, organ, and traditional instruments such as bodrān, tin whistle, and fiddle -- to envelop their soaring melodies. Corrs originals such as the catchy "Breathless," the melancholy "Runaway," and the gutsy "Radio" allow lead vocalist Andrea Corr to flaunt her stuff and stress the band's nimble way with a memorable tune. As usual, the Corrs include a traditional-instrumental number, in this case the spirited, handclap-inducing medley "Joy of Life/Trout in the Bath." Fellow Irishman Bono may be an obvious choice for guest vocalist, but the two cuts on which he duets with Andrea Corr are refreshingly unexpected: Ryan Adams's gorgeous ballad "When the Stars Go Blue" and Lee Hazlewood's sultry "Summer Wine," one of the Hazlewood's suggestive duets with Nancy Sinatra from the '60s. The other guest star, Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood, turns in a meaty solo on the Corrs' Celtic-inspired reading of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" and plays on a rousing rendition of the Stones hit "Ruby Tuesday," but without a solo. The thoughtful song selection here -- which also includes a sensitive reading of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" -- meets the hit quota and offers enough surprises for longtime fans and newcomers alike. Lydia Vanderloo

All Music Guide

You knew the Corrs had made it when they played the final JFK Awards ceremony of the Clinton administration. Playing it would have been achievement enough, but their status as a happening thing was cemented at the end of the ceremony, during the encores, when everybody was taking their final bows. Bill moseyed up over to Andrea, put his arm around her, and when she was looking away, sized her up -- at precisely the same moment Chuck Berry was checking her out. If that doesn't mean that you've broken America, entering its pop culture, I don't know what does, expect for maybe a VH1-endorsed piece of product like Live in Dublin. Lo and behold, that's exactly what the Corrs received in the spring of 2002, a year and a half after "In Blue" and its accompanying single "Breathless" broke down the doors in America for the U.S. Only two songs on this set list are shared with In Blue, but that doesn't mean that the group returns to their slightly more traditional Celtic roots on the remainder of the songs. Sure, there are hints of that, but there are also four pop covers, two of them ("Little Wing" and "Ruby Tuesday") featuring Ron Wood, with another song, the Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra duet "Summer Wine," featuring Bono. Some of this is not unfamiliar to the Corrs' repertoire, since they did cover "Little Wing" before, on Talk on Corners (plus an MTV Unplugged release), but the end result is the same -- it's a crossover collection, not an album that emphasizes their Celtic roots. This wouldn't be a problem if the seams weren't so transparent -- if each selection didn't seem like it was a way to expand the group's audience, if it didn't seem like the soundtrack to post-yuppie dinner parties. On that level, it succeeds pretty well, and it is pleasant, but if a family of four very good-looking siblings didn't perform this music, it's hard to see this attracting much attention. After all, in this context, Bono and Ronnie Wood don't seem all that far removed from the leering Bill Clinton and Chuck Berry. Stephen Thomas Erlewine