Sarah McLachlan Afterglow Live CD

This live release captures her 2004 concert tour including over 20 songs with all of Sarah's hits. Sarah lets her fans take a glimpse at her personal life with 20 minutes of behind the scenes footage. The backstage tour will be provided by Sarah's dog, Rex. The package is available in Amaray and Jewelcase packaging.

Personnel: Sarah McLachlan (vocals, guitar, piano); Luke Doucet, Sean Ashby (vocals, guitar); Vincent Jones (vocals, keyboards); Brian Minato (vocals, bass guitar); Ashwin Sood (vocals, drums, percussion); Kathryn Rose (vocals); Dave Kershaw (keyboards, bass guitar).
Like Sarah McLachlan's multi-platinum-selling Mirrorball from 1999, Afterglow Live relies on the breathy Canadian's fluid and faultless vocals and performances -- by McLachlan and band alike -- that are so spot-on that they may well have been cut in the studio. The recording follows the singer through her summer tour, a jaunt that ended up in her hometown of Vancouver -- the 15 tracks are culled from a pair of shows in Toronto. While heavy on material from the 2003 release that gives the record its name, McLachlan classics like "Building a Mystery" and "Sweet Surrender" sound as reliable as ever. But the real meat here is the accompanying 23-track DVD, featuring behind-the-scenes footage, live performances, and videos, specifically director Sophie Muller's confrontational short for "World on Fire," which features McLachlan performing over displays that compare the costs of video production with those of food and medical supplies. ~ James Christopher Monger
Listening to Sarah McLachlan perform live is a lot like listening to her records. Like 1999's multi-platinum-selling Mirrorball, Afterglow Live relies on the breathy Canadian's fluid and faultless vocals and performances -- by McLachlan and band alike -- that are so spot-on that they may well have been cut in the studio. A backhanded compliment for sure, but isn't it the artist's job to paint a picture from the ground up or disassemble it in new and creative ways so that their minions can marvel at the process as opposed to just the end product? The recording follows the singer through her summer tour, a jaunt that ended up in her hometown of Vancouver -- the 15 tracks are culled from a pair of shows in Toronto. While heavy on material from the 2003 release that gives the record its name, McLachlan classics like "Building a Mystery" and "Sweet Surrender" sound as reliable as ever, but the real meat here is the accompanying 23-track DVD. The behind-the-scenes footage, live performances, and videos, specifically director Sophie Muller's confrontational short for "World on Fire," which features McLachlan performing over displays that compare the costs of video production with those of food and medical supplies, are far more interesting than the snooze of a live CD that makes up this polarizing collection's second half. ~ James Christopher Monger
AFTERGLOW LIVE is Sarah McLachlan's second live album within a five-year span, with only one studio release of new material, 2003's AFTERGLOW, dividing the two. Though older McLachlan favorites like the pensive "Adia" and the lilting, minor-key "Sweet Surrender" overlap with 1999's MIRRORBALL, most of the songs are drawn from AFTERGLOW. "Fallen" and "Dirty Little Secret," for example, which open and close the set, respectively, demonstrate McLachlan's command of evocative, accessible rock songcraft and heartfelt balladry. Here the blend of newer tunes with the singer/songwriter's old standbys is seamless.
The focus of the concert, naturally, is McLachlan's voice. Breathy, emotive, and threaded with embellishments, the singer's performances replicate her studio takes to the note. Likewise, her band creates a gauzy, shimmering wash of sound, perfectly complementing McLachlan, and giving the whole a high-end sheen. But the real treasure here is the accompanying DVD, which features live footage of all the songs on the audio disc, plus additional tuneEntertainment Weekly (p.70) - "AFTERGLOW collects her greatest hits and best-known quirks..." - Grade: B-