Chris de Burgh - Beautiful Dreams Live
Format PAL, Hi-Fi Stereo
Catalogue Number 637 492-3
Producer White Rabbit for A&M (UK)
Release Date 1995
Playing Time 90 minutes
Carry On
Here Is Your Paradise
Transmission Ends
The Head and the Heart
Spanish Train
This Weight On Me
The Simple Truth (a child is born)
The Last Time I Cried
Borderline
Oh My Brave Hearts
Don't Pay The Ferryman
Missing You
Carry Me (like a fire in your heart)
Discovery
In Love Forever
The Lady in Red
In Dreams
I'm Not Crying Over You
Always On My Mind
Say Goodbye To It All
One More Mile To Go
The Snows Of New York
Filmed on 9th September '95, at the Birmingham Symphony Hall in England, this concert fulfills a long-standing ambition of Chris de Burgh's to perform some of his classic songs with full orchestra and choir. We hope you enjoy the result.
REVIEW by Dave Doohan
I'd like to begin this review by saying that I was privileged to be there when this video was recorded. As such I feel in a position to comment on the reproduction of the sound, and general atmosphere. If anything, although the sound reproduction is excellent, some of the excitement is lost to the tape. Still, we still have a good video which features Chris at the piano and guitars during the first half and then a band, orchestra and choir accompany him in the second half.
Carry On starts with Chris at the piano but once again it's not a full version, however it is son neatly blended in to the next song, Transmission Ends that it takes a few seconds to notice he's changed songs. Spanish Train is good, in fact just as well reproduced here on video as it was in the concert itself.
"In times of war it's the innocent who suffer the most"
so says Chris as he introduces Simple Truth followed by Last Time I Cried and Borderline. The blend in to each of these songs, without a pause and with hardly anyone noticing the point at which he does it is amazing.
Brave Hearts, a song I would consider a big band concert number follows, but it is still well sung. Don't Pay The Ferryman closes part 1, and gives everyone a chance to stand and join in fully.
Part two is the Orchestra part, and it starts with Missing You. You can only marvel at the timing as seconds earlier Chris had been handed a rose from the audience. He glances in her direction as he sings "I've got the Roses…"
Carry Me (Like A Fire) is next and is one of the songs that demonstrates the power of the orchestra - it brought a tear to my eye at the time, the arrangement was so haunting. Carry Me is followed by Discovery, a song often requested but never granted at concerts because it isn't really normal CdeB Concert material. In the BD concert however, it has a new lease of life.
Moving on to One More Mile with the male voice choir you can picture the Welsh Valleys (well if you live in the UK you should be able to). Snows of New York now closes the show. What the video doesn't have is the (unplanned) encore. Never mind, it was a really great encore for those of us who were there<g>.
If you like or are even reasonably happy with Beautiful Dreams the album, then this video will appeal. I personally bought it simply because I was there.