Best of Sessions at West 54th is a DVD produced to summarize a season of the television show "Sessions at West 54th." This is a studio in New York City. The series started in 1997, and they had over 50 artists in their first year.

Like all "Sessions at West", this is shot on video. That's considered an insult in most film circles. You do tend to wonder if shooting on film would lend more gravitas.

However, the flesh tones look good, and the video has a 3-d quality to it. The sound is excellent, and it really gives the artists a chance to show what they can do outside the studio.

This isn't necessarily "MTV Unplugged" per se. Artists use electric instruments, or they don't. They really have a choice.

What they do is perform at audience-level. Sorta like if you stuck a band in the middle of a barn. The acoustics of the place are outstanding, as you can imagine.

I bought this because it had live performances by several performers I know and love, including:

Shawn Colvin
Wynton Marsalis
Sinead O'Connor

What was surprising about the DVD was that sometimes the acts that I thought would be great really weren't. And sometimes, I got turned on to other artists who I had never even heard of, before.

For instance, 'Keb 'Mo, other than having a funny name, was somebody I had never even heard of (despite the fact that he's won a Grammy). His footage starts with an oddball looking band, and Kevin, a middle aged African American gentleman, playing an old acoustic guitar while wearing a straw hat.

His slow, melodic song begins, "Hello, my friend, it's been a while. All our old clothes are back in style…"

Whoa, dude, you got me. Do with me what you will! Uh… figuratively, that is. Nothing against 'Keb, but he's not really my type… not that way. But musically, he's exactly the kind of person I want to listen to.

It was enough to make me interested in the man's music and he's now one of my favorite singer/songwriters.

Another person I had never heard before was a person named Richard Thompson who performed a song called "I feel so good". It's a sort of perverse song that sorta makes you wonder if he feels so good because he just got out of prison.

But it's another case of great music I would never have been exposed to, otherwise.

Shawn Colvin, who's "A Few Small Repairs" album spent a lot of time on my turntable, performs a song called "Diamond In the Rough." The song just absolutely zings!

Another surprise about the DVD is that names you expect to knock your socks off often fail to:

Suzanne Vega does a really, really boring song.

So does Sinead O'Connor.

Rickie Lee Jones and Emmylou Harris make you wonder how in the world they ever got famous in the first place.

Ben Fold Five does "Smoke" which is a pretty average song that you might want in the background while watering plants.

Then, you have some famous artists who really, really showcase why they are where they are.

Ani DiFranco shows that I don't care how many people bought "32 Flavors", not enough people are listening to her. She does an acoustic version of this song, with it's incredible lyrics, in an "I'm a wiseass and you love it" style. Another fantastic song on the album. I didn't know who did "32 Flavors" and without having listened closely to the song, figured it was some Mandy Moore, Brittany Spears type person. Instead, it's a singer/songwriter with street cred and some serious acoustic chops.

You also get a broad spectrum from Yo Yo Ma's Libertango and Wynton Marsalis' "Back to Basics". It isn't everyday that your typical music video includes pieces from two of the greatest instrumentalists in music, today.

You even get some rather curious tidbits like Jane Siberry's "Love is Everything"… uh… love may be everything, but I'm still trying to figure out what this song "is", and who you "are".

Not all the DVD is great, but it's great in places. And, unfortunately, it's got some real stinker tracks on it.

The production is fantastic. The video is lifelike, warm and almost 3 dimensional. The sound is exquisite and mixed in 5.1.

And the variety of performers is laudable.

It made me an even greater fan of Shawn Colvin.

It made me a fan of Keb Mo and Richard Thompson.

It helped me realize what a genius Ani DiFranco is.

That's not something an average music video can do.

So, in spite of the stinkers, I'm thinking this is a 3.5, rounded to… well, the stinkers really do stink… I'll leave it at 3.

This will appeal to people who LOVE, LOVE, LOVE live music.

It will appeal to people with very eclectic musical tastes.

And it will appeal to folks who don't mind listening to music that may broaden their horizons, even if ever so slightly.

The perfect occasion for this is a party where folks can occasionally look over and think, "hmm… that's interesting… who is that?"



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older