Fan review of "The Adventures of Mimi" tour DVD
I not only got my hands on the Anaheim recorded tour itself but also the impressive extras. So here's the lowdown and the official verdict. It's no secret we've all suffered from poor releases from Sony when it comes to Mariah Carey DVDs. Universal has finally stepped up with not only a new offering but a genuinely good package with The Adventures Of Mimi Tour.
Right from the word go, the presentation on the DVD is a class product. You're treated to a CGI rendition of the tour stage that lets you navigate the various different options. Naturally, you'll want to jump right in and go for the concert itself - which features the entire concert. No edit verses, no cut songs - this is the full show as those thousands of fans experienced it. So that's nineteen Mariah hits.
Now I never got to see this tour in the flesh. I had my chances but a trip from the UK to America (no matter how tempting) just wasn't financially viable for me last year. Having this DVD sorts all that. This is the full experience - you even get the exchanges with the crowd, including a touching description of why Mariah has to sing "Hero" even if it isn't her favourite song or the moment when one lucky fan gets to come on stage for a hug. It's a blessed relief to enjoy the show as it was, not cut to pieces or stuffed with taped features that disrupt the flow of the concert.
The set list is safe but solid. It's all the hits that stormed the charts. Commercial, popular and what keeps the crowd cheering from start to finish. Sure, some of the album cuts would have been nice. But the tour was more a celebration of one of the greatest music comebacks in history. Mariah is pulling out the weapons that made her #1 and when times got tough, brought her back there. She knows it too. I was genuinely surprised by her improved stage presence. She's come a lot further from her 2003 days. She now seems more relaxed and happy on stage. She's still posing like a killer catwalk model of course - and looking fantastic while doing it. But she's absolutely radiant on stage, for the first time really loving being up on that stage performing for the audience.
Of course that audience came for "The Voice" as will anyone watching at home. Fair play - these vocals (for my money anyway) are not dubbed. These are stripped right from the concert. They aren't her best vocals, they aren't her worst. They are more raw, more passionate and a little looser. Best example is her rendition of "Vision Of Love". To me, this record always sounds as fresh as the day it was first released. The word timeless doesn't do this classic justice. But Mariah experiments with her rendition. It's not entirely successful and demonstrates her weaker moments towards the climax but it shows her willing to shake things up for a more interesting listen.
Speaking of interesting, the camera has really tried to visually keep things interesting on the eye not just the ear. Filmed concerts can get quite boring without some good visuals to hold the attention. There are some excellent sweeps across both stages that take in the scope of the venue. Some nice cinematic ones too with "Fly Like A Bird" as well, where the camera starts on the floor of the crowd, moves forward and upwards at the stage to Mariah and the army of gospel singers. Some missed opportunities on stuff like "Heartbreaker" and "Honey" I felt. When you've got a swarm of dancers coming down some elegant stairs, you want to see it and not crowd clips. Credit to them, they made it fun to watch and got as many varied camera angles as possible.
There's more than just the concert of course - we have extras. One of the more interesting ones is the Juke Box. Basically you have 12 credits and can create your own set list. You decide what order the songs will play in. Quite a novel feature and one I hadn't seen before. All the concert skits are included on "Lovers & Haters" for some comedy value. There's the karaoke on six tracks, that you can have with or without Mariah singing. The Behind The Scenes feature is about ten minutes long, you get some interviews with the Tatums and Rachel, some Michael as well as Mariah herself on the tour bus.
The better features are on the second disc. The documentary is brilliant, you actually get some fresh information that aren't just the usual recycled sound bites. The set designs are discussed, proposed/rejected concepts, the whole thought process and experience of performing on the second stage, meeting Rachel and all the dancers, the backing singers (who are very playful in their interviews), rehearsals and bloopers on stage including her near costume malfunction.
There is a discussion on the set list for the concert. This is very insightful. Randy Jackson discussed "Vanishing", what song Mariah likes to open the show with, how she experiments with merging certain remixed songs ("Heartbreaker", "My All" and "Dreamlover"). This part is brilliant - you hear Mariah discuss the history of the mixes, creatively, and she mentions she does want to go back to Australia. Good news for all loyal fans down under.
She also touches on celebrities in the audience, the tragic passing of O.D.B. (rest in peace), some of the moments from other tours (fighting Bianca on the Rainbow tour, etc), plus the experience of being on stage with Trey, Boyz II Men, Da Brat and Jay-Z across the various shows. Her discussion on "Hero" is very, very interesting. She touches on the need to perform it. She makes it clear it's not her favourite (quote on quote "corny") but knows that it's helped her. Mostly it's helped her fans and many people are coming to hear just that song for the power of its message. She also discusses "Make It Happen" returning to the set list through fan popularity and the thrill of performing "We Belong Together" at the finale since it changed her career and is many couples anthem. Cute moment when she discusses Patti LaBelle and the "Butterfly Outro" - she wants to leave the stage singing like she does to the song that most sums her up.
I cannot stress how great this documentary is. It's worth the price of the DVD alone. Mariah discusses pretty much all the songs she performs on the show. I find the creative process behind why what songs were chosen and what it feels like to perform those songs live. If you do, this 60 minutes of footage will have you enthralled. It's about the music and it's for the fans. Speaking of which, the fan messages near the end are cute. I love the girl who calls Mariah an angel from above, who helped her get through losing her father. Bless her.
This is - finally - the Mariah DVD we've all been waiting for. Excellent features, good, uninterrupted features, superb footage and decent vocals. This is worth the wait and what the fans have been waiting for. Universal, if you're listening - keep them coming. (Carlos - Mariah Daily Journal)
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