Review of Janet Jackson: Live in Hawaii

Introduction

Janet Jackson, talented singer, dancer, songwriter and all round pop entertainer, performs one of several sell out shows in lovely Hawaii. The "All For You" world tour was a massive undertaking and a huge sellout worldwide.

Featuring 2 hours of a non-stop concert, with an interview, photo gallery, and segments from other shows all packaged with Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks this DVD highlights a musical career dating back to the 80s. A huge selection of 26 hits are performed with a dazzling array of costumes, sets and dancers.

Is the DVD concert experience as good as the real deal?

Video

Widescreen anamorphic music videos seem to be in the minority at the moment, something which I hope will soon be overturned. If The Corrs can do it, surely the likes of Ms Jackson et al can do it too. A concert is the ideal material for widescreen video since I know I want to see more of the stage and performance. So we just get a 1.33:1 fullframe video transfer and it isn`t as sharp as I would have liked. There`s some evidence of grain in the image which is clearly down to compression. It`s not really that annoying, but with the DVD running at 165 minutes with three soundtracks perhaps space was an issue.

Colour reproduction, particularly reds, magenta, blues, greens and blacks are well defined without any problem and there`s no dirt anywhere. Detail is okay too. I just wish it was widescreen.

Audio

There`s a choice of three soundtracks, Dolby Digital 2.0/5.1 and DTS 5.1. Both 5.1 soundtracks are loud, punchy and very dynamic. Jackson`s brand of dance music with heavy bass, drums and guitar sounds very, very good. The soundfield is wide and adds to the visual impact. It`s a top soundtrack with no complaints from me! There`s a layer change at 80:47 between songs but it`s a minor pause and doesn`t interrupt the flow.

Features

Easy to navigate menus with Play all, Select Song, Bonus Features and Audio options.

• Janet Speaks All For You (10 mins) - This is a short piece where Janet talks about her music, concerts and performances. It`s a nice piece, but as with other interesting pieces, it`s too short.

• Photo Gallery - this is a slideshow of 32 high quality pics with "Come Back To Me" and "Again" playing in the background. You can see some of these pics in this review or by clicking on the View Screenshots at the beginning of the review.

• Would You Mind - This is a compilation of the same segment from 5 different venues of Janet`s concert, and I have to say that I did start sweating when I saw this. Oh my giddy aunt, Janet wears a tight black PVC catsuit, then she picks a man out of the audience to join her on stage. The lucky man gets strapped into standing position with his arms and legs tied down and Janet then sings the song, "Would You Mind", where she basically bumps and grinds and climbs all over the poor bloke. It`s enough to make my hyperventilate. Janet is a very naughty girl... *sigh*

• Six full colour postcards are also in the DVD case.

It`s a shame there are no subtitles, or optional captions to give you the title of each song as it comes on.

Conclusion

This is a 2 hour concert where Ms Jackson runs through songs from almost her entire career (no duets with Sir Cliff here though) with a vast range of costume changes and sets. Add to this the choreography and her concert is nothing short of stunning. She`s a true performer, much like her older brother Michael used to be.

I love to leave music running in the background while I get on with other things, but no matter how many times I play this DVD, I can`t help but stay transfixed to the screen. I admit that I couln`t take my eyes off Janet`s stomach, much less any other part of her and it`s good to see how she`s matured since I saw her on the television series, Fame, back in the 80s. When she starts to sing the ballads, the crowd goes wild, and they participate openly too. Everyone`s in high spirits as she goes from song to song as we hear "That`s The Way Love Goes", "Let`s Wait a While", "Miss You Much" and "Black Cat", to more recent hits like "Someone To Call My Lover" and "All For You". Medleys are popular here with ballads "Come Back To Me", "Let`s Wait a While", and "Again", and "What Have You Done For Me Lately", "Control", and "Nasty", all wrapped up with emotion, flair and attitude.

I admit that I still favour the Rhythm Nation album quite a bit and I like all her albums to date, so it`s a treat to see her perform from the whole range of material. Some big venue concert performances from other artists I`ve seen don`t come anywhere near the entertainment or sheer showmanship staged here. It`s just one big party with a lot of infectious music. I dare you to sit still while watching this! It`s all good fun, even the part where she starts to get lonely up on stage wearing THAT tight PVC catsuit, looking for a suitable male member of the audience to whom she can sing. Oh, and bump and grind as well.

For a Janet Jackson fan, the music and sheer opulency of the performances are wonderful. It`s vibrant, fun and has a lot of energy. Ms Jackson`s all round performance is amazingly good with precision choreography and wonderful costumes. There are a few Janet DVDs out there, Design of a Decade is the greatest hits videos, Velvet Rope Tour are songs from the Velvet Rope album with other tracks and this DVD. There`s just one track here from Velvet Rope, so all DVDs are sufficiently different without impinging on the other. Fans will not be disappointed with this DVD, nor too would anyone who likes Janet`s brand of music and dance. At 2 hours long with a few nice extras it`s a good DVD and would make a great Christmas present. Highly recommended.