Sheryl Crow fans looking for a straightforward concert video can't go wrong with this 83-minute set, recorded in Detroit during the Globe Sessions tour of early 1999. Appearing in black leather pants and a black string-strap top, Cheryl's poised and professional, driving through 15 songs (9 from The Globe Sessions) with studio-set precision, despite the handicap of a receptive but oddly lifeless audience. (Perhaps the Motor City was merely idling that night.) Moving from acoustic guitar to bass, electric guitar, harmonica (on "It Don't Hurt"), and finally piano (for an exquisite rendition of "Home"), the Grammy winner makes it clear that she's as musically skilled as she is drop-dead gorgeous. Accompanied by a flawless six-piece band (with honorable mentions to guitarist Peter Stroud and violinist Lorenza Ponce), Crow rocks when it's time to rock (the climactic jam on "Riverwide" and "If It Makes You Happy" being standouts), but her strength remains in the more delicate passages of "Am I Getting Through," "The Difficult Kind," "Stong Enough," and the aforementioned "Home," an encore visually enhanced by rural images projected on an upstage scrim. Crow dedicates the set-closing rocker "Mississippi" to Bob Dylan, and even if a few favored hits are not included, this remains a noteworthy performance. Camera coverage is slick and editing tight, and while VHS viewers will likely be satisfied, the DTS DVD is mildly problematic, failing to achieve the "you-are-there" dynamics that videophiles have a right to expect. Fortunately, the concert itself is not compromised; the recording is crisp and carefully mixed. Crow no doubt had more lively gigs during this particular tour, but with an accommodating stage and a first-rate band in good spirits, this was a pretty good night to have the cameras around. --Jeff Shannon
