Customer Reviews

aLIVE in Florida (W/Dvd) (Bril)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a Rebecca St. James fan for 8 years now, have seen her in concert twice, and have met her three times (you will not meet a nicer person) and I have been waiting for her to release a full-length concert DVD for ages. I was not disappointed by "aLIVE in Florida". The concert contains her most recent material-there are no songs from her self-titled debut, "God", or "Pray". But that doesn't make the concert any less phenomenal. The show opens with "God help me" and never looses momentuem from there. "Wait for me" gets another make-over and still sounds beautiful. "Reborn" has a rocky edge, a departure from the original more techno sound. Rebecca's brother Joel, who is her long-time backup singer joins Rebecca to do TobyMac's part in "Thank you". Then Joel is joined by another one of Rebecca's brothers, Luke, to sing "Without a love". "Without love" is a song that will hopefully be on the duo's upcoming album. It's cool to see how Luke has grown. When I first became a fan, Luke was not even a teenager and now he's full-grown and has taken the place of the second backup singer from another brother Daniel and Charmaine. Rebecca's shows have always been minimal in the set but with the addition of a video screen and her lights are always amazing, the flashy stuff that other singers use doesn't even matter.

I know that I'll be watching the DVD a lot more than maybe listening to the CD but the CD will be great for the times that I can't watch the concert. The CD also contains the live version of "Lion" which isn't on the DVD and it also has a remix of "You are loved". The remix is fantastic. So if you've seen Rebecca live and think her show is awesome and even if you haven't seen her live and are just a fan, this CD and DVD is a great addition to your Rebecca St. James collection.

Rebecca St. James aLIVE IN FLORIDA is a GREAT BARGAIN BUY for a brand new CD! You get a whole CD full of live music, and then the bonus DVD shows you the same songs on a DVD, so you get to witness the concert yourself, on you own TV, all for the price of a single CD! If you like the music of Rebecca St. James, then there is no way that you can go wrong with buying this CD/DVD!

The music is LOUD guitar rock underpinned with kinetic keyboards, while Rebecca's two younger brothers provide back up vocals, and Rebecca runs the whole show with her great vocals and Christian lyrics.

The CD and DVD are nearly identical, but not exactly. The CD has one extra song, "Lion," which is not on the DVD, while the DVD includes many minutes of Rebecca talking and introducing different songs, and even promoting Compassion International, the Christian charity for children of the world.

The live video on the DVD is very flashy and professional! It really looks like something as loud and rowdy as could be expected from a secular rock group. The DVD show reminds me of U2's ZooTV era concerts of the 1990's, or R.E.M.'s TOURFILM concert from around 1990. I don't mean that Rebecca's concert is old fashioned, but rather that nobody has really gone beyond U2 or R.E.M.'s flashy concert presentations ever since, and Rebecca's crew make her concert seem just as state-of-the-art polished as anything else out there! This live show on DVD is so cool looking that I am even more impressed with the show biz expertise of Rebecca St. James after seeing the DVD, and I already thought of her as the best Christian singer around, before I saw this DVD.

Most of the songs come from her album, IF I HAD ONE CHANCE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING, from 2005. The two oldest songs, "Wait for Me," and "Reborn" come from her electronica/techno drenched album TRANSFORM, from 2000. The two other songs are from her LIVE WORSHIP album of 2004 (which this aLIVE IN FLORIDA easily surpasses in enjoyability), and from WORSHIP GOD from 2002.

The one thing I did miss was the inclusion of a few of her really LOUD songs from the 1990s, like "God," and many others, from her very memorable CDs, GOD and PRAY. Maybe she will bring back some of those great, older songs on future tours, I hope!

This DVD could have easily been sold separately, so this CD/DVD package cannot be beat for price value, and, most imporantly, entertainment value with the strongest Christian message of any other Christian rock bands around today!

Performed in Ft. Myers Florida, Rebecca's latest offering is a CD/DVD combo - the DVD being a live concert of her performing almost the same roster as the CD. You'll get her Compassion International talk and her natural engagement of the audience on the DVD. Watching the DVD is just like being at one of Rebecca's concerts, complete with her personal vignettes about things like kangaroos in her backyard in Australia and what she's learned from the Swiss Alps. The colorful light show and close ups make it real. The DVD also features two music videos, "Forgive Me" and "God Help Me", plus another shorter Compassion International plug.

Rebecca brings a lot of variety to the project, with brothers Joel and Luke helping out with the vocals on many cuts. If there is a theme, it could be true love songs, both sung for a certain someone (an old school friend or her future husband) as Rebecca croons about her doubts and devotion, and also her true love for her Savior. aLIVE in Florida has a worshipful feel, with Rebecca reminding us to give our all, our everything, to God.

The CD adds a bonus track - a funky, techno remix version of the earlier performed acoustic "You Are Loved". This one really rocks. In fact, Rebecca's sound seems to have grown more rocky and less Brittney. Her voice flows from a more nasal tone in the jazzy anthem "Wait For Me" to clear and pure. Her pitch is close to perfect throughout.

With the CD produced by Joel, and the executive producer being father David, the project is a true family affair, with sister Libby singing BGVs on "Blessed Be Your Name" as well. Rebecca takes a step back from the spotlight letting her brothers Joel and Luke perform their song "Without Love" from their as yet to be released CD. You'll find it on both the CD and DVD.

Rebecca comes aLive in this rich double header. The CD alone would be a great deal, but add the DVD and you've got a real winner.

--Reviewed by Tracy Darlington by TitleTrakk

I have only been a RSJ fan since her Transform album and don't really like her stuff before that, so I think the collection of songs on this album is a perfect collection of some of her best songs as of late. There are of course a few songs not anywhere else. There is a song sung solely by her brothers, a remix of the studio version "You Are Loved" and the song "Lion" which isn't really that good in my opinion but you can't get it anywhere else unless you buy one of the Narnia soundtracks. I bought it mainly for the DVD because I live in Alaska, and we don't get as many performers as the lower 48, although I've already seen RSJ live in concert twice. She has as pure and giving heart in person as she does on the DVD. That is one thing I loved about the DVD. She had a very moving, specific, alter call instead of just some incantational predicable prayer. RSJ truly wants to glorify God and bring ppl to Jesus and she is not the type of person to get the crowd hyped up just over her presence. She is truly a great worshipper, a great performer and the DVD is edited very well. I don't know if they had to do any post editing but the sound mix is great; and if you have surround sound, watch the DVD in surround sound. It is amazing and makes use of all the speakers and the subwoofer, so it's truly an experience. This is a great collection of songs, and truly a quality mix and production. I'd suggest this for die hard fans to newcomers.

If you like Rebecca St James, this is the album to have. The one I bought came with a complementary DVD of her show performance, which is an outstanding plus! She is a fantastically talented singer with a passion for worship. Great album for the kids or family to listen to on trips or just around the house. I recommend it!

I've seen Rebecca St. James twice in concert and have loved her music and ministry. This cd and dvd bring it home with the spirit and energy of the live concert.

The songs include praise and worship songs and songs about relationships (the kind you want your family to hear) and "Lion" that refers to Aslan from the Narnia series (a favorite of my young daughter.)

I think Rebecca's music here will satisfy the tastes of any who appreciate up-tempo music with Christian lyrics. These songs are as good as any you would hear in today's pop culture and the lyrics are full of positive messages.

We have also enjoyed watching the dvd and listening to it at home. The songs are great for the ipod and the car.

Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays

If you are into Christian Rock/Pop then Rebecca is the greatest, Well Jaci Velasquez is right up there with her. If your not a Christian then maybe you should be. As you can see for yourself, some of GOD'S finest creations are HIS christian singers----OOH-RAH, christian U.S.Marine, SuperSniperSal!!!!

Great live album. Every song is good. No filler songs. She can hold her own against all the other female rock singers. One of the best

Rebecca St. James is my favorite CCM artist and this CD/DVD combo is absolutely wonderful. The CD is my favorite from RSJ, largely because it rocks harder than all of her other ones. That is especially true for the two songs from the Transform CD (Reborn and Wait For Me), which I have seen described as being "Euro-Disco," but also true for the songs taken from her If I Had One Chance To Tell You Something CD, which make up the majority of the concert. All of the songs from aLIVE are very good, and while only a few could be considered worship songs proper (Lamb of God, Thank You, Take All of Me, and Blessed Be Your Name), all of the songs contain a strong Christian message. In addition to the four worship songs noted above, my other favorites are God Help Me, Reborn, and the title track, Alive. Even though they don't rock as hard as the other songs on the CD, the acoustic You Are Loved and the piano accompanied Forgive Me are very poignant. The CD contains two songs that are not on the DVD, Lion, which probably is the weakest song from the concert, and a "funk house mix" version of You Are Loved. The DVD contains several "witness" segments that are not included on the CD. This CD/DVD package is truly awesome--I can't recommend it highly enough.

Good songs, two favorites are "Alive" and "Reborn". DVD's alright. Use your judgment on the intro, but the CD's alright, it's not necessarily my favorite all time but it's got good songs.