In Blue [DVD AUDIO]

The Corrs

Having proved with MTV Unplugged that they are more that just a bunch of pretty faces and that they can actually play their instruments, The Corrs returned to the studio for their third "proper" album. Owners of Unplugged will already be familiar with two of the tracks on here, "At Your Side" and "Radio", which are given the full studio treatment and endowed with a much fuller sound. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily a good thing, as the album as a whole tends to be overproduced--taking the raw folky qualities and turning them into a far more sanitised sound. The stand-out tracks, as a result, tend to be the more up-tempo ones--"Breathless" and "No More Cry"--and to be fair, when they're good, they're very, very good; but when they're bad, they're just dull. There are also some strange changes in direction--the reggae-lite of "Give It All Up" is a dramatic new sound that doesn't quite work. Unlike previous albums, In Blue doesn't seem to be quite so flowing--with several different producers working on it (including Mr. Shania Twain, "Mutt" Lange), maybe it was a case of too many cooks spoil the broth. --Mel Roberts