Which DVD?

[Joan]

My favorite is ANJ. Don't get me wrong, they are all good, but ANJ shows off their talent more by the moves they make during their numbers. They improve every time you see them.
Joan

[kathleen]

I am with you guys....Start with ANJ then they will beg for more!

Christams is just around the corner.....so have that one ready

[McIrish]

The Christmas Special,will be their greatest dvd,not just for their talent,which is extraordinary,or their moves,which continue to bring great joy. This special music event brings something we have not heard  for many years.THE TRUTH!!! God has been kicked out of our country  for many years now,and we are quickly becoming a second rate country,as well as the most violent country in the world.These ladies,and David are remnding us what Truth can bring us back too. I invite you all to research this Truth,which has been clouded over and ignored for almost a generation.It is truth that will "set you free unto everlasting life in peace and joy."Many are afraid to search for it,because of our political climate.The amazing thing is....it has Nothing to do with politics,only your peace and joy through all eternity. And trust me my friends,eternity is a Long,Long Time!!  Mc

[epicwolf]

I am with the ANJ people on this one. The first Helix show wasn't that polished. Nor should we expect it to be, as it was sort of the "first draft" or "version 1.0" But ANJ was great. If someone held a gun to my head and made me say something bad about ANJ, I would have to say that it was too good because how can they equal or top that on the next show? Our expectations are running pretty high now. But the Xmas dvd showed that maybe they can meet even high expectations. But with any Xmas oriented music, some people just don't like it. For some maybe its because they are a different religion, or just dont like the religous overtones for some reason. Others just dont like the songs. No politics or religous overtone, they just dont like it, just as some people, for whatever reason like music type x but dislike music type y. So if the potential 'recruit' is a y, you will fail to 'convert' them over.

I have to agree on everything you said. We all know that Celtic Woman hardcore fans will like any dvd of CW that they put out there but in order to get fans who never seen Celtic Woman are never even heard of it, ANJ is the best dvd to show them. In my personal opinion I think ANJ is their best dvd they ever did. Granted they havn't had a lot of dvd's to their resume yet but ANJ will get any kind of people to like CW. I also have to agree that it wasn't as polished for their first dvd but heck they were trying out for the first time. ANJ got a beautiful scenery with the slane castle behind them and an amazing director who used dramatic and amazing shots  just to inhanced the experienced. The lighting was perfect and the clothing was perfect.  Some people probably kill me on saying this but they did raised their expectation for me very high ever since ANJ which unfortunetly caused me to expect more from the christmas dvd and therefor I think it was a good dvd but not a great dvd compared to ANJ. Yes the girls are beautiful as always and their voices are as beautiful as always but I really was expecting another ANJ performance with more decorations and special affects and more extras on the dvd. Dont get me wrong, i like the christmas dvd but as a casual fan as i am, I was expecting something more. So if people out there that doesnt like to go hardcore with celtic woman and only want to own one thing from celtic woman, they should get A New Journey Dvd.

[CTofer]

A New Journey is visually more fun and exciting to see, especially with Hayley added in. Anyone who didn't get to a concert in which she was performing will only have this one DVD to get her distinct and beautiful voice added in to the CW mix and Hayley really left her mark with her rendtion of songs like 'Scarborough Fair' and her duet with Meav on Last Rose of Summer. So I would agree as far as going with that one for a first-time CW viewing.
   Personally, for me, I still really love the Helix dvd just as much as ANJ in part because it is more simplistic and it does not come off nearly quite so 'produced' or 'packaged'. I don't mean that how they did ANJ was bad or wrong by any stretch.....I guess it's just that it comes off a little more simpler, yet still powerful and beautiful. And there is a small bit of nostalgia with the Helix dvd. Those of us who saw CW concerts in the very early going remember that big circular screen you see on the Helix concert dvd upon which beautiful video shots of Ireland --especially the rugged coastline-- would be projected in between songs or during the instrumental portions of songs. I guess in a way it's almost like the first time you fell in love....you always remember how you felt, where you were or what that special someone said or did that made you feel like you were walking on air. For me, in part, that's why I still love the Helix dvd as much as ANJ.  There are so many great songs such as Harry's Game and Siuil a Run and the Ashoken Farewell/Contradiction.....the vocal versatility of the girls really, to me, seems to come through a little better than on ANJ, with such gorgeous classical pieces like Nella Fantasia and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring to contrast with the more upbeat and exciting pieces like The Butterfly (which I suppose for us Mairead fans was the first glimpse of the fact that mankin-, er, womankind, can indeed fly after all ...as a basketball junkie, I never thought I'd say this, but "eat your heart out Michael Jordan!" lol )
    All that said though, I do still very much love ANJ, and I would heartily agree that some songs, such as The Voice and The Blessing are absolutely required listening for anybody who claims they're a fan of CW.    Just my two cents, for what it's worth.

Chris

[epicwolf]

Yea I understand why you like the Helix dvd as much as the ANJ dvd. Im sure some probably like the helix dvd more and want other dvd  to be more simplistic and not too over produced like hollywood style. I am just coming from a view of a person who are not familiar with Irish music and Irish cultures. Most members on this forum ,like maybe 98% of them, have some kind of Irish ties or experienced classical music or what not in their life. As a person who never have any classical and irish connections and ties, what can intrigued them will be visual and entertainment. You named all of those songs but people who never listened to this kind of music probably are not familiar with those songs. What ANJ producers and directors did was to create an image that can connect to all kinds of people and im talking about all kinds of people. People who are not familiar with this kind of music and performance. The put the "wow" factor on that dvd. ANJ was the one dvd that got me sucked in. First time I saw CW was when they showed ANJ on tv and then i watch the previous one. The "wow" factor catches my eyes. I was like "wow, what is this? Its very nice." 
   We all know that they can sing very well and they're goregous like no other. In fact, they can just performend with no background settings and still gave CW fans an amazing experienced. But in order to get the new fans and fans who are not into this kind of music, they need to push the envelope a little. One of my majors in college was business and I think in terms of business wised, pushing the enveloped is the key. I can sit here and say i like all the dvd's the same but unfortunetly its not true. My favorite is the ANJ dvd because of those reasons.

[CTofer]

Epic, I would definitely agree with the 'accessibility' part of the show. They tried to do that in the first one, as it wasn't all classical, but even the numbers that were classical were generally the more 'famous' pieces.....but yes, they definitely blew it wide open in ANJ for anyone who had never even considered 'celtic' or 'irish' styled music. David definitely has done a very excellent job of doing that with how he writes and arranges the music. I didn't intend to come off trying to knock ANJ, I just wanted to remind folks there's still alot on that one that's worth listening to.

[epicwolf]

Epic, I would definitely agree with the 'accessibility' part of the show. They tried to do that in the first one, as it wasn't all classical, but even the numbers that were classical were generally the more 'famous' pieces.....but yes, they definitely blew it wide open in ANJ for anyone who had never even considered 'celtic' or 'irish' styled music. David definitely has done a very excellent job of doing that with how he writes and arranges the music. I didn't intend to come off trying to knock ANJ, I just wanted to remind folks there's still alot on that one that's worth listening to.

No worries man. I never thought you came off as trying to knock ANJ. YOu're being a very honorable CW fan who enjoys more than just the image and sound of CW. You understand their music and their glamoure without all the special effects and the beautiful scenes. I know you like all their dvd's the same.  I came off sounded like I dont like the other dvds not you    Though its not true because I do like the other dvds, its just ANJ is my favorite and until they push the envelope once more (personally i didnt think they did for the xmas dvd ) , ANJ still will be my favorite and is a great dvd to show case them for people who never heard of them.