I can guarantee that this was a poor marketing decision and not what the remix engineer delivered. I know this because I was the remix engineer, and I was asked to deliver the stereo only mix that was originally done for the broadcast and pay-per-view version.

I encourage buyers to take up issue with DVD distributors who continue to market such poor quality.

Tom Davis
SeisMic Sound, Inc.
Nashville, TN


It really was great, wasn't it?   March 27, 2001
C. Ebeling (PA USA)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Lilith Fair was quite the enterprise. Were it not for what must be endless copyright issues and contracts issues that would arise, the moving music festival that brought us almost all of the best contemporary female singer songwriters during the summers of 1997 - 1999 could spawn a hundred different documentaries and concert tapes. What we are left with instead, is this one DVD, which is a flavorful but in no way complete sampling of the minds and music that made for the unprecedented, bold and successful venture known as Lilith. The interviews and performances are largely taken from two of Lilith's stops during that first summer. As someone fortunate to be at one of them, I can say that this rekindles special memories. It is interesting to see what was going on backstage while we sat out front. Parts of this DVD were excised for an hour-long VH1 special that was peppered with commercials; that in no way is a replacement for this commercial-free, sustained work. Lilith Fair was an important experience and excellent entertainment. This DVD shares the sparks. Get them back if you were there, and if you weren't, get the DVD and find out why I'm tripping over my sentences trying to come up with appropriate praise.


Something new from Sarah McLachlan and friends   February 7, 2001
Aaron Loo (Ripley's Dog House, Vancouver, BC)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I just received this DVD today on it's release date (thanks Amazon) and am very impressed with this Lilith Fair documentary. I believe this video was shown on Pay Per View, and clips of it were put together to make a "Behind The Music" of Lilith Fair Artists on VH1 that aired, I think in 1998.

The picture quality of this DVD is also quite stunning. If you remember seeing the VH1 Behind The Music, this definitely has a lot more content instead of just short clips and commercials.

One thing that I did find slightly awkward is that this DVD comes a bit late after Lilith Fair has been performed each summer of 1997-1999. I personally feel that it should have came a little earlier, around midway, concerning the documentary existed, just not on DVD.

Either way, I'm still happy that it exists, and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoy's these women artists, or has attended Lilith Fair because it really is a great concert! It's never the same as seeing it Live, but it's a good entry point especially if you're new to Lilith and what it's all about. It's a concert with a behind the scenes look of what made Lilith Fair so popular.

I'm also happy that we're able to see something new (enough) from Sarah to keep us entertained as she takes her break to work on her new album. I've listened to Building A Mystery quite a bit from Mirrorball, so listening to this version made the song "new" again. It sounded great! Don't forget Sarah's "know it all...grin" as she sings the lyrics...Beautiful. Thanks Sarah!!!


Sound problems   July 23, 2004
Christopher Yong (Singapore)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I totally agree with Gregory Sargent's review. The 5.1 surround sound mix is terrible, I thought my left speaker blew when I first watched it but it turned out to be the DVD. The 2 channel stereo has the best sound.
The DVD is awesome, and I totally loved "The Water is Wide" performance. simple beautiful.
Totally recommend it.
PS. Don't you think that Jewel seemed to be pissed with Sarah M during the song? Did you notice the body language? And they did not give each other hugs after.


Excellent concert, mediocre concert DVD   February 9, 2001
Andrew Chen (CA United States)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

While it isn't possible to condense all of Lilith Fair onto one DVD, I really wish this disc showed a wider range of performers. Not that Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Indigo Girls, Meredith Brooks, Shwawn Colvin, and Sheryl Crow didn't give great (multiple) performances on this disc, but one of the things I enjoyed about Lilith was the sheer number of musicians, both multi-platinum and indie. Even a passing word of the existance of some of these other artists would have been nice.

The audio quality (at least on my 2-channel system) is excellent. Unfortunately, the video suffers from very visible compression artifacting in several places.

Overall, I think this DVD is too little, too late. It feels like more of a last-ditch attempt to profit off the Fair than an attempt to preseve it.