Live at the Renaissance Center [Video]

Lynn Anderson calls Live at The Renaissance Center her first video, and the venue sure looks different from when Freddy Fender played there (and released a DVD by the same name). Backed up by four guys and two gals, the singer abandons the heartbreak for a lovely rendition of the Drifters "Under the Boardwalk," adding "Michael," "Ed" and "John" -- allegedly from her fan club -- doing ridiculous Drifters moves out of sync and out of time. The singer makes it all charming, of course, taking a costume change while the band rumbles through "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." "Someday Soon" is as elegant as ever after an uptempo "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues." The DVD set is chock-full of goodies, interviews with Anderson before and after the show, web links, a discography, a slide show; 44 chapters in all with the concert right in the middle. "Rose Garden," of course, gets the audience off their seats, and the accompaniment, including Wanda Vick on fiddle, mandolin, and acoustic guitar, Buddy Skipper on piano, and Richard Stickley on drums, doesn't skip a beat. It's a solid package for the singer's following and country/pop music fans in general. ~ Joe Viglione