The first time I heard Texas was with the release of "Say What You Want", and the subsequent singles from "White on Blonde". I immediately bought that album, as well as "Southside" and "Mother's Heaven". I was totally hooked! I would spend whole minutes looking at the album inlay photos of Sharleen Spiteri, thinking "You are just so beautiful". There was something about her that captivated me. She is a truly intriguing woman.
When I saw that there was a DVD available with all of the film-clips, as well as a documentary and live concert, I went out and bought it straight away. But for some reason, when I got it home, I watched all of the video clips and the interview, but for a year i never got around to watching the live concert. What a fool I was!
For some reason I had it in my head that Texas were mainly a studio band, probably in large part because of the slick production, and multi-layered, processed vocals dominating their later albums. However, Texas live (on video!) is a whole other experience altogether. Did I mention how captivating Sharleen is? Well, she would have to be one of the most charismatic, riveting live performers i have ever seen. And it's funny, too, because she's riveting without the overt, brooding sensual intensity of so many of the great sex symbols throughout history. It's much more subtle with her, like a strong intensity quite far beneath her confident, unbelievably fresh exterior.
And man, can the woman sing! I think she hits, maybe three or four micro-tonally incorrect notes in the whole performance, while at the same time, immersing herself fully even in songs she wrote ten or fifteen years ago, bringing the same, or even more passion, to those songs now as she did when they were written. She has this wicked sense of humor, but she's not demeaning in the least. She shows true respect for her fans and her band-mates, and her on-stage interactions with the band are really affectionate and nice, just adding to the overall positive vibe of the whole concert.
Not that it's all sunshine and rainbows. Some of the songs are really quite thought- provoking. I'm not saying she's Joni Mitchell or anything, but she can sure craft a nice, intelligent pop song when she wants to.
Anyway, this is SUCH a great concert video. I totally recommend it, and the bonus things like the interview and the video clips are fantastic too. Look out for the clip of "Inner Smile". Sharleen is the sexiest Elvis impersonator you'll ever see!
