Mirrorball

Sarah McLachlan has finally re-emerged after the marathon touring schedule of Lilith Fair with her own new live album. The songs are from her 1997/98 Surfacing tour, and represent as eclectic a mix of her back catalogue as any fan can reasonably wish for.

McLachlan’s voice has always distinguished her from the posse. Crystalline and louche, she’s always managed to resist the trap towards which so many North American vocalists seem to plunge headlong: that rawkish, pained, stadium sound that utterly demolishes any semblance of their true colour. Maybe it’s simply her gargantuan talent but McLachlan is no pretender, and Mirrorball reflects that.

From the opener, ‘Building A Mystery’, with its trademark acoustic guitar, to the refined yodel of ‘The Path Of Thorns’ McLachlan lets the music unfold at its own uncluttered pace. The band scaffold the songs almost invisibly, apart from some overworked drums on the otherwise beautiful ‘I Will Remember You’.

Anyone who’s had the good fortune to see her live will testify to the value for money McLachlan insists on in her live shows. She’s a performer who gives it welly every time, and Mirrorball ably reflects that passion. It’s a live album that stands up to repeated listening, without any of the flab of between-song banter that can often mar such an exercise.

One caveat though: there are times when McLachlan’s sentimentality takes over (to wit, ‘I Love You’), when she gives it the hoary old ‘Careless Whisper’ treatment. It’s the kind of preciousness that can be compared with Jewel’s similar penchant for occasional maudlin overkill.

Still, ‘Adia’ is still a standout, ethereal and vaporous with the kind of angelic harmonies that can usually only be found in Brian Wilson’s back catalogue or in a Gregorian choir.

As a review of her fine successes to date, and a snapshot of McLachlan’s gigging prowess, Mirrorball does exactly what it should: whets the appetite for a live show, and for the next studio outing.