Josh Groban is an incredibly talented young American blessed with a voice that is as strong as it is note-perfect. At 22, he has the personality, talent, charm, looks and the maturity to be around for a very long time. It’s hard not to compare him to Andrea Bocelli as there are moments when Groban sounds very much like the Italian tenor.

Groban’s voice lies somewhere between a baritone and tenor, with a great range and appealing timbre. He displays a brief glimpse of his skills as a piano player, and is also a keen and talented drummer (apparently).

This show was recorded in Pasadena in October 2002, and includes special guests such as David Foster, John Williams, Andrea Corr and Angie Stone. An extremely talented band and a large, lush sounding, orchestra accompany him.

The choice of songs is quite varied, from classic to contemporary. Groban sings numbers in English, Italian and Spanish, and sounds damned fine in all of them. There are optional lyrics subtitled, though only the English subtitles have song lyrics, and not always in English. Don’t worry, it isn’t as confusing as it sounds!

To be this professional at his age is quite amazing. He puts on a very sophisticated show, and it is technically and musically close to perfect.

There are a minimal number of props and theatre, but it’s not needed. Groban’s performance is as polished and as complete as any performer I have seen. He is humble about his ability, and seems genuinely overwhelmed by his popularity.

The musically savvy and appreciative audience are always keen to provide a standing ovation and Groban seems genuinely appreciative in return.

While this release will appeal more to a musically mature audience, there is no doubting that Groban does have many younger fans, and I for one will be keen to watch this young man’s career.

Track listing:

There is almost nothing to fault in this full frame presentation. The image is razor sharp, clarity and detail is excellent, colours are solid and bold, even the stage lighting is generally brilliant and DVD friendly. There are no problems with edge enhancement, or chroma noise, colour bleeding, no artefacts, no marks of any kind, and even shadow detail is great.

There is no detectable layer change, although it is placed in the fadeout and fade-in that occurs a little over half way through the show, but even this is smooth. This is about as perfect as a musical concert on DVD can be, marred only by some slight and negligible shimmer.

There are three choices and all are excellent. Those who can should opt for the DTS surround mix and you too will be impressed. There is no action from the centre speaker, but the overall sound is very immersive. Low frequency sounds are solid and the subwoofer makes an occasional appearance. Most of the music and vocals come from the front right and left speakers, and each instrument has been finely balanced and mixed.

Surrounds are used mostly for overflow, but also for some percussion, backing vocals and the odd keyboard sound.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 is not as ‘big’ sounding as the DTS and is not a true 5.1 as again the centre speaker is not utilised. It is noticeably less immersive and impressive and much softer in volume than the DTS track. The Linear PCM stereo track, however, does sound full and well balanced, basically as good as the DTS but without the rear channel action.

The extras included are a nice touch. There is a 13-minute Making of the Special which is a fair look at what goes into making a show like this come together, from the logistics of building sets, the technical requirements and rehearsals.

Of a similar style, is the nine-minute Chris Groban’s Backstage Footage, a grainy look at the show through the camera of younger brother, Chris.

A further extra that should be more standard with live music DVDs is a bonus CD of some or all of the songs from the show. In this case, seven of the songs are included on the CD, as well as a new studio track, O Holy Night, which has not been available previously.

There are also some Credits and Web Links that are resoundingly underwhelming and obvious in their content.

So is Josh Groban the new Bocelli? Probably not, and he would be the first to tell you, but he is going to have a long and successful career, that much I can be sure of. He may not be classically trained, but he is classically styled, and has all the things a successful artist needs, most importantly, talent. Long may he sing!