Jonas Brothers
Music From The 3D Concert Experience

THE REVIEW

The Jonas cousins, known as the Jonas Brothers, are 3 young handsome and talented Americans, educated, polite, and drug-free, and even fervent supporters of pre-marital chastity. They have become an incredible point of reference for many teenagers and beyond, who are captivated by these young men who embody the good side of pop and roll, the one that carefully avoids the motto "sex, drug, and rock and roll" and instead strives to offer their audience nothing but healthy, wholesome music, the kind you can hum in your car on the way to work or sing together at a stadium, much like "We Are The Champions" by Queen.

The phenomenon, entirely American, spread rather quickly to the point of taking root in our northern hemisphere, where the Jonas Brothers have emerged as new pop music phenomena, as evidenced by their incendiary live performances, all consistently sold out. Starting from basements, they bounced into piano bars, eventually opening for major concerts like those of superstar Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus or even the queen of punk-soul, Avril Lavigne.

Once their success was established and purified, the Jonas Brothers began churning out albums (three so far) and, of course, world tours, all exceptional but above all "forward," meaning technologically cutting-edge; in fact, every concert they performed was a real show-event complete with mega screens, dazzling lights, striking sound effects, and very cool beams of light. But the real ace up their sleeve turned out to be the futuristic 3D: attending one of their concerts and wearing special glasses gave the effect of seeing the Jonas Brothers as if they were...well, you know...live! It was mind-blowing, really, and could risk making the music secondary as you were so caught up in watching our heroes in three dimensions. The Pink Floyd have been going on for years with the same 42-inch plasma and artificial smoke machine; they should modernize too, really.

As I mentioned earlier, the risk that the music would become secondary was real, so those clever folks at Hollywood Records came up with an idea unparalleled in the history of the recording industry: releasing a live album. And here it is, this grand concert captured in the virtual 3D cyberspace, condensed onto the grooves (so to speak) of the old familiar compact disc (also available in a deluxe version, limited to 20 million autographed copies).

The concert, I'll say right away, is very well played, well sung, well conceived, well produced, well conducted by the Jonas Brothers, aka the brotherly friends Kevin, Joseph, and Nicholas, who, together with a 20-piece band, delight our ears with delightful tracks taken from all three albums, to satisfy new fans but also not to disappoint the aficionados. The concert features inevitable hits like the stunning "Tonight" or the romantic "When You Look Me In The Eyes" (a big box-office hit), not forgetting true adrenaline rushes like "Burnin' Up", so rock, or tracks with vague but distinct blues reminiscences like "BB.Good", a clear homage to their muse and inspiration, B.B. King. "One Day At A Time" I hesitate to call the "One Of These Days" of the Jonas Brothers, but the real surprise is the perfect cover of a song by the beautiful and talented, but above all beautiful, Shania Twain "I'm Gonna Getcha Good" (do you remember it?) but especially the unexpected duet, actually trio... in short, the three of them singing "This Is Me" with a guest, the adorable Demi Lovato, star of "Camp Rock" and yet another interesting promise in music, much loved at home (just read the second comment on the YouTube video)... Demi, we are all with you!

The concert never loses rhythm, except for some inevitable slowdowns, up until the end and everything flows smoothly like a razor. The grand finale is entirely dedicated to "Love Is On Its Way," the ace of aces from the Jonas Brothers, which starts as a proverbial piano-voice ballad but actually evolves with an engaging and overflowing guitar solo, and the inevitable tambourine gives the track some light progressive influences until it closes with the reprise of the first piano notes, truly very moving.

A concert to be counted among the best of 2009, no doubt: these guys know what they're doing, and they're proving it day after day. Anyone who missed the live event should not hesitate to purchase this CD, recommended among others by Chris Cornell, a reliable voice in today's rock music scene.

A must-have.