You can’t help but like Keith Urban. Cheeky, brash, impish and talented, the former New Zealander, who now calls Nashville home, is not only a showman, but he has warmth, charm and an indefinable flair that allows rapid connection with his audience. Given the seating size of his shows, that audience is big and getting bigger. And no wonder. Urban, from a kid (his bio tells how he learnt the guitar at six, started winning talent shows at eight, and after many hard years of chasing his Nashville dream with continual Music Row disappointment and rejection, finally broke in) has worked, polished and practiced relentlessly at his craft. On his latest DVD, Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy World Tour, it all pays off. Again.

! wore out the adjectives and superlatives on my 2005 review of an Urban DVD, namely, Livin’ Right Now. At the time, I raved: “Adulation and charisma aside, Urban packs more than just good-looks into his performance arsenal. He can play. When he straps on his guitar, it becomes an extension of him. It locks into his every movement. He caresses, he cajoles, he flits and he flings, and he even at times has a stranglehold on his six-stringed source of fame and sales.” Heady words then, borne out again with this latest DVD.

Packed tight with a generous 156 minutes of Urban live, the DVD is a clean, crisp view of an artist at work. With 18 memorable tracks with most of the hits including “Where The Blacktop Ends”, “Raining On A Sunday”, “Days Go By” and a solid sprinkling of cuts from Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing, “Once In A Lifetime”, “Shine”, the popular “You Look Good In My Shirt” and others the DVD is simply, in a word, captivating.

The magic moments are many and varied, but none more than when Urban connects with his honest emotions. There’s the sincerity and appreciation for his fans, proven as he skips the aisles, aided by beefy bodyguards, as he pumps and plays “You Look Good In My Shirt”, only to reward a loyal fan with his autographed guitar. The female fan is awe struck. Understandable. There’s the closing song from the show, “Everybody”, where Urban thanks those who’ve made the long miles, come to repeated shows, and “been in the moment” with him. His truth and appreciation is real and palpable. But as you watch the song, is that sweat or tears as Urban shares the need to have someone beside you to travel over the journey? And there’s the magic marital moment, when Urban dedicates “Got It Right This Time” to his friend, confident, touring buddy and wife, Nicole. It’s a shared and open revelation by a man, who more than most, can relate to the lyrics.

 You can’t help but like Keith Urban. His music is memorable. His playing is gifted and outstanding. His songs cross the divide of pop and country, claiming those who like their brand honest and dressed without pretence in a sweaty T-shirt.

In an unrelated aside but one that needs a mention, in Australia we have another reason to admire Keith. He, together with wife Nicole, recently gave an open-handed and heart-honest $500,000 to our bushfire victims. As I said, you can’t help but like him.

The DVD is out on Capitol. The program includes the live concert, taken from his tour, which played before a million fans in over 150 shows in six countries, including Australia. It’s in hi-def and 5.1 surround sound, has behind the scenes outtakes and 40 live images. There’s also exclusive studio footage of “You Look Good In My Shirt”.

Five stars and value plus. 

Click the pic to order from Amazon.com.