Journey to Fearless DVD (Shout! Factory, 2012)

Part Behind The Music style documentary and part concert film, Taylor Swift's new Blu-ray release offers an interesting hybrid approach to the typical live performance video - an approach that hits more than it misses. "Journey To Fearless" focuses on Swift's meteoric rise from aspiring grade-school singer/songwriter to award-winning country and pop megastar while sprinkling in live performances. Hardcore Swift fans will find a lot to love on this single-disc set (which is also available as a DVD) including a treasure of archival photos and video and interviews with Swift's parents and friends.

Although Swift's story is an inspiring look at what can happen when talent and determination collide, the 13 live performances gathered here steal the show thanks to the capabilities of the Blu-ray format. The crisp and vibrant HD picture quality combined with an exceptional DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless audio track transports viewers from their living rooms straight to an arena packed with thousands of screaming fans.

As you might expect, Swift's biggest hits from her first two albums are all here including You Belong With Me, complete with a marching band theme that matches her hit video, Teardrops On My Guitar, Our Song, Love Story, Picture To Burn and Tim McGraw, which starts with Swift strumming an acoustic guitar on a podium in the middle of the crowd before hugging her way back to the main stage to join the band. These performances were recorded before her latest album "Speak Now" was released, so none of her latest charting singles are here.

The biggest issue with this set is that you can't play the concert clips straight through without watching the vignettes in between. The vignettes are interesting and worth watching, but the concert footage is what many fans will return to for future viewings.