Like almost every other live release of the new millennium,
Between the Line: Sara Bareilles Live at Fillmore is a multi-format package appearing as a CD/DVD set and a Blu_Ray release, all containing the same set. It's a crisp, clean production designed for home theater systems, but it also works very well as a standalone live album, since its lean, lively arrangements -- often featuring extended piano-and-voice segments, with "Fairytale" being performed entirely solo by
Bareilles -- wind up showcasing the melodic craft behind her songs. She's still supported by a band that's every bit as professional and slick as the production on her 2007 major-label debut
Little Voice, but the live setting is by its nature loose and vigorous, giving her music some punch it lacks in the studio. This energy is the main distinction between
Between the Lines and
Little Voice, and it's more than enough reason for the dedicated to spend some time with this live set, although the added muscle also bodes well for her next album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine