Tommy's #1 SHANIA TWAIN SuperSite Message Board

I would not get this as it only mentions 'Somewhere out There' and 'Over the Rainbow' and I have seen footage of both on Shania specials on TV and probably on YouTube. If they had at least 5 new songs I had never heard Shania sing, I would be interested. If they had a lot of 'behind the scenes' footage of Shania getting ready, I would be interested.
so far. Not interested.

i still kinda wanna make a bid to get it, its rare shania footage and a collectible item!!

I would also be interested as it Shania and I wouldn't think it would cost that much as it is old footage with no new stuff on it unless they do have backstage stuff on there.  Hopefully they have whole performances of the songs mentioned and not just the youtube stuff we have access to anyway.  But I do love the early stuff as it shows how far she has come.  Can you please post the release date if they e-mail you one.  I will be sure to look for it.

Warmest regards as always,
Tonto


-- Edited by Tonto on Monday 30th of November 2009 07:20:52 AM

Tommy wrote:

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In the last pic, is that Shania in the front on the left (looking at the pic)?

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Yes I believe so.  I think this picture is in one of her bios and it states that that is her on the left in the front.  80's hair makes her look very different. Plus it is not the best quality photo.

Warmest regards as always,
Tonto

 

I don't think she was wearing such outfits there. Those outfits are for dancers. She never was a dancer. She learnt some moves but she sang basically. Robin Eggar wrote she had worn dresses.

UpUpUp wrote:

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Tanya wrote:

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I don't think she was wearing such outfits there. Those outfits are for dancers. She never was a dancer. She learnt some moves but she sang basically. Robin Eggar wrote she had worn dresses.

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There is video of Shania wearing skimpy outfits during her Deerhurst days. Her VH1 Behind the Music special showed footage of Shania singing and dancing while wearing a skimpy Indian outfit that showed alot of skin. So she didn't only wear dresses.  She wore sexy costumes as well.

 

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Here's a pic of Shania in one of those skimpy outfits from her Deerhurst days.

 

Deerhurst Videos (those included in this DVD):

Taken from DVD "Legend and Legacy of Deerhurst: Vegas North - Eilleen "Shania" Twain"



-- Edited by Tommy on Monday 15th of March 2010 01:25:41 AM

-- Edited by Tanya on Monday 15th of March 2010 06:29:04 PM

If you e-mail them they will send you a copy...it costed me like $30.00 but it was for something Shania so to me it was worth it as this is still something rare that has not been mass released yet.

Just my opinion.
Warmest regards as always,
Tonto

Nice to see that clip thanks

Thank you, Tommy. :)

It seems it was blocked in some countries. It works for me through.

mariana wrote:

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VEGAS NORTH DVD "The Discovery of Eilleen Twain" The Cinderella Story of Shania Twain !

VEGAS NORTH DVD takes you behind the Stage in 1988-89 when Nashville Discovered Eilleen Twain and the World as Shania Twain!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Free-Press-Release.com) March 29, 2011 -- When producer, Nick Panaseiko, made a promise twenty six years ago to create a television program about Bill Waterhouse and his success as the owner of an Ontario resort, he never knew it would not happen until 2011. He also could not have imagined that the footage from the show would contain an unknown cast member who would go on to create a 'Cinderella life' for herself, becoming a highlight in the documentary. That singer was Shania Twain.

It all began in 1985 when renowned Canadian record industry promotion man, Nick Panaseiko, then the publicity director of the resort would see Bill Waterhouse carefully nurture the legacy of the resort that his parents helped found so long ago.

With the release of the documentary "Vegas North" on DVD. Nick recalls all the changes that have happened since the show first became famous in Canada. DVD's had not been invented until 1995 and now we are showing short video clips of Vegas North on YouTube, which only started in 2005. "I love keeping up with the changes. but I credit my son, Jay, for that. He is a master web and video industry man and a great help to me."

Nick is enthused and greatly pleased at the culmination of the journey he began so many years ago in bringing to light a great time in his life and that of many others. Panaseiko is still emotional about the era. "My life long friend, Bryan Ayres, has been gone now over five years, having passed away in 2005." Bryan can be seen showing Nick around his Las Vegas office where he established himself as a successful agent and promoter after his Deerhurst days were over. Nick laughs and says, "He made the dreams of others real and I have to hand it to him. He worked with former Deerhurst choreographer, Maria Bataglia, and made his own dream come true in the real Las Vegas."

When Panaseiko started to gather materials and photographs and conduct interviews over ten years ago, he had no idea that one of the cast members, Eilleen Twain, would emerge through her writing and recording into a worldwide star and the 2011 CARAS Canadian Music hall of Fame inductee.

The production includes cast performances from the '80's Deerhurst Vegas Show are seen as well as interviews with Waterhouse, Panaseiko, and others. Shania's talents shine bright on two classic songs highlighted in the production. "Somewhere out there" and "Somewhere over the Rainbow". Nick remembers how Eilleen stopped the show in its tracks with her voice and stage presence. He says, "You could see the future stardom." This program shows the love and respect that Shania created with her spirit and drive. It is a legacy she can be proud of as she reaches her new horizons.

Nick called on some friends that he has known for over thirty years in the music industry to assist with advice and participation behind the scenes. The interviews were conducted and the narrative written by Mel Shaw who was the founding President of CARAS and is a member of the CARAS Hall of Fame as an Industry Builder.

David Marsden narrates the program and he was this year's major winner at Music Canada Week 2011 and he is one of very few Canadian broadcasters in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nick Panaseiko is also experiencing new recognition being nominated for the Manager of the year in London, Ontario as well as being selected as one of the top twenty for the support and development of R&B in London, Ontario.

PRESS RELEASE
Documentary on Canada's 'VEGAS NORTH' features cast member who went on to Hall of Fame

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-vegas-north-dvd-the-discovery-of-eilleen-twain-the-cinderella-story-of-shania-twain-1301427292.html

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Some rare things here! Tommy for years I wanted to hear the full version of "Somewhere out there" I hope I got right the name of the song, any help with that? Thanks for bringing it up Tommy.

Thanks Tanya, She sings this song perfectly!

CanadianCutie80 wrote:

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I just came across a site on Facebook and they say they have a DVD of her performing at Deer Hurst as well as recording sessions for that unauthorized CD.

They are selling it for $12.99 and don't make it clear if it is a download or a DVD and they are also selling downloads of her singing at Deer Hurst.

Does anyone have this DVD or whatever it may be and if so,what is on it?

Here is the link

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vegas-North-The-Discovery-of-Eilleen-Twain-DVD/167692883263385?ref=ts

 

Thanks for your help!

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There's a documentary about Deerhurst. It is more about the setting and creators of the show than about Shania. I think they used her to arouse interest in this product. They show short fragments of her and other people's performances. It contains two full performances of medley of Somewhere Ot There and Somewhere Over The Rainbow. One is pretty good, another is poor quality. And I wonder why they put two performance of the same number while they obviously had a lot of other performances - some of good quality but they showed only fragments. You can see captures here and here is transcript but it is translated into Russian. Maybe Google Translate will help. Plus this realese is being sold with The Complete Limelight Sessions CD which contains her earlier recordings. It was first released in 2001.

-- Edited by Tanya on Sunday 13th of May 2012 11:45:52 AM

Hello folks. My name is George Guerrette. I was the Musical Director at Deerhurst Resort from 1983 thru 1990. I worked with Shania for about three years, I guess. As the in-house arranger for the show, I arranged and orchestrated the Somewhere Out There/Over The Rainbow medley, along with every other piece of music she sang in the Vegas Show.

I registered here just to correct a couple of things about the cast photos (which my wife and I are in as well, lol). The black and white photo and the photo of the girls in garter belts pre-date Shania's time at Deerhurst. She is NOT in those photos. The only photo she is in is the one with the girls wearing those furry hats -- which, BTW, are modified UMBRELLAS. We jokingly called them "Fraggle Rock hats"...and the "backpacks" the outside girls are wearing (that's my wife wearing one on the right) reminded us of an old kids show, called "H.R. Puffinstuff" -- but I digress (and date myself at the same time!).

As far as the DVD is concerned, yes, the producer of it is simply trying to cash in on Shania's fame. Honestly, without Shania's name and face plastered on that thing nobody would be interested in "Vegas Stars of The North" or whatever Nick (the producer of this video...I've known him since 1985 -- just so there's no confusion, he was not the producer of the shows up there) calls it. That doesn't mean that the show is no good. The casts through the years are always pros and the shows they produce, despite given a worse-than-measly budget, are great. I have great friends from the cast from 1983 to present. I still do some arrangements for them and we visit at least once a year, so I mean no disrepect by saying there'd be no interest in that DVD without Shania's presence; it's just a fact, as the cast up there are anonymous, hard-working people making a living.

I have a bunch of video material, particularly from the last show Eileen did at Deerhurst before going to Nashville. This material has never been seen before. Nick wanted it for this DVD but I didn't want to give it to him. BUT I saved it all from further destruction off of the old analog videotapes this past summer.

I also have a few recordings of Shania singing some original 80's pop tunes I co-wrote when I was into that back then. These are just songwriting demos to get the songs published. I don't think I'll let those out of the vault; too embarrasing for the both of us! -- though she sang her ass off on these tracks! They're much more demanding vocally than you've ever heard her do. It's just that the songs are hilariously dated. Very "1980's"!

 

j1234 wrote:

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Does anybody know anything about this DVD, and whether it would be worth buying.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shania-The-Discovery-Eileen-Twain/dp/B00D6I7IA8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1390066331&sr=8-3&keywords=shania+twain+dvd 

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It's the same as the Deerhurst/Vegas North DVD above. Looks like Amazon UK just re-packaged it. 

VIDEO CLIP!

And now the final classic never before seen video with Eilleen "Shania" Twain singing in the Deerhurst Resort cabaret style of "Viva Las Vegas". She is mainly on the right hand side and you can hear hear clearly with her distinctive lovely voice. Gotta love the part where she comes in from the back through the crowd (now we know where she got that idea from!). Stay till the end to see where the Indian outfit comes in!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=352612728214028

The Discovery of Eilleen Twain

Submitted by R.J. Carter on Fri, 2014-03-07 19:13

Shania Twain burst onto the country music scene and introduced listeners to a whole new kind of country. And then, like all shooting stars must, she blazed brightly and was gone all too soon.

"The Discovery of Eilleen Twain" would seem to be just the thing for a Shania fan who wants to see some of her earliest singing work. And, indeed, the work is quite early -- taking the viewers to the Deerhurst resort in Canada, whera a Vegas show was formed and where Eilleen Twain got her career started.

When I first started this DVD, I was a little taken aback by the counter: the feature is a mere 37 minutes. That, I thought, was going to be far too short. For a casual Shania fan, I was wrong -- it was far too long.

As a number of people involved with the Deerhurst resort -- from Bill Waterhouse archive footage, and interviews with producer Brian Ayres' brother, Richard Ayres, costume designer Celia Finley, public relations director Nick Panaseiko, and others -- are brought out to talk about their experience with the show and with Eilleen, we see clips of Twain on stage, peforming the same bits of music in repetition. Fifteen minutes in, her rendition of "Enough is Enough" was taking on a whole new meaning for me. I was thinking how much happier I'd be seeing just one complete set, even if it was digitized from a VHS home movie taken from within the audience (with the sound quality one would expect from such a recording). I got my wish: I got to see her perform a medly of "Somewhere Out There" with "Over the Rainbow."

And then, after a few more interviews, I got to hear it again.

If Shania were still producing music... if this documentary had been released in the late 1990s... then this documentary would have a much wider audience and probably a better reception. As it is, even narrator David Marsden's comfortable and homey personality doesn't lift the sparse footage to something that would bear repeat watching.

And now that I'm done telling you how disappointed I was with the documentary, let me tell you why you should buy this release. Because there is a redeeming feature to this release package: the bonus CD, with ten tracks from Eilleen Twain: Beginnings, bursting with all the 80s goodness you'd expect from an artist full of energy who wasn't yet on a major label. They're far more pop and power rock than country, and were intended as demo tracks. But, if you're a Shania Twain fan looking for tracks that aren't in your collection, this set of rarities is worth the price of the documentary release.

Grade: C+

http://www.the-trades.com/articles/2014/03/07/discovery-eilleen-twain

Deerhurst Resort, 1988, Shania Twain sings "Barracuda" by Heart (Not included on DVD)

Shines like neon, stings like defeat

By Mike Weatherford | Las Vegas Review-Journal | July 26, 2014

There’s no such thing as a sure thing in Vegas.

Well, there is that rule about always splitting eights and aces.

And if you lose at roulette, double your bet on the next spin and you’ll win it back.

What about bringing back “Mamma Mia!” which is still playing on Broadway as one of the top-grossing musicals in history?

How about building an exclusive comeback showcase for Shania Twain, the biggest-selling female country singer of all time?

Lady Vegas, you are a cold one.

“Mamma Mia!” turns out to be a jaw-dropping disaster. It will run just one more week at the Tropicana Las Vegas before it closes Aug. 3, putting a three-month wrap to what was supposed to be an open-ended run.

And Twain will close shop at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in December, after returning for 16 more shows.

You can’t equate it to the “Mamma Mia!” debacle, since Twain will chalk up 110 shows in the Strip’s premier headliner venue. But, just like Bette Midler in a similar scenario a few years ago, you can sense the disappointment. Both sides put in too much effort not to keep rolling beyond the original two-year commitment.

At least those gambling rules are backed by some degree of mathematical logic.

Entertainment makes us wrestle with more intangibles, such as the fact that no one I ran into seemed excited about “Mamma Mia!” coming back. No one, that is, but my daughter, who wasn’t old enough to see it during its six years at Mandalay Bay. And on Broadway, new teens coming of age help explain the show’s longevity.

But in Las Vegas, oversaturation is at the top of the list for concrete explanations. The show never stopped touring after it left Las Vegas in early 2009. Las Vegas trades in repeat visitors, and even new ones here for a couple of nights have to make tough choices.

We also know the Trop reached out to the show’s producers, not the other way around. So perhaps the invitation came with no request for royalty reductions that might otherwise seem reasonable for a show that’s circled the world so many times.

The Trop is also a stand-alone casino, without physically connected sister properties or a wider database for marketing, as the musical enjoyed during its Mandalay Bay years.

And there’s just something about that place lately. It has a way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory time and again.

With Shania, we are also in the realm of the intangible: The feeling that this comeback simply wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

A DVD called “The Discovery of Eilleen Twain” has been sitting on my desk a long time.

After Monday’s news that Twain would call it quits after two years, I finally watched it.

It’s a cheap little effort. About a half-hour of documentary wrapped around footage of a very young Twain performing in “Viva Vegas,” a revue at the Deerhurst Inn Resort in Ontario in the late 1980s. The gig enabled her to make the jump from her hardscrabble youth to Nashville, Tenn., where she changed her name to Shania, hooked up with producer “Mutt” Lange and went on to make history.

The DVD’s irony comes in the resort show’s Las Vegas ambitions. It was probably no worse than anything actually onstage in Vegas in the ’80s — not the city’s best decade by anyone’s count.

Still it’s quite comical to watch today, with Twain singing in her poufed-out ’80s hair and low-cut sequined gown alongside some guy who looks like Bill Murray’s lounge lizard character. For her solo spot, she belts “Somewhere Out There” to a tinkly electric piano. Then the word “Somewhere” triggers a key change and bam! It’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Cut to this weekend, where any destiny foreshadowed by “Viva Vegas” was fulfilled by Twain cavorting on a Wild West saloon set with dancing cowboys and cowgirls on the Colosseum stage. And like the ’80s show, it seems anachronistic and contrived.

“Viva Vegas” may have foreshadowed Twain’s destiny, but she skipped right over the years she really should have been here. The ones following her last album in 2002. The years that ushered in Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, etc., were the ones when Twain was sidelined with vocal and personal issues.

But the singers who followed Twain’s break from the format restrictions of “country” also became more “pop” in their timeliness and shelf life.

Twain came back with live horses and motorcycles that would make “Viva Vegas” jealous. But like “Mamma Mia!” she just didn’t seem to come back with enough new reasons to make enough people care.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/mike-weatherford/shines-neon-stings-defeat

Shanias_Old_MD wrote:

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barebackwarrior wrote:

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This is painful to listen to. The band got Shania's arrangement all wrong. They should have stepped it down a few keys to capture the true beauty in Eilleen's voice.

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Sorry, but the arranger -- that's me -- got it all right. You see, there's another person in the mix of a show like this, called "The Producer". He was my boss. He was Eileen's boss. The ending, and keys used, were to his approval. In fact, the ending of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, where she does that long, dramatic glissando up, was ripped off from some other recording of the same song -- again, at The Producer's request. My job as Arranger and Musical Director was to fulfill his vision -- with suggestions by me where I felt were needed...but, it was his call.

And besides, the medley did start gentle with Somewhere Out There. Then, it ramped up to Over The Rainbow. That's building up intensity to a crescendo ending -- with at least three key changes, to boot! Trust me...it wasn't JUST her beauty and voice that got the rousing response from the audience; the arrangement contributes to this, significantly.

The world doesn't really know how strong a singer Shania Twain is. I have always said to people who ask me about her that you're hearing only...75% of her capability. She has a powerful range (she kicked the **** out of Heart's "Barracuda" when we did our Top-40 sets in the resort bar after the Vegas Show). Her tuning has always been excellent. She has a fantastic ear to hold onto complex inner harmonies. In fact, one of the very first things she had to learn in the show was a FIVE-PART(!) vocal JAZZ arrangement of Duke Ellington's "Take The A Train" that I did -- and she was not on the melody (which is easier); she was on a more difficult inner alto part. Very tough.

And yet, as far as I know, she never STUDIED voice. Considering that, she did a fantastic job.

The things she had to work on in those days -- and the things she surely took with her after her years at Deerhurst -- were how to PERFORM, how to command the stage, how to move. She could pick up "blocking" as we call it, which is "when and how to move from one spot on the stage to another, especially with other performers"...but, THEY WAY she moved was a little wooden, especially at first. Remember, prior to Deerhurst she had mainly done bar gigs. Even though "The Vegas Show" at Deerhurst was very low budget, the skill set required as a performer for that style of performance is more demanding than that of rock and country bars.

 

barebackwarrior wrote:

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And why do they even sell this???

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 "They" is one dude who was the show's promo guy for a relatively brief period at Deerhurst, trying to capitalize on her fame. In fact, I can't recall for sure if he was employed at the resort during Eileen's time. I think not -- but that was A LONG time ago.

No cast members, including Eileen and myself, have ever been nor will ever be compensated for this content being sold on this DVD. I have additional show video that he wanted, which I refused to release to him.

I also have some original pop tune demos I co-wrote with Eileen singing on them that the world has never heard...and probably never will.

Interesting anecdote: Another song she had to sing in our Top-40 sets was Def Leopard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" -- produced by Mutt Lang. She hated singing that song! :D

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Thank you for the clarification and for replying back to me. It's just that in musical settings, producers and arrangers either work in tandem or separate. Some producers deal with finances while arrangers put the music together, while other producers are actually in charge of the sound, like you mentioned. I have studied music as well and will tell you that when it comes to women's voices, they are almost always encouraged to sing high and bright, even if they sound screechy. In fact, some instructors and the general public think that "screaming" sound is great. I don't know if you are of that persuasion, but that's been my personal experience. Her memoir states that she took some vocal lessons...Perhaps you meant to say that she never had formal musical training, which is consistent with her statements. 

It is very unfortunate for one person to profit from your and Eilleen's work. Fame's cold like that.

How awesome it would be to listen to the songs that you wrote with Eilleen. As fans we would kill to hear something new from her, even if it her "old" music. It's ironic that she hated singing the song that her future now ex-husband produced. Life's funny that way.

Northern Ontario seems shrouded in mystery. I visualize the trees, but cannot fathom what it's like to be all the way up there far from everything. I'm sure that leaving there was not easy. Even here in the States leaving one state to go to another is challenging...

As for her lessons, perhaps she did before Deerhurst... I guess I'm not 100% sure on that. I always thought she was just a natural who started young. But she certainly didn't go to college for voice, theatre etc. like many of the cast members over the years.

Tommy wrote:

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Deerhurst Resort, 1988, Shania Twain sings "Barracuda" by Heart (Not included on DVD)

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Deerhurst Resort, 1988, Shania Twain sings "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard (Not included on DVD)