And the winner is: Draw. I made this comparison hoping to detect an improvement in the DVD audio version of this record, with its higher bit rate and wider potential dynamic range. Alas, despite the promised "enhanced LPCM stereo" it seems to be the same as what's on the regular CD, with the levels coming in only a miniscule bit quieter (on the order of 0.1 dB). In general, Nashville is not quite as loud as the rest of the popular music industry, and this release's levels are in keeping with that overall trend. It's worth noting that this album came out in 2005, at a point in time when the levels of most popular music releases had already reached ridiculous extremes. While I would prefer that the mixing and mastering on this album had been a little more conservative, by today's pop and rock standards this is downright quiet. As an aside, the final, unlisted track, a cover of "Good Morning Heartache" (originally introduced by Billie Holliday in 1946) is a stunner, a completely unexpected foray into what is perhaps my favorite musical genre to experience live - jazz. Wilson hints here at the diversity of her influences and at her range as a performer, an indication of talent that is all the more exciting given that this track was recorded live in a single take with only one microphone. Should Wilson ever release a full, bona fide jazz album, or perform such anywhere near my hometown of Dallas, Texas, I will be there.

As a side note, this CD is technically HDCD encoded, though not labeled as such. Decoding of the tracks, however, yields no improvement in dynamics.