Every once in a while in a DVD crosses your desk that truly makes your day. When Ziggy Marley: Love is My Religion Live arrived in the middle of a hectic work day amid a seemingly endless mountain of content, from that point on I knew everything was going to be alright. My first live introduction to Ziggy Marley came in the early 1990s when the eldest son of Bob Marley passed through town with his sibling ensemble The Melody Makers. It was an electrifying show that still brings a smile to my face every time I think of it. A year or two later, I managed to catch Ziggy again on a combined outdoor bill with Blues Traveler and Canadian rockers The Tragically Hip. If you've never seen any of the Marley brothers or sisters perform their father's "Could You Be Loved" live while thousands of fans jump in unison under the hot summer sun to the chant of "Get up, get up, get up...", you're missing out on one of the best spiritually amazing concert experiences in the world.

The following year I caught Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers again at a smaller indoor venue and recently, back in April of 2007, I was lucky enough to catch Stephen and Damian Marley for an explosive show at the famous Commodore Ballroom. However, seven months prior to Stephen and Damian's show at the same venue, I was also on hand for Ziggy Marley's solo show in support of his 2006 CD release Love is My Religion. Unlike my previous live encounters with Ziggy, the Love is My Religion show was more of an intimate affair filled with several classics from his father's career, his previous solo effort, and the days of The Melody Makers, but also featured new material that centered on the pursuit of happiness and other positive messages associated with the aspiration of love as a religion.

So, needless to say and speaking from first-hand experience, the arrival of the Love is My Religion Live DVD was an uplifting sight on a busy afternoon.

The most striking aspect of Ziggy Marley's stage presence on the Love is My Religion tour, aside from the unavoidable comparisons to his father, was his incredible energy and passion for not only the music, but the messages within the songs. Filmed at the Avalon Theatre in Los Angeles back in December 2006, the new live DVD showcases a more mature and musically spiritual Ziggy Marley than what fans have seen in the past. Although Ziggy and The Melody Makers carved out their own distinct pop-infused reggae sound in the late 1980s and '90s, Love is My Religion Live reflects the son of a reggae legend that's simply getting better with age. To a large degree, the 2006 CD release of Love is My Religion was a coming of age for Ziggy Marley, one that truly separated the singer from his father's legacy with songs that established his own unique identity as a mature artist with deep spiritual substance and conviction.

Although the Love is My Religion Live DVD features 6 songs from Marley's 2006 CD, they only make for a quarter of the 19 performances of the entire set. From the Religion album, Marley kicks open the show with "Make Some Music" and works his way through the set delivering "Be Free" as the fourth number before cutting into "Still the Storms" in the seventh spot, "A Lifetime" at the halfway point, and later serving up the two most well-known songs of the CD "Into the Groove" and "Love is My Religion" to close out the show. However, as great as Marley's 2006 Religion CD is, the show on DVD is bolstered by a such Bob Marley classics as "Rastaman Vibration", "Concrete Jungle", "Is This Love", "Jammin'", and "No More Trouble", which all set the perfect nostalgic tone as Ziggy works his way through such Melody Maker hits as "Justice" and "Tumblin Down" before bringing the house down with his breakout hit "Tomorrow People" and arguably one of the best and most complex songs of his career to date, "Lee and Molly". If that's not enough, Ziggy also mixes in "Looking", "True to Myself" and "Dragonfly" from his 2003 solo effort Dragonfly to round out the entire experience.

As for behind-the-scenes extras, fans receive what can be considered "true" behind the scenes special features as the disc offers a series of candid backstage interviews and jam-sessions with Ziggy, his back-up singers, his musicians, and the great Sticky Thompson, who played percussion with a number of reggae legends throughout the years, including both Jimmy Cliff and the late Bob Marley. Next, the "Making of Love is My Religion Video" offers an inside look at how Ziggy assembled the video for the title track, as he also talks about how the video was inspired by a simple conversation about what he searches for in life. Expect to find even more candid interviews with Ziggy in the studio and his story of searching for love as his religion. Aside from the backstage, inside-look segments, fans will also find videos for "Into the Groove" and "Love is My Religion" to close out the single disc. If you're looking for a DVD that'll brighten up your day at a time when there seems to be less love in the world than ever before, clock out of work for the afternoon and kick back Ziggy Marley on stage in Los Angeles. You'll have a great time with one of reggae's finest sons.