Product Code: WET30292947
Original price was: $37.99.$22.79Current price is: $22.79.180-gram double LP
Gatefold jacket with printed inner sleeves
This 1996 album compiles music from the beginning ofAndrea Bocelli's career, with tracks going back as far as 1992. At this point the blind Italian tenor, although trained in opera, was unabashedly a pop singer, just like the many other pop singers who have benefited from classical vocal training at one time or another.
There is no controversy about whetherBocelliwas a competent opera singer here, for there are no operatic arias, and not even any of the Neapolitan songs that he later essayed in American appearances all the music is contemporary, heavily string-enveloped (mostly) Italian pop.
It was only later thatBocellibegan to move into operatic territory a decision that brought down the wrath of much of the operatic community but also raised his international profile considerably. (The story of his reception would be worth some student's time to explore in depth). It's worth remembering thatLuciano Pavarotti's oft-cited endorsement ofBocellireferred to this stage of his career, not to his operatic ventures.
Part of what appealed toPavarottimay have been the consistent craftsmanship of the songs here;Pavarottihimself later recorded the evocative "Caruso." These songs defined theBocellisound. He steered clear of his top register, using it only for occasional climactic effect, and mostly what he does here is all about the microphone he's a romantic crooner, and in that role he can stand with anybody else on the market today. There are a few clinkers.
The concluding duet withSarah Brightman "Time to Say Goodbye (Con Ti Partir)" is forced. These two have some vocal traits in common and should blend well, but hereBrightmanhas a tendency to sing the English lines with an affected Italian accent. Still, this is as good a place as any to start with the Italian tenor who has since become a worldwide phenomenon, and a sure-fire gift for someone who has experiencedBocelli's undoubted ability to snare listeners who get a taste of his voice in a chance encounter (as on a commercial for the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas).
A1 Con Te Partir
A2 Vivere (Featuring Gerardina Trovato)
A3 Per Amore
A4 Il Mare Calmo Della Sera
B1 Caruso
B2 Macchine Da Guerra
B3 Le Tue Parole
B4 Vivo Per Lei (Featuring Giorgia)
C1 Romanza
C2 La Luna Che Non C'
C3 Rapsodia
D1 Voglio Restare Cosi
D2 E Chiove
D3 Misere - Live (Featuring John Miles)
D4 Time To Say Goodbye (Featuring Sarah Brightman)
