Customer Reviews

Alessandro Safina

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

...a dark winter night goes so well with the warm, rich tones of Safina's voice and engaging rhythms of this cd. Although recommended to me by someone with a highly valued opinion, I was still blown away by how much I love this cd. It is all original material. Each song fresh and sculpted to perfection. The lyrics are poetry when read in my native English. Sung in Italian, there is nothing lost by not understanding this language, he sings with such emotion and feeling. It is a cd you can put on and listen to from start to finish. Nothing in here is 'filler.' It is all good. The two instrumental pieces are a nice change of pace for an album like this. My first introduction to "Italian pop" was through Andrea Bocelli. It is unfair to both singers to be comparing them. But mentioning their similar paths, (both sing opera and pop) is unavoidable. I have found Safina's approach to pop "original" despite the comparisons and similarities. And his voice is all his own. Rich, warm and genuine in his approach, Safina gives each song his all. I highly recommend this cd. There is also a PBS special to watch for that features these songs, conducted by the talented Maestro Mercurio. Safina is a new artist that is well worth a listen. Enjoy! Laurie in Alaska

Finally! At long last we have been given a great tenor voice singing modern, upbeat and highly commercial music.

I have just about every Popera tenor CD out there, from all of Bocelli's releases to Watson, Frangoulis, Amante and even the Duetto disc of Alvarez & Licitra, but this one stands out above all, save Bocelli's Romanza perhaps.

The music is superbly produced, the orchestration absolutely marvelous and the voice outstanding.
Safinas' singing is that of a man in total control of his instrument and with the exception of his tendency to force his high notes, which makes him sound a bit constricted up top, his sound calls forth memories of some of the greatest dramatic tenors of days gone by. More than not his voice takes on the dark and powerful timbre of the late Maestro Franco Corelli and in softer moments he recalls memories of the young Carerras.

I totally agree with a previous reviwer that Safina should be a household name not unlike the much publizised Bocelli.
It is regrettable that, here in America, musical appreciation of the masses does not extend far beyond Hip-Hop, Country, Pop and various alternative forms of music. Even Blues and Jazz are becoming more and more "extinct" from the popular musical landscape.
Opera and/or Pop-Opera are almost alien to the average American listener.

The only gripe I have with this project is the inclusion of 2 instrumental tracks. Certainly Mr. Safinas repertoire is larger than 10 songs and his producers could have just as well included an aria or 2 rather than instumentals. If I buy a tenor CD I want a tenor on every track, not some undescript instrumental to help fill time.Thus the 4 star rating.

Other than that, this is a great CD - even Bocelli and Popera detractors will be hard pressed to deny that, if nothing else, Safina is a real Tenor and that's saying alot.

A beautiful album. I love it. However, of his three albums listed on Amazon, nine tracks are on all three albums! If you bought all three of his albums you'd only have three additional tracks. I strenuously object to this kind of marketing.

I apologise for the length of this review, but I wanted to be as detailed as possible.

I love the operatic singing style voice, but I am not really an opera fan. I am however a HUGE fan of classical cross-over, or "popera" as it is becoming known. In fact, popera has fast become my favourite genre of music as of late. I like it because the singers sing beautifully, and the music has a more modern feel.

I own the albums of all the big popera acts including all of Andrea Bocelli albums from Romanza to Andrea, both of Josh Groban's studio albums, both of Mario Frangoulis' studio albums, and three Alessandro Safina albums. Because my car stereo plays mp3's, I took every song from these four artists and made one giant collection that spans 3 CD's worth of mp3's. I listen to them in the car, and all day at work. I can go days without hearing the same song. However, of all these artist, Alessandro is by far my favourite! I don't understand how it is cosmically possible that Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban have become as popular as they are, yet hardly anybody has heard of Alessandro Safina! let me tell you why I like his work best.

I find that in describing Alessandro, it is useful to compare him to his above mentioned contemporaries. In terms of sheer voice talent, In my opinion, Alessandro is the top of the list. Alessandro's voice is amazing! The only one of the above mentioned artists who can even come close would be Bocelli. Bocelli can take his voice to magnificent heights when he wants to, but for the most part he sings low and only really pushes the limit on occasion. Don't get me wrong, I think he has a beautiful voice, and I love his work, but Alessandro ALWAYS pushes the envelope and sings with such bravado, passion, power, and control, that you are left in awe. As I mentioned before, I'm not a big opera fan, but if I had to compare Alessandro's voice, I would liken it closest to Luciano Pavarotti then his popera contemporaries. Also, Safina sings entirely in Italian with a few exceptions (you'll see as you read on). But Safina's voice is only the beginning; what about his music?

I really like the music as well, it very modern, and upbeat. At times it can even take on a modern new-age quality such as Enigma (like his song Il Mirto & La Rosa for example), in terms of combining classical influence with modern pop elements. Listen to the samples of "Saro Con Te," "Siena," and "Luna" from his self titled album, also known as "Release 1" to see what I'm talking about, as they are good examples. One of my favourite songs ever, Il Mirto & La Rosa, is also on this album.

This entire album is one great song after another. His other studio album "Musica Di Te" is a bit of a departure from "Realease1" in the sense that it is a bit more soulful and modern. If I had to compare it to something out there you may have heard, I would go with George Michaels really good stuff or Seal, I'm not saying Alessandro sounds like George or Seal, but it has that musical feel that artists like George and Seal are very good at. However, Safina's vocal style is just as powerful and passionate as his first album. If you do like me, and listen to both his albums combined in to one album, "Release 1" and Musica Di te" actually weave together perfectly, so don't get nervous about some of the reviews that say that both albums are drastically different; they really are not. If you like one, you will like the other. "Musica De Ti" like his first album is good song after good song. The only song I don't really like is "You Come to My Senses," which is Safina's only English song on the album. His accent is very heavy, and it just doesn't work well. But 1 out of 14 isn't bad.

"Alessandro Safina: Realease 1" and "Musica Di Te" are Safina's two main albums. The other's you'll find such as "Safina" or "Insieme a Te" are nothing new and have the same songs you'll find on Realease 1 and Musica Di Te, except for maybe one new song. For instance, the album "Safina" has the bonus track "The Music of the Night" by Andrew Loyd Weber. But if his English in this song is anything like his English in "you come to my senses," I wouldn't get it for that one extra song. But I haven't heard it, so I really can't say. The album "Junto A Ti" is The exact same as "Release 1" except four of the songs are redone in Spanish, and the track "Arrivederci America" is missing. If you speak Spanish and not Italian, get Junto a Ti, if you don't speak Spanish, get Release 1.

I hope this has been helpful to some. Believe me, These albums are fantastic.

This album is one of the best new albums I've heard in years. Safina has tremendous range, not only note-wise, but emotionally. Although I don't understand Italian, I feel I know exactly what he's singing about. As romantic and lushly produced as the material is, it never falls into saccharine or self-indulgence, because the material is so fine and Safina sings it as though he is living it.One can understand why his popularity is growing so fast in Europe.

I happened upon this cd while listening to music samples at my local Tower Records store. After listening to only 4 tracks, I didn't want to leave the store. In particular, I played track #4 (La Sete Di Vivere/Thirst for Life) at least 5 times before a friend of mine pulled me out of the seat. I normally listen to jazz, oldschool R&B, real hip hop (The Roots, Mos Def, Outkast, Common) country music on Sunday mornings, and classical on Sunday nights. But Alessandro Safina's CD has been getting much play in my home since I purchased it. Before Alessandro Safina, Jill Scott was a new discovery that captivated me, but if Mr. Safina EVER performs in the Delaware Valley, I will be front row and center! What a beautiful voice to fall asleep and wake up to. I'm hooked!

I'd seen "Alessandro Safina" in record stores several times, and finally picked up a copy out of curiosity. I'd never heard of Alessandro before, but now I realize what I've been missing out on! Safina, from Siena, Italy, has a fantastically powerful, sensual tenor voice that puts many contemporary classical crossover tenors to shame.

Safina's voice is in a league of its own. It can darkly sensual, with a texture like that of rough velvet, evident on the opening track "Luna (Only You)," an amazing piece that opens with a sultry jazz (female) solo that dissolves into Safina's commanding tenor. It is the most electronic/dancelike of the twelve songs on "Safina," with a pronounced drumbeat. Gorgeous background piano accompaniment and sweeping strings cradle Safina's voice without overpowering. A background choir chants near the end of the song, which blends Safina's and the female soloist's voice along with piano notes that trail off into silence.

"La Sete di Vivere" is a slower, gentler song, again accompanied by piano, strings and synth. "Aria e memoria" begins with a melancholy wavelike rhythm, building into a gently affirmative chorus. "Siena" is an ode to his hometown, sung in the softest of seductive whispers that becomes a full-voiced declaration. "Il Mirto E la Rosa" opens with a sultry flamenco guitar solo that shimmers in the moonlight, until the piano softly creeps in and the sonic tension builds with the addition of a synth backbeat, until the chorus erupts into a passionate whirl of sounds and colour.

"'Stu Bbene" is tinged with flamenco flavour and awash in gentle strings and piano. Safina sings as if his voice is a fragile glass bauble here, so delicately until he reaches the chorus that we are once again surprised and thrilled when he unleashes the full power of his tenor voice. That is his general attack mode with most of the songs here, and it works. Soft, crooned intros melt into full voice, sometimes taking us by (breathless) surprise.

The two instrumental "Ehyeh" and "Diva Mea" are very interesting additions. "Ehyeh" is actually the background instrumentals to "Il Mirto E La Rosa" and "Diva Mea" is the backing track to "Luna" complete with female vocalist and choir. Very uplifting tracks that sound like film music and are beautiful even without the vocals, "Ehyeh" in particular as the flamenco guitar really shines as a solo. Finally "Aria e Memoria--We'll Be Together" is a duet with Chrissie Hynde. It is the same song as "Aria E Memoria" from earlier in the album, this time as an English-Italian duet with Chrissie's voice in the foreground. Very powerful and effective.

Alessandro has also released a Spanish version of this album, "Junto a ti" and performed backing vocals on a song from the "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack, "Your Song" with Ewan McGregor. Try to catch his PBS Great Performances special that was filmed on location in Italy, "Alessandro Safina in Concert: Only You." As far as I know it is not available on video or DVD. My only wish is that I'd picked up this CD sooner--I had no idea what I was missing out on! Move over Bocelli, this is the *real* operatic/pop tenor of Italy!

From the moment I heard clips of the songs on Amazon's website, I could not wait to get Allesandro's cd. And ever since I got his cd, I can not stop listening to it. What a marvelous singer. He is truly in a class by himself. I love this cd and I have to listen to it at least a couple times a day. I truly recommend this cd. It's worth every penny and more!!!

I was channel flipping and saw Alessandro singing "Luna" in an international song festival. As a professional singer married to an opera singer, I immediately sat straight up and continued to listen slack-jawed through the performance! How could I have not heard of this amazing singer before? As I don't have much time to browse the record store, I was thrilled to find his CD on Amazon.

There is no comparison with Boccelli. Safina is far superior. His voice is rich, sexy and musical. He knows how to sing a song.

Alessandro, ti sei maraviglioso!

My friend discovered this disk in 2003, Although it was the Insieme A Te one. He lent it to me back then and after i had bought my own i dived straight into his voice, even after 2 years i'm still in love with Safina's incredible vocals. He seems to be able to hold a note for as long as an eternity. You cannot help but be drawn into his voice and he holds your attention like a good bar of chocolate. In fact you can sit down with a nice cup of hot chocolate in your hand pop the cd into your player and enjoy.. Its a wonderful chill out disk.