Customer Reviews

Ancora

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I was in an HMV store in the UK last November when I heard this beautiful music playing. I asked who it was and was told it was the new Il Divo CD which had just come out that day, so I got it.

Much like their debut, `Ancora' is filled with lush, romantic love songs, performed in English, Spanish and Italian. If there is any change from their debut, it is that this features (just a bit) more guitars, and more subdued percussion. If you're looking for something edgy and groundbreaking, this isn't the CD for you. However, if you like beautiful, touching music performed by four excellent vocalists, you just might like this.

`Ancora' features covers of Mariah Carey's `Hero', The Righteous Brother's `Unchained melody', Eric Carmen's `All by myself', and Celine Dion's `Pour que tu m'aimes encore'. Celine Dion duets on `I believe in you'. I'm not really a fan of Ms Dion but this works much better than I expected.

`Isabel' is simply stunning. Lush strings, delicate percussion, and the four tenors rising to a crescendo towards the end in an achingly touching vocal performance. Definitely my favourite!

Other standouts include the tender, yet dramatic `Si tu me amas', `Hasta mi final', the largely acoustic/string filled dramatic `En aranjuez con tu amor' (superb vocal performance and the most operatic sounding song), and `Esisti dentro me'.

The UK version contains `Ave Maria' and a lush, sweeping rendition of `O holy night'.

I am deeply offended by a review about this CD. I feel Amazon should have some guidelines about what people can say in their reviews. The reviewer who stated people who bought this CD should die should not be allowed to have his review published. I checked his other reviews and one said if you didn't agree with his opinion you should commit suicide. This drivel should not be seen by the public. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but most people are smart enough to give their opinions without offending too many people. Oh, wait--that was his intention. He wanted to offend people and get our attention. Well, he got mine. But his opinion just shows his lack of education and intelligence.
Enough about him (or her, or whatever). This is a good CD. It is so refreshing to listen to men sing. And that is what Il Divo does--they sing. They don't sound like they are having surgery without anesthesia as so many "artists" of today do. On this CD, the singers actually carry a tune. And, they have beautiful voices as well.
I am just sorry I had to read the hate-filled review. It pains me to be reminded of the terribly misguided people in our world today.

Their formula works well overall. Pop ballads in orchestral settings, for the four men to take turns doing solo duties within the verses, & then sing together in the chorus & bridge. There were two outstanding songs here. Their Italian version of Mariah Carey's "Hero," & the closing song "Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore. They sing these two with far more brio than the others. Make no mistake, this group has a very long & bright future in front of them. As with their debut, Carlos' powerful baritone carries most of the weight of the four. I could see him eventually being a solo star. This was better than the Christmas release, but not as good as their debut. Lastly, it was fourteen minutes shorter.

Il Divo's self-named first cd was a much needed breath of fresh air in an era crowded with hip-hop and pop singers who prefer to sing about how many "hos" they have or about the ridiculous amount of bling-bling they sport. Thank God, we have a second round from the quartet with the smooth, rich voices! Although I would have preferred a disc with 13 or 14 songs, this cd is still full of great songs sung by men who can ACTUALLY sing! From the first song, "Solo Otra Vez" to the beautiful (and my personal favorite) duet with Celine Dion called "I Believe in You (Je Crois en Toi)" this selection of romantic songs makes the listener realize how music is meant to sound. "Isabel" is also incredibly beautiful and the group's cover of Mariah Carey's "Hero", is another gem in this well crafted cd. Another cover in Spanish of Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up", entitled "Por ti sere" is a triumph as well as the closing song, "Pour Que tu M'aimes encore". I love the fact that these guys mix up Italian, Spanish, French and English songs in their selections proving that good music is good music, even if it is not sung in your mother tongue! Whether you love or hate Simon Cowell, you have to give him credit for finding a talented group of men who know what sounds good and have voices full of range and that blend so well with each other. A great cd for the special person in your life on Valentine's Day---or any day for that matter! Highly recommended!!

I'm not going to analyze this album track by track. I'm just going to say that every product they have put out is an improvement on the one before it. The voices seem richer, the harmonies blend better, the musical interpretation is outstanding.

This is not opera folks. This is a pop album. Sung by trained singers who know how to carry a tune and infuse their singing with emotion. They don't need to sing in English to get the meaning across.

If you want beautiful, romantic music, then buy this album. It only gets better the more you listen to it. They are absolutely amazing.

IL DIVO have 4 of the best vocals I have ever heard. Ancora is a truly amazing and fantastic album. They blend their harmonies so well and when they do their solos, each of them just shine. You don't need to know what they are singing about, you can just feel the emotion when they sing. Makes you want to hear more and more. Cannot wait to see them live at their concert.

To be honest, I was not a big fan of their first two albums, however, I did purchase their first single "Regresa a mi" (I enjoyed the video more). This album lacks of variety and new songs that we could enjoy, to get to know "Il Divo" better, after all, they are barely beginning. In this album they cover 5 songs of other artists and have only 5 new songs. When you are going to cover that many songs you need to include more tracks in an album, a perfect example and since she is included in a song, CELINE DION. Her "Falling Into You" album has 6 covers (2 of them translations of 2 of her own french songs) but a total of 17 songs. Its all about variety. The album is enjoyable but left me not feeling fully satisfied. Here are the songs one by one.

1. All By Myself (Solo Otra Vez): This is a cover of Celine Dions "All By Myself (Sola Otra Vez)" who at the same time covered the English version from Eric Carmen. Clearly they are trying to re-create the suspense and excitement of that famous high note Celine hit in her version; they fail.

2. Isabel: This is actually a great song about heartbreak and begging that one lost love to come back. I love the tempo and the lyrics, they need more songs like this one. One of my favorites.

3. I Believe In You (Je Crois En Toi) duet with Celine Dion: I enjoy this song very much, not only because I'm a great Celine fan but because they both sound so good together. I heard this song for the first time on Celine Dion's "On ne change pas" compilation and fell in love with it, a great song with a great message.

4. You Raise Me Up (Por Ti Sere): Another cover, the Spanish version of Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up". You know, I can't be too negative, its a good Spanish translation but my problem with it is that I can totally see Josh Groban going onstage saying "No, no, no...THIS is how you sing it". The music sounds too much like the original, I hear Josh Groban here, not Il Divo.

5. Si Tu Me Amas: I like the lyrics but I think they could have worked a little bit more in the accent, I dont know if the non-Spanish speakers were explained what the song was about because the feeling was definitely not there.

6. Hasta Mi Final: This is another one of those "why couldn't they record more of these songs?" type of song, I love it, in Spanish its more about the lyrics and the feeling. They nailed it.

7. Heroe: The spanish version of Mariah Careys classic "Hero". The beginning of this song is good, towards the end it just sounds over-produced and leaves you asking yourself "why?".

8. En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor: I listened to this song a few times and I don't seem to have an opinion about it, sounds like they took some movie soundtrack and just recorded lyrics over it.

9. Esisti Dentro Me: Good Italian song, a little more uptempo, once again they let you taste a little bit of what they are really made of.

10. Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore: Ok, this is one of my favorite Celine Dion songs of all time and they didnt do justice to it. They tried to imitate Celines intonations instead of bringing their own style to it and I think thats what did it. I love the music but maybe if it was a new version by Celine herself.

All in all the album is OK, hopefully next time they will have more original stuff so they can start making their own hits and maybe someone else will cover THEIR songs.

this album is fabulous. the duet with celine dion soars into the stratosphere, and pour que tue m'aimes encore is breathtaking. i have read a review of this album in People magazine and they have no idea what they are talking about. they gave it two stars out of five, and gave the Notorias B.i.G. cd 3-1/2 stars. I am in a rage that they can give a rapper almost four stars and il divo, a professionally trained - mostly operatic voices two stars. Don't read professional reviews and trust me, this album is simply sensational! I bought it from amazon.com/u.k. a few months ago and still listen to it every day and still get shivers up and down my spine. Their voices are strong, emotional and powerful, not bombastic as People magaine states. Run and buy it.

I purchased this CD after hearing the song "Isabel". These
men really do have gorgeous voices, but it is unfortunate
that those beautiful voices are covered up by TOO LOUD
background music. They need to go the way of Andrea Bocelli
with a "less is more" attitude. I would love to sing along,
but can't understand what the words are as they are hidden
in the confusion of blaring instrumentals. Bottom line?
I love the music, but I am not impressed by how it was
produced.

I am a huge fan of Il Divo, and this CD is amazing. I'm 16 and every one of my friends who has heard me listening to them thinks they're awesome too. I believe their pop feel could broaden their audience. The first album and chirstmas collection are worn out from me listening to them so much, Ancora came just in time for a new array of amazing songs with the 4 most amazing voices I've ever heard. My favorites so far are:

Il Divo- Passera
Christmas Collection- Oh Holy Night
Ancora- Por Que Tu M'Aimes Encore

I even got my copy of Ancora signed by Carlos, David , Seb, and David at Borders in NYC. I can't wait for Feb. 10 to go to the concert!