Illuminations

Josh Groban | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: November 12, 2010
• Release Date: November 12, 2010
• Label: 143/Reprise
• Copyright: 2010 Reprise Records
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 49:40
• Genres:
  • Pop
• ASIN: B004BRP7R4
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (375 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,267 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 152 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Number Five is Alright November 23, 2010

By Sherrie Jackson

Format:Audio CD

I came a little late to the Josh Groban party; he already had three albums out and the Christmas one on the way. I think that may be why changes in style and mood from album to album don't bother, or delight, me as they do fans who've been there from the beginning. I recognize "Illuminations" is a hard right turn away from previous efforts, but there is a lot to enjoy here.

"Hidden Away" and "Higher Window" are real surprises for me; they're simple, beautiful songs, and not unlike the song "Awake" from the album of the same name; however, the melodies are very strong here and the lyrics feel close to home. "Straight to You" is starting to look like my favorite song of his: the interpretation is sublime, the instrumentation inspired, and I like that he stays in mid-range, which reinforces the lyrics of the chorus.

"Voce Existe Em Mim" is the coolest song he's ever done. Had he stuck to the previous albums' formula, this could have had the track 1 spot. Obviously the beat is killer. And do the chords in the chorus sound distinctly...Native American? Even cooler. There are a lot of amazing layers in these songs, some of which require the use of headphones to fully appreciate.

"London Hymn" is where I started to think I understood the underlying inspiration JG was working from. I don't know too much about his musical roots - I know he loves the theater - but it's hard not to think he owns a lot of classical music. When you hear pieces like Rachmaninov's "Vespers" or Sibelius' "Andante Festivo," it's extremely easy to make the transition to "London Hymn" or "Straight to You."

There are other strong songs - "If I Walk Away," "War at Home," "L'Ora Dell'Addio." The French song was just okay for me, as were "Bells of NYC" and "Galileo." He does use quite a lot of falsetto this time around, which is...interesting, and sometimes it's lovely and sometimes I kind of raise an eyebrow... "The Wandering Kind" sounds like Jim Brickman, and I just don't go for that kind of piano music. Something, instead, along the lines of Enya's "A Day Without Rain" would have completely made my day.

While I understand the frustration of the fans who were hoping for a different style and selection of songs, some of the highly negative reviews here are just silly. One reviewer said it was the worst singing they had heard, maybe ever? If that is the case, whatever criteria they are using is so far from the realm of actual musical adjudication as to be basically worthless. Even his most over-eager fans are still right: he has one of the best voices, period. It doesn't help anyone to demean him for the sake of a one- or two-star review.

I applaud him for trying new things, for taking a risk in a new direction, and I feel as though with this album I understand better who he is, as a person and musician. Hopefully he will get the overall sense that this was a success by his definition, and continue to find happiness giving of himself in the coming years.

200 of 239 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I never thought I would write a review like this November 19, 2010

By Jazifer

Format:Audio CD

There seems to be a concerted effort by a number of fans to boost the ratings of this CD by posting glowing reviews, so it's going to be slightly more challenging to decipher what is a genuinely great review and one coming from a fan who would give 5* to a recording of Groban reading the telephone directory. I also presume, therefore, that any reviews that are not favourable will come with a 2/17 people found this review of use attached. All I can say is that if you are considering purchasing this CD, are not a self-confessed music starved Groban fan who is just happy to hear new music after several years, and if you have access to listen to it via a streaming service - take the opportunity to listen to it first before buying it. The mixed reviews really do indicate that this album is polarising listeners and fans, not least because the greater abundance of falsetto that has crept in. You may enjoy it, but I would try before you buy first.

My own personal thoughts --

I will freely admit that I was never a serious fan of the early work Groban did with David Foster and I don't view this as a Foster v Rubin thing, so this isn't a hankering for a return to the older style recordings. In fact, I was eagerly anticipating this album based on what Groban had said about changing direction. He had actively played that up in interviews and the choice of working with Rick Rubin seemed to indicate this, as did his live version of "Changing Colours" which I really do enjoy a great deal and listen to often. However, I don't feel that he's done that. And yet, at the same time, I think he's charged off in many different directions. I just do not know what to make of this album, even after forcing myself to listen to it for a dozen times or so when I'd rather have left it alone. I'm aware that some albums require work to grow on you, hence I wanted to give it a chance, but this isn't happening. Sadly it's the opposite effect and every time I listen, there is a reinforcement of why I do not enjoy it and can't face listening to some of the tracks. The Nick Cave cover? Massive orchestral arrangement. An Italian song? Massive orchestral arrangement. London Hymn? I'm expecting to hear it booming out of Westminster Abbey any time soon and terrifying me with shock. Interspersed with songs that are, I presume, the stripped-down sound Groban was hoping to achieve. To me, it just doesn't flow or have any coherence as an album. I just feel that it's trying to be so many different things, and in doing so it unfortunately misses the mark.

I find the lyrics at times to be simplistic and a bad stereotype of what love is often written as; I honestly believe that Groban, judging from Awake's "February Song", can express a far greater depth of emotion than he does here. Some of the harsher remarks regarding the reactions of laughter at some lyrics that are expressed in some reviews are, I probably can guess, even holding back on saying what they really want to because they have a great respect for Groban and are concerned with being skewered like a kebab by fans. Having said that, I certainly do remain a fan and hope he continues to grow as an artist and experiments musically - even if it sometimes misses the mark.

I can't face giving this one star, because I don't want to relegate it to that level and I genuinely do applaud artists for attempting to push their own boundaries. But I wish I would have waited before ordering the CD - like another reviewer, I can't cancel the order winging its way over the Atlantic. Sadly it's staying in the packaging, to be gifted to someone that I'm probably not that close to.

Edited to add --

I have noticed some commenting regarding what I said about fans posting positive reviews because of a perceived backlash to the album. My comments came as a result of a thread on his official boards, [...], entitled "Be sure to leave a 4 or 5 star review on Amazon.com. The CD could use them." I merely think that people who are not fans, and who are wanting to spend their money on listening to what could be a new artist to them, should hear a balance of opinions. JG fans have (rightly or wrongly) a reputation as being aggressively protective towards him, and whilst all the positive reviews are very clearly not aimed at merely boosting the rating of this album, many of them explaining very honestly and in detail what they like about the music - that thread was sent as a link to many fans, and as such it could have an impact on here. I think it's only fair to point that out and people can then decide for themselves.

112 of 134 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, hypnotic, slow, majestic, soaring, but sad November 15, 2010

By Anne B.

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

Josh Groban has always been a great singer. What is really amazing is that after years of voice lessons he is noticeably better. How could he improve what was already so great? He managed. Everything is clearer, purer, richer, better executed. His lowest notes used to be his downfall & he sometimes struggled with them, but no more. His higher range notes sound more relaxed, more powerful, clearer. Unbelievable. The one oddity, for a near-operatic baritone, is that he relies a great deal on falsetto, which sometimes works well, but not always.

The sound on this album is just crystal clear, clean, awesome. I've never heard anything sound so clean.

Josh wrote 11 of the songs on this album, mostly with collaborators. This is more than he's written before. The songs include quite a bit of variety, with some sounding distinctly classical, others sounding more like folk ballads, and one ("The War At Home") sounding just a little bit country-ish. The lyrics and sound are generally moving and thought provoking.

The album is missing some of the more avante-guarde elements of some of his earlier albums -- and generally comes off as more traditional -- and yet not traditional. His melodies always take unexpected twists. His voice makes unexpected shifts in timbre. Just as you think you're in familiar territory musically, suddenly you're not. But the stuff he did with Mouquet and Heap in the past were more experimental, which is the one thing I really miss on this album, though "Voce Existe in Mim" has a bit of the quality of those prior works of Josh's.

In the past, I saw him as part of an international community of fusionists who were working to fuse elements of all sorts of music together to form new sounds. I saw him as the first mainstream new music composer; but this album isn't like that so much. Its newness is more subtle. It does not really sound like anything else that's been out there before, while not using any exotic elements.

Josh is profoundly creative, one of the most revolutionary forces in music today, a real genius -- one who picks up the torch of classical music and moves it in new directions. And, yet, there is that hypnotic singability of some of the choruses.

Josh considers this to be essentially a "live" album. Many songs were "one take." And, yet, you don't notice. It is all apparently flawless.

Instruments: predominantly piano and strings

Comments about some individual songs -- all having a rich and soaring sound, BTW:

Wandering kind: an instrumental piece composed by Josh when he was 12, with added musicians. Complex, beautiful, cheerful

Bells of New York City: minor, mournful

Galileo: A cover of an Irish song by Declan O'Rourke. This is the one song I find annoying on here. While a pretty song, it takes as its theme bemusement at the idea of a scientist falling in love and not finding a scientific explanation for his feelings. As a scientist, I find this offensive, as it seems to imply that scientists are not naturally human and that it's odd for us to be just like everyone else.

L'Ora Dell'Adio: the most operatic of these pieces. It really show cases the maximum magnificence of Josh's voice. Lyrics in Italian.

Hidden Away: the first released single of which there is an official music video featuring Miss Kentucky 2009. This starts out with a very sweet, pop-like tone, but deteriorates into a sequence with many rough transitions between baritone and falsetto. This is not my favorite one of the songs musically, but it's starting to grow on me. It has a very nice message about trying to be positive and loving, rather than keeping warmth inside.

Au Jardin de sans pourquoi: I find this one particularly beautiful, though he does have a tendency to go back and forth over the same interval a lot. Lyrics in French. one of the few where Josh wrote the music alone, though it's considered a "cover" of another piece, presumably because of the words)

Higher Window: a very beautiful, but sad love song about a man who may have missed his chance after initially rejecting a woman.

If I Walk Away: This is a love song with a very catchy & singable chorus. A fun one.

Love Only Knows: Another one with a very catchy and singable chorus -- very hard to get out of my head, but leaving me with a feeling that this guy is ultimately going to get hurt.

Voce Existe in Mim: This is my personal favorite. It has a huge sound with very unusual sequences, where the voice is not so dominant and the instrumentals are very strong. This is probably the most experimental sounding one, and features a large all female drumming group. Lyrics in Portuguese.

War at Home: This one has a slight hint of country sound. It's about soldiers who have suffered in war. Josh wrote this after a visit to Walter Reed Hospital. It's very, very moving -- very hard to get out of my head. I predict that this is going to be the most popular out of this album.

London Hymn: This is heavy on the instrumentals, with Josh blending in, very orchestral and choral. In Latin.

Straight to You: a cover of a rock song by Nick Cave. Well, if you're a rock fan, you won't like it. If you're a pop/classical fan, you wouldn't like the original and will like this one much better.

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Addendum

After listening to this at least five more times now, I am struck by a pervasive sadness about the thing. It sounds like Josh's love life hasn't been going very well. There is a sense of yearning in all the songs -- of pain, really. Josh is such a clown in his spoken life, and sometimes he wonders why people think he is so serious, but the music sounds very serious, almost grim.

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Second Addendum

In his "Before We Begin" concert at Union Chapel, Josh explained that "London Hymn" was written in London, shortly after he wrote "The War at Home." It is a sort of quiet requiem piece that has afterthoughts about his visit to Walter Reed Hospital.

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Third addendum

In his "Before We Begin" concert in Toronto, Jan. 13, Josh explained that "Au jardin des sans pourquoi" had lyrics written by Rufus Wainwright and his mother, both of whom are or were noted songwriters. though Josh wrote the music . At one of the "Before We Begin" concerts, Wainright came up to ask if the song had made it onto the record. It turned out it was the only song he had written with his mother and she had died shortly thereafter.

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Fourth addendum:

I saw a recent interview where Josh said that "If I Walk Away" was written to his parents and other people in his life who keep him grounded -- to encourage them to continue keeping him grounded.