35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of out Bocelli, Groban, and Frangoulis, March 9, 2005
This review is from: Insieme a Te (Audio CD)
I apologise for the length of this review, but I wanted to be as detailed as possible. This review is for Safina's albums in general, but a description of this album is included.
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mesmerizing and Passionate, April 20, 2007
This review is from: Insieme a Te (Audio CD)
The first time I heard the song INSIEME A TE on a compilation CD, I was mesmerized - I had to find out who the singer was. I fell in love with that voice; dark, majestic, powerful and quite unlike the tenor voices I've heard before.
The very first time I listened to this CD in its entirety, I was totally blown away. The songs on this album are all superbly arranged and beautifully sung. I love the fact that they are all originals. Just listen to track no. 6 ('Stu Bbene) if you want to know just how passionate and expressive Mr Safina can sing.
I think he deserves so much more recognition than what he's getting now. On my part, I will keep buying his CDs. I'm eagerly awaiting his next album, Sognami, due out some time middle of this year.
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