Customer Reviews

Mainly Romantic [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED]

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This disc makes one point clearly: LaRosa was in great voice when these recordings were made back in the late 50's and early 60's. His barritone was smooth and powerful; and he worked very hard at communicating the music he was singing. If only the quality of the sound on these tracks was better. If only LaRosa was given the quality of back-up instrumentals that were afforded to Sinatra. Then this disc would not have been just good. It would have been a classic.

This CD is a collection of both live and studio recordings from the late 1950's and early 1960's. The live performances, probably from live TV, display a singer with the confidence to do just about anything he wants with his voice. There are no second chances with live performances and he never falters. He had a big voice, a wide range and could swing. Even if you have some his studio recordings from this period the live performances are well worth owning.

The small group recordings are also very well done. It also takes a lot of confidence and talent to sing with a quartet. There is nowhere to hide. As it was pointed out on the liner notes of one of his MGM albums, Julius La Rosa did not need the "Guns of Navarone" in the background when he sang.

There are a number of younger male vocalists who are popular today. None of them have the great voices of Julius La Rosa, Vic Damone, Steve Lawrence or any the other great male singers of the 1950's and 1960's.

The sound quality may be up to the standards of today but and I have heard much worse coming out of the studio recordings of major record labels.

I admit that I am a fan of Julius La Rosa's singing. I've collected most of his studio albums on either CD or LP. I recently purchased this CD and am very pleased with it.
The CD "Better Than Ever", recorded in 1996, might be more to the liking of someone who does not own any of his CDs. The 1985 CD "Julius La Rosa" on Project 3 is also an excellent CD.

Most of the tracks on this disc were drawn from syndicated public service shows done by and for the Treasury Department (savings bonds plan) in the early 1960s. While not recorded in stereo, the sound quality is perfectly adequate for anyone used to listening to records of the period. More importantly, La Rosa's voice was nearing its peak at the time, and it's wonderful to hear him turned loose on standards that he was seldom permitted to record commercially. The original 16" transcription discs are hard to come by - and how many reading this have a turntable that could play them? - so if you want to hear these first-rate examples of La Rosa tackling the Great American Songbook (just look at that song selection!), get this disc while it's available! Maybe someday RCA/BMG/Sony will reissue his one (1956) RCA album with some bonus tracks? Yeah, right, like they care about what's in their vault!

I recently saw a movie on TCM called "LET'S ROCK!" (AKA "KEEP IT COOL.") starring Julius La Rosa, Phyllis Newman, and Della Reese. The movie isn't much at all, but I definitely took notice of La Rosa, all right!! In it, he plays a ballad singer who refuses to sing rocknroll and, consequently, sees his record sales slip. The same thing apparently happened to La Rosa. (In the movie, his character sings a nonsensical "rocknroll" song-- something about partying all night with hot dogs, lemonade, and a stack of records-- that miraculously and instantly puts him back on top. I kid you not!) I knew very little about La Rosa himself, except that he was very publicly and ridiculously fired by Arthur Godfrey.
The ultra-smooth tracks on "Mainly Romantic" serve as an excellent La Rosa primer, presenting him at his best. La Rosa seems to have suffered from comparisons to Sinatra. Well, I never cared much for Sinatra. I'd much rather listen to La Rosa. And judging from the material on "Mainly Romantic", La Rosa can hold his own quite well alongside Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, and Nat King Cole. La Rosa swings most of the standards included here, Las Vegas Style, and I mean that in the best possibe way. This album will serve as an excellent soundtrack for a cocktail party if you are nostalgic for the Swinging Las Vegas style of the early 1960's.
My favorites of the 23 Tracks are "Out Of This World", "You Don't Know What Love Is", "Let Me Sing And I'm Happy," "My Romance," "When The Sun Comes Out," "Gonna Build A Mountain" and "A Fine Romance." He sings
"Just Say I Love Her" half in Italian and half in English.
I haven't the faintest idea what "My Favorite Things" from "THE SOUND OF MUSIC" is doing on this particular CD. La Rosa clearly has no idea what "snitzel with noodles" are, but then again, does anybody? On the second time around, I'm practically certain he substitutes "warm noodles and little french poodles." It's a silly song anyway, and, as regards the rest, if you love smooth, sexy, male ballad singers, you gotta love La Rosa. As the liner notes state; while he may not be a "star" in terms of record sales, La Rosa certainly is a singing star by any standard of his, or any other, era.