Customer Reviews

Vincent Laguardia Gambini Sings Just for You

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is actually Joe Pesci's second album. His hard to find first album came out in 1968 and consisted mostly of covers of Beatles and Bee Gees songs (I actually have a copy of it). Thirty years later, he released this second album. It is ostensibly performed as the character he played in My Cousin Vinny, but some of the songs don't seem to be performed by Vinny. For example, in the song "Wise Guy", he refers to himself as "Pesci". Anyway, most of the songs here are played for laughs, but some of them are done more or less seriously. The songs that are played for laughs are fairly amusing, although most of laughs come from hearing Joe sing vulgarities. As for the serious songs, they are fairly decent, but Joe is no Tony Bennett. But I will admit that this album is better than most albums recorded by actors.

When I first saw this on the shelves, I thought to myself, "oh no, not ANOTHER album by some movie/TV celebrity who thinks he has singing ability!" If it isn't a Star Trek alum (Shatner, Nimoy, Nichelle 'Uhura' Nichols, Brent 'Data' Spiner, and Tim 'Tuvok' Russ) manglin' the hits, it's some sports figure (Iverson, Shaq, Deion, et al) rappin' it up. But, after borrowing Joe Pesci's 'Vincent LaGuardia Gambini' CD from a former co-worker, I was in for a pleasant surprise: I discovered the guy who answers half of George Carlin's prayers isn't all that bad when it comes to musical talent!

Joe Pesci combines the qualities of his notable mob characters from 'GoodFellas' and 'Casino', and throws in a bit of his comedic personas from 'The Super', 'My Cousin Vinny', and the 'Lethal Weapon' flicks into a reasonable and delightfully profane lounge act. I dare say Joe may provide a real challenge against Howard Stern's Losers in a battle of the bands competition!

The big highlights of this album include 'Yo Cousin Vinny', which features a little bit of old-country Italy charm mixed with the average Joe's (Doh!) gripes about his ne'er-do-well relatives always hittin' him up for favors. Pesci even takes a crack at this tune in Italian and Spanish! 'Wise Guy' is his somewhat mellow effort at rap, which recounts a day in the life of a mob hood. 'Take Your Love And Shove It', with its fast-paced jazz beat, is about as far away from low key & touchy-feely as a breakup song can get. Joe gets his wiseguy blues on in 'I've Got News For You'. The Ballad of 'Robbie Hood' puts a modern & subversive spin on the classic tale of wealth redistribution. Oh yeah, let's not forget a cut to celebrate the yuletide. This is where 'If It Doesn't Snow For Christmas' comes in. One can just imagine Burl Ives turnin' in his grave with this tune! And what is a celebrity album without a badly-mangled cover? Hence 'What a Wonderful World'. The weird part is, he doesn't use the word 'wonderful' in the song at all!

I'm glad Mr. Pesci showed some restraint when he recorded this- he refrained from using the f-word on two of his songs! If that ain't holdin' back a bit, I don't know what is...!

A lot of reviewers ignore or dismiss a truth in this disc: Pesci's not a bad jazz singer. While it's pretty obvious that most of the songs on this disc are clearly intended to go straight to the hands of Dr. Demento ("Take Your Love and Shove It" is justly praised as the Single Man's Lament), some, like the sublime "How Do You Like Me, So Far" have a smooth smokiness that cries out for a bourbon and soda. I'd be perfectly happy to hear Pesci follow it up, this time freed from all expectations of camp. Pretty decent.

Where to start.. well.. I don't know whether to die laughing or recoil in horror. but I do know that it is the best album ever..

The funniest thing about it is that Joe Pesci sings... I don't think the songs themselves are particularly funny.. but there are some hilarious lyrics ("your brother didn't like me I hit him with a truck")

I recommend this Cd to anyone. It is entertaining only because of it's stupidity factor.

Fans of the guitarist Pat Martino should note that he plays on this album. Interestingly when Pat met Joe after his brain operation Joe said, "you don't remember me do you". Pat said, "yeah, your the famous actor, my cousin vinny". He did not remember that they were friends before his operation. There are many other notable celebrities and musicians on this record. Personnel includes: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei (vocals); Tom "T-Bone" Wolk (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, accordion, piano, celeste, bass, background vocals); David Spinozza (acoustic, nylon string & electric guitars); Tommy DeVito (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Pat Martino (guitar); Lenny Pickett (flute, alto & tenor saxophones); Lawrence Feldman (flute, tenor saxophone); Robert Franceshini (tenor saxophone); Ronnie Cuber (baritone saxophone); Lew Soloff, Byron Stripling, Barry Danielian (trumpet); Ozzie Melendez (trombone); David Bargeron (bass trombone); Chris Palmeri (piano); Cory Rooney (keyboards); Zev Katz (acoustic bass); Shawn Pelton (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion); The Barrio Boyzz (background vocals).

Recorded at The Hit Factory and Sony Music Studios, New York, New York.
Engineers include: Glen Marchese, Jason Goldstein.
Audio Mixers: Glen Marchese; Tony Maserati.

Mike McGonigal, what kinda review is that? Pesci is actually pretty good! I think I'll ignore your reviews from now on.

Ok, this CD rocks! I don't know who put the wrong music samples on this website but the CD itself rocks.

Sincerely,
$(@rf@(e

Oh yes, this is funny. "Take Your Love........." is a very meaningful song, especially if you recently broke up with someone. The entire CD is great. It's also a cultural experience if you understand Spanish and English.

It may be odd to hear, but Joe Pesci, known wiseguy in his roles in Raging Bull, Casino, and Goodfellas can also sing. The first cut is the funniest thing I have ever heard. "Take your love and shove it up your big fat..." It is worth buying just to listen to cut after cut of Joe Pesci, singing.

This is quite an entertaining album, not the best singer in the world, but still funny and worth the purchase!