Il Divo [DUAL DISC]

Il Divo

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 7, 2005)
• Original Release Date: June 7, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Dual Disc
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0009IW8B2
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,602 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
While not exactly classical crossover's take on The Monkees, this international quartet of young male vocalists from America, France, Spain and Switzerland shares a similar genesis. Assembled after a long talent search and audition process, they were teamed with pop producers Per Magnusson and David Krueger (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys) and Steve Mac (Charlotte Church, Kelly Clarkson) and turned loose on a slate of classical-pop favorites, with a dramatic, dynamically nuanced read of Toni Braxton's signature "Unbreak My Heart" setting the standard. While the deceptive ease of their harmonies belie the group's disparate nationalities and talent search roots on the melodramatic "Hoy Que Ya No Estas Aqui," Morricone's glorious Mission theme, "Nella Fantasia" and the cascading "Passera," the album's pop-oriented material is a decidedly more mixed bag ."Everytime I Look At You" and "Feelings" (not Morris Albert's) soar gracefully, while "The Man You Love" seems more a throwback to the producers' boy band roots. The standard "My Way" and a lovely, bonus cut Italian version of "Unchained Melody" close the album out on a high note, even if their safe familiarity doesn't offer the promising quartet a sufficient musical challenge. --Jerry McCulley

[CD AUDIO SIDE: Entire Album; DVD SIDE: * All 13 Songs in PCM Stereo * "Unbreak My Heart" Music Video * Live From Gotham Hall -Unbreak My Heart -Mama -Nella Fantasia -Passera -My Way.]

More Divine Crooners To Explore

Haunted Heart, Renee Fleming	Stardust, Rod Stewart	Andrea, Andrea Bocelli
Follow Your Heart, Mario Frangoulis	On the Moon, Peter Cincotti	Taking a Chance on Love, Jane Monheit

Product Description
CD AUDIO SIDE: Entire Album

DVD SIDE: * All 13 Songs in PCM Stereo * "Unbreak My Heart" Music Video * Live From Gotham Hall -Unbreak My Heart -Mama -Nella Fantasia -Passera -My Way

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This review is for the dual-disc only...., June 12, 2005

By	J. Fryer "Judi, Entertainment-glutton" (Nicholasville, KY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is NOT about the 'content' of the dual-disc containing the CD and the DVD.

The content would get a five (5) star rating, although the lighting on the DVD side is a little dark in some spots.

The 'sound quality' (I am not much an expert on techology, so I do not believe I can use the correct terminology to make my point)is less than great on the CD side. The sound of this group is amazing and the sound is what their work is all about. To listen to it in anything less than perfect sound quality is to deny yourself the true full beauty of their performance.

More importantly, there is a sticker on the disc (outside the sealed packaging) which indicates that the CD format may not play on all CD players. That is true, I have four CD players at home and in my car and one at work. This CD played on three of the five only. The lackluster sound quality discussed above was not related to any of the three players, but rather the CD format itself.

I cannot understand or explain why this information was not divulged before the purchaser has the CD in their possession. Of course, I can't explain either why the 'sticker' was added on after the CD was packaged, sort of like an after-thought.

Inside there is another printed notice loose in the jewel case explaining 'what' a 'dual disc' is. It also says at the end of the text that the CD might not play on all CD players.

I presume the consumer is supposed to use logic to figure ahead of time that they would not receive the exact same CD as the original as well as a DVD for the same price. Never mind that the buyer might think it is a true bargain. That isn't necessarily so. Perhaps one could be expected to know about the make-up and comlexites of a 'dual-disc'. I admit I did not have that knowledge.

If you have several players and aren't picky which ones will play the CD and if you are not necessarily interested in the fine sound quality of most CDs produced today, then by all means consider purchasing the 'dual disc' for the bargin value. Otherwise, purchase the original CD so that you can fully enjoy the great sound of this awesome group.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Singers Prevail, November 14, 2005

By	Sam Hunckery (WA United States) - See all my reviews

What a blend of vocal music genres with astonishing sounds from four men from four countries singing in different languages!

For regular listeners of classical vocal music who tend to be musically conservative, this will open your eyes and ears. The men of "Il Divo" are, without a doubt, properly trained singers in the classical genres. The quartet applys their trained vocal techniques to certain "pop" sounding passages -- their imitation of "pop-ish" lyricism rivals any singers in the music industry. I my opinion, they are arguably better singers than most "pop" singers whose popularity is supported only by marketing without a true product of talent.

For those listeners whose ears are used to popular commercial vocal music, this album will sound strictly "classical" or "operatic" to you. If you refuse listening to operatic vocal music, this album is not for you -- it may be your subsitutute of sleeping medication. However, if you are musically curious, this is a very interesting album to have -- the sound of "Il Divo" may change your mind about "old school" music.

Enjoy the sea of beautiful harmonic sound of "Il Divo"!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another Dual-Disc review, September 7, 2005

By	Andrew Siew (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being a fan of the group and having purchased the CD-DA version of the album only a while ago, the only reason I purchased this Dual-Disc is because I couldn't seem to find the video content of this disc anywhere else in the market on a regular DVD-Video.

The Dual-Disc doesn't appear to be any thicker or bulkier than a regular dual-sided DVD; The DVD-Video side of the disc plays well on every DVD player / recorder I have at home, but the CD side is somewhat difficult to access on a few of my optical drives. Here's the list:

Sony

DVP-NC615 (2002 5-Disc Changer) - Yes
RDR-HX910 (2005 HDD/DVD Recorder) - Yes
CMT-DV2D (2005 Micro Hi-Fi With MultiDisc playback) - No
MDP-V10 (1997 LaserDisc/VideoCD/CD player) - Slow access, yet plays
D-N520 (2004 CD-Walkman with Atrac3plus/CD-RW capability) - Yes
LBT-N555AVK (1997 Midi-HiFi With 5-Disc (CD-DA only) Changer) - Yes
VCP-S555 (1997 VCD/CD Player) - No

Optical Drives

LiteOn (8x) DVD+/-RW Drive - No
LiteOn (16x10x40x) CD-RW Drive - Yes
Generic CD-ROM Drive (Year 2000) - Yes

I hope the list will help a few fans to decide whether it's safe to purchase the disc; the age of the player/drive doesn't appear to be a playability factor here; my experiment indicates that high-end multidisc players/recorder will have a better chance of accessing the audio side of the disc as do traditional CD-DA playback only machines.

The audio quality of the CD side is the same as a regular CD, so if your optical disc player can play both sides flawlessly, this package would be a good bargain.

What I don't understand is why would RIAA introduce a disc format that doesn't even conform to the CD-DA standard; If there isn't a technical reason behind it, I seriously doubt that this format will last long in the market.