Indeed, such were his fortunes that the young Foster protege was forced to drop out of Carnegie Mellon when professional commitments--including this record--interfered. And if this collection tends to hew sometimes uncomfortably close to Foster's own MOR sonic instincts, the material offers enough challenges to display Groban's talent and the potential of his warm, mature voice: a lyrical take on another Morricone classic, "Cinema Paradiso"; melancholy readings of Don McLean's "Starry, Starry Night" and Albert Hammond's "Alejate"; masterfully dramatic takes of the Neapolitan "Alla Luca Del Sole" and "Canto Alla Vita," the latter featuring the Corrs. Many of Groban's performances here, including a neo prog-rock-opera take on Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (with Lili Haydn), seem both bigger and bolder than their precious musical frameworks, a telling hint that Grand Opera can't be far from his grasp. As said earlier, there are worse things in life. --Jerry McCulley

I received the CD today, and I was right about his talent. The maturity of this voice is astounding, and it's not forced. He has a beautiful natural voice that has obviously been honed and well-coached for years.

My only fear about this CD was the production, which can ruin a perfectly good performance. It turned out to not be as intrusive as I thought it would be, although I'm not nuts about some of the mixes... buy hey, to each his own.

I can't get enough of the second track, "Gira Con Me". Walter Afanasieff never fails to amaze me with his touch. Here's a guy I have tried to hate for years, because his name was on every liner note that I read, but I'm just unable to criticize his work.

The third track, "You're Still You", a portion of which was the reason I bought the album, is a very nice song... at least through the first verse. Then the synth rythm kicks in and, although it doesn't ruin the song, I usually don't last much longer into it. This song is the one that he sang on Ally McBeal, from what I hear... can't believe I missed that episode.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear some very good spanish diction on Alejate -- and one other song, I think -- to round out the English and Italian also heard on this album. It's a nice song, too. It was a real pleasure to hear Don McLean's "Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)", which is a great song and very well arranged and performed.

Track 12 was a big surprise, with JS Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". I didn't know there were English lyrics... heck, I dind't know there were ANY lyrics. Josh's performance is grand... the arrangement was weird, but moving nevertheless, especially the minor portion that always think of as "the bridge" (was that an electric guitar I heard?). Very interesting track, and I can't help but like it in spite of the liberties taken with one of my favorites of Bach's work.

My least favorite part of the album, hands down, is Charlotte Church. How cruel to Charlotte it seems to me to put these two singers side by side on the same recording. Every remembers the Bocelli/Dion duet of "The Prayer", which was as close to perfect as I care to judge. In this new recording, Josh nails Bocelli's performance, but is overshadowed through most of the piece by Charlotte's best impression of Celine Dion. Ouch.

All in all, I will enjoy listening to Josh's voice for a good long time, I anxiously await his next effort, I hope he doesn't get overpromoted like Charlotte Church and Andre Bocelli have, and I honestly wish him all the best. His voice is genuninely beautiful.


Move Over Andrea!   January 25, 2002
 148 out of 159 found this review helpful

This kid is blessed with an absolutely beautiful voice, developed far beyond his mere 20 years. If you like powerful vocal music you MUST add this CD to your collection. Josh sings a variety of styles and languages, all "smoothed" together by the magic of David Foster. From the first beats of the first track (Alla Luce del Sole) to the final notes of the second to last track (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring) this CD is pure ear candy.

I agree with many other reviewers that The Prayer falls short. Charlotte Church's voice sounds weak. Of course, it doesn't help that this song follows Jesu, featuring the etheral beauty of Lili Haydn. It's like following Death by Chocolate Cake with instant coffee.


Exceptional   January 22, 2002
 103 out of 103 found this review helpful

Is he singing about ravioli? I wouldn't know, I don't speak Italian. I wouldn't care if he was, his Italian songs are so beautiful and romantic as well as those in English and Spanish. This is an extremely talented young man with an exceptional gift. A voice beyond his years and beyond belief. I don't know if it's possible to wear out a CD, but if so, I'm well on my way.
I have played this CD over and over and I truly never tire of it.
Josh sings with such maturity and such feeling it filters thru your ears and into the soul. If you really love a beautiful voice, treat yourself to this CD. . The only track I can criticize is The Prayer with Charlotte Church, I feel her voice is too weak to blend with Josh's. It would have been better for him to go solo. I can't recommend this CD highly enough.


Another U S A Gold   January 22, 2002
 97 out of 98 found this review helpful

Its been awhile since the U S has had a Baritone it could brag about, but we have one now. Josh Groban has shown that at age 20, he is way ahead of schedule as a superstar and should be providing us with album after album of classic pieces for decades. His debut album is already at #2 with Amazon and if it has been classified as classical or classical crossover instead of pop, he would have been the first in either of those aforementioned categories to achieve that ranking on Amazon. The only negative aspect of this album is his duet with Charlotte Church, one of the most over-hyped singers in history. Church needed Josh on her album but he doesn't need her on his as she is clearly not in his class. If he wants to team up in the future, possibly joining Bryn Terfel and another Baritone to form the 3 Baritones would be really exciting. In the meantime, enjoy one of the most refreshing male voices to emerge on the U.S. music scene in quite some time.


U S A's Own   January 23, 2002
 95 out of 96 found this review helpful

I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to have an American voice like Josh Groban's enter upon the music scene. He is certainly destined to be one of the great singers in history and this CD should be the first of at least a couple dozen. Most impressive is his range and the various genre of music he can sing with equal brilliance. As some others have mentioned, I am also of the opinion he should not do duets with singers like Charlotte Church. The only thing memorable about "their" song, The Prayer, was Josh's voice. They do not harmonize and it sounds like a grown man singing with a little girl despite the fact they are only about 4 years apart in age. Josh has done some beautiful duets with Sarah Brightman and Lara Fabian and should stick with these legitimate divas. Josh's voice on the "Prayer" duet was the only good thing about Charlotte Church's album and her voice the only negative item on Josh's. Puting that aside, this will be one of the top albums of 2001-2002 - all genres.