AlegrA­a

Hard to believe its so good after all this time

Released in 1994, this album is still one of my favorites. When I'm feeling down, I pull out Alegria and my troubles seem so small and far away. This one is a 5 star keeper. October 5, 2007

Has lived in my player for weeks!

This is one of the better Cirque titles. Typically, Cirque de Soleil will produce excellent quality music, and I have not been disappointed yet. But for some reason, this disc stays in my CD player. I find the vocals on Alegria to be captivating, and maybe that's why I have been listening to it time and again. July 9, 2007

Title Tune is Reason Enough to Buy Alegria

It's OK to read the other reviews. I more or less agree -- depending on the review. What I don't think is emphasized enough, though, is just how special the title tune, "Alegria" is. Francesca's style and this great sentimental tune have a great synergy. You may love eggnog and you may like a nice oily aromatic nutmeg. Put the two together and you now can add that item to your list of something that's just too good. It's not an exact analogy, though. Francesa's voice is not the nutmeg or the eggnog; neither is the tune. Yes, synergy is all I'm getting at. But my "nutmeg and eggnog" makes that somewhat dry notion of synergy more palpable. And THAT is what Alegria is like: palpable. The first exposure to this song and you will find it quite beautiful. So much so that I thought it was Bel Canto singing style. Maybe, but probably not. But like someone who is truly a good person as well as a person you love, you love this song more when you see how repeated exposure can still bring such delight. Of course anything can be overdone. So there are a couple of other good tunes and plenty of atmospheric sounds on the CD. But when you do go back to Alegria again, you will again find it such a special song. It is like there is a profundity to be found in its sentimentality. I can't say I know of any other song like that. Songs are substantive in fun (like the Unicorn, or Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream Album) or substantive in joy or substantive in sadness (plenty of those!), but I don't believe I have ever come to believe in profundity in a song because it was dripping with sentimentality. Incidentally, the CD has excellent sound quality. So why not 5 stars? I guess I feel I've been doing "star inflation" -- especially on music. Or maybe it was the super Egmont overture by Beethoven I recently listened to. Talk about profundity! (Yeppers, I've reviewed several Egmont recordings; have a look.) Anyway, the title tune is so very special: it is a beguiling mix of profundity, sentimentality and Francesca's unusual voice. It's an almost addictive synergy (like nutmeg and eggnog). May 15, 2007

some fun, eh?

Hey, can you imagine, a musical review inspired by anti-histamines? Way cool! Those Quebecois think of everything! October 6, 2006

Must buy

If you want to experience how music control your emotion, you must buy this CD October 2, 2006

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