Jerry Vale - Sings The Great Italian Hits

Valed tears

Jerry Vale had the look, the grin, the hair, the easy comfy comraderie of Italian boys that sang like angels with no rebel intrigue. Perry Como looked like Marlon Brando compared with Jerry.

But Jerry had a style, and a voice that could reach bel-canto tones better than most of the other second tier singers of the '50's. Jerry was not Dean or Tony or good-gracious Frank, but he had a following, mostly due to his friendly nature and willingness to befriend a crowd.

This CD is a sampler of his Italian songs, sung true in dialect and passionate! The recordings are remastered to stereo and sound terrific, much better than the Columbia LPs or worse, 45s.

Note: David Letterman used to have Jerry on his NBC late night show as a sort of an ironic joke...except it made Jerry popular again and showed his great sense of humor! September 21, 2008

fine album of timeless, Italian hits from a great crooner

Jerry Vale Sings The Great Italian Hits is an excellent album of eighteen famous songs performed so sensitively by the great Jerry Vale. Vale could take a song and croon it so well that it sounded fresh and new even if you had heard it a hundred times before! Vale was one of the greatest crooners of the entire twentieth century; and this CD amply proves it.

The track set begins with the single version of Jerry's take on "Innamorata (Sweetheart)." Jerry sings this flawlessly and his excellent diction really enhances his performance. I don't think they needed the chorus in the background while he sang; but at the time that was the style. "Volare" gets the royal treatment from Jerry as he bats this straight out of the ballpark! Jerry handles tempo and key changes very well and the accordion makes the melody very pretty. There's also "Non Dimenticar;" Jerry sings this sweetly and his rendition moves me with its beauty. The accordion again is used to great advantage and Jerry never sings a superfluous note!

"O Sole Mio" features Jerry's vocals front and center and the musical arrangement works well; "O Sole Mio" sounds so good when Jerry sings it passionately. Listen also for Jerry to perform a fine interpretation of "Arrivederci, Roma;" I always liked this song very much and Jerry makes it shine like pure gold! "Al Di La" also has Jerry singing his very best; and the backup vocalists help the melody along while Jerry sings the lyrics.

"Come Back To Sorrento (Torna A Surriento)" has Jerry delivering this with all his heart and soul; Jerry's excellent ability to convey every subtle nuance of the words he sings makes his interpretation of "Come Back To Sorrento (Torna A Surriento)" brilliant. In addition, "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (Io Che Non Vivo Senza Te)" tugs at my heartstrings as Jerry does a flawless cover of this tune which, I believe, was first sung by Dusty Springfield.

"Oh Marie" is soothing to hear even though it's a melancholy ballad; Jerry's voice is so smooth even a sad song performed by Jerry can actually be relaxing! The album ends very nicely with Jerry performing "More;" this may not be a standard Italian song but it fits in very well with the rest of the track set and "More" makes a strong finish for this album.

Overall, Jerry Vale fans won't want to skip this one--get it and enjoy! Even casual fans may want this in their collections; Jerry is at the top of his form here and he sings these ballads with a sensitivity that will easily enchant you.
March 11, 2008

Jerry Vale

Beautiful cd - what a wonderful voice - those were the good old days! March 12, 2007

Beautiful voice

Excellent italian music. Reminiscint of my early days in New York with the Italian-American genre of music. January 12, 2007

the greatest Italian singer ever

First of all, the best Italian-American album ever. Put this in the CD player, pour a glass of wine, sit by the pool, add a little salami, provolone, and tender olives, lite the porch lites out back, and you are back listening to the songs Mama and Papa sang. This CD is so good you cant stop listening to it. I am not kidding. My kids listen to it with me. Mt father-in-law and I would sit by the pool every Sunday night, sip wine and listen to Jerry...it was heaven on Earth...and I miss those nights so much...buy this CD and see for yourself...you will know exactly what I mean. The memories are all we have left. Come join me.
Bobby May 22, 2006

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