Il Divo - Live at the Greek (2006)

What are they doing???????

There are many musical icons that I adore and to whose voice or music I was instantly attracted. Admittedly,there were some musical tracks that I needed to replay in order to understand them. As long as the element of good music/talent is there, the artist is granted a space to explore different horizons and new musical experiences, a good example of that is Mario Franguolis' new Album "follow your heart", where Mario wanted put his personal stamp of values and music.

I don't mind young artists who respect the audience's taste and work hard to perform and please. Some failures in finding the right words/music or finding that personal touch should be forgiven when the talent exists, but these four young men, who have nothing but youth, are not singers. I don't care how many poses they strike on the stage or how expensive their suites are, they are pathetically just boys screaming randomly. I felt sorry for the musicians who played on the stage and for myself for wasting valuable time opening and watching that DVD.

I remember how wonderfully Andrea Bocelli sang the songs of Neil Diamond and Elvis, and how respectfully Mario Frangoulis sang "nights in white satin". It is sad how great pop hits like "unbreak my heart" was tortured by these four boys.

The geniuses that created this DVD as a quick money making scheme, should be indicted for crimes against musicality for inflicting this tortuous musical mélange on humanity.

I experienced total disbelief watching, the relatively small audience, crying and dancing to that singing (I'm kind of embarrassed calling it singing). The ladies are probably the boys' mothers and the mothers' girl friends.

Nothing personal, but when it comes to music and books, I just can't compromise.

September 11, 2008

Worth your time!

This is well worth having. About the best I have seen yet of Il Divo. You cannot go wrong owning this one. The sound is great & well recorded. A frine fine group of guys. September 5, 2008

Awesome theatrics

This group not only sounds great and not only do they have a good arranger, they perform spectacularly. August 4, 2008

Entertaining, But for Some of the Wrong Reasons

I have to admit, I cheated on this one and saw the performance not once, but a few times on PBS, used as a vehicle for their interminable funding drives. In retrospect, I doubt that I would have purchased it.

Il Divo has an interesting sound, utilizing the talents of three lesser opera lights and a lounge singer. I find their "Three Ring Circus" approach to harmony, each freely working within the tune, pleasing to the ear. It gives a feeling of energy and the quality of their voices blend, even as they use them in accordance with their own feelings. If I were interested in close harmony, I would be listening to a barbershop quartet. The music selection has become a bit hackneyed, appearing in most of what they have recorded, but gives solid vehicles to showcase their talents.

The video, on the other hand, is amusing for all the wrong reasons. The heavy handed Cowell approach is most apparent, as each number is preceded by posing in various corners of the stage. Even as they perform, there is almost a mechanical assumption of supposed casual attitudes by each member of the troupe, whether leaning against components of the set or against one another. Now, perhaps they need not stand there woodenly and sing, but the stiff histrionics detract, rather than add to the quality of the performance. These are four talented and attractive young men (with, I fear, one possible exception) and their personalities are sufficient to have the desired effect on the female audience. The fashion model posturing is simply overkill.

It is obvious that each of them enjoys the effect they have on the audience, but Carlos' clownish portrayal of the "Latin lover" persona he exudes is well over the top. From the ever present sneer and hair curl carefully dropped onto his forehead (with a closeup giving the definite impression that said curl might well be a tonsorial addition, not natural growth) he makes a travesty of the boyish innocence the others present. A bit of a shame, too, as his voice can stand on its own with this material.

Anyone who has watched this group's history is well aware of the fact that after putting out CDs in machine gun fashion, the mill has grown strangely silent over the past year and a half. Has Cowell decide that their shelf life is about up? Did their last CD fall flat? Did the team solidarity break down? There appears to be no reason for them to have disappeared (at least in terms of recording). If indeed, they are on the down swing, it would be sad. They do have a great deal to offer artistically and I think with a solid background of audience acceptance, at least the three classical voices might try for deeper water, exercising some well earned training and significant talent in more demanding musical undertakings.

And, even though English is not considered the most melodious of languages, they might find that there is no crime in recording a song in the language in which it was originally written. July 7, 2008

Il Divo Life

This a great video. I have bought several copies to give to friends. It is something you can watch over and over. May 27, 2008

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