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 | Title : Josh Groban in Concert (with Bonus DVD)
Author : Afanasieff, Walter
Release Date : 20021203
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $29.98
Amazon.com Price : $23.99
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Editorial Reviews :
Josh Groban in Concert has all the ingredients to be a long-running PBS staple: a young (21), good-looking performer with a golden voice; songs in Italian and Spanish for the crossover crowd (i.e., Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman) and pop and movie songs for the mainstream; guest stars galore (David Foster, John Williams, Angie Stone, Andrea Corr, Lili Haydn); a large orchestra; and striking but not obtrusive visual effects. The centerpiece of this DVD-CD combo (also available in a DVD keepcase) is the 80-minute concert DVD, filmed in Pasadena in October 2002 and featuring numerous songs from Groban's debut CD, including 'You're Still You,' which catapulted him into stardom when he sang it on TV's Ally McBeal. There are also two new songs--the ballad 'Broken Vow,' with Groban accompanied by Foster, and 'For Always,' with the orchestra conducted by John Williams, who wrote the song for the Steven Spielberg film A.I..
The 37-minute CD offers seven songs performed in the concert (including the two not on the previous CD, 'Broken Vow' and 'For Always'), plus 'O Holy Night.' The DVD has excellent picture and sound (PCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS), interviews, and backstage footage, and the combination with the CD is an excellent value. Groban's fans, of course, will consider it a treasure at any price.
Buyer Reviews :
I should preface this by saying that I could technically be considered an opera snob. I'll take Renee Fleming over Sarah Brightman any day, and I laugh when people say that Andrea Bocelli is an opera singer.
That said, Groban is probably one of the finest young tenors out there. And I mean young. He hasn't reached his vocal prime yet and still has plenty of room for improvement. But if he walked into my voice studio, I wouldn't turn him away. He has considerable raw talent, and the good thing is that he will (hopefully) just keep getting better. But still, he would probably get blown off the stage were he to sing next to any of the 3 Tenors. I do hope he will continue to study and cultivate his voice. While it has a lovely quality, his voice can be quite thin and strident at times. He also needs help smoothing out his phrasing and needs to work on singing vowels. He still sings Italian and French like they're a foreign language, and even though they are to him, he needs to work on that if he wants to be taken seriously. At times, it was just painful to listen to his pronunciation of the Italian in 'The Prayer.' Additionally, with more breath support, he could produce a much larger, fuller sound that could rival any of the top operatic tenors.
But this collection of pop standards and classic numbers showcases his formidable raw talent. I'm not much of a fan of 'Vincent,' but it serves Groban's voice well. 'The Prayer' is actually quite understated and lovely, and I prefer his version to Bocelli's. Groban's diction is less sloppy and he has more control of his voice.
It features a number of guest apperances, probably too many for a solo concert. I'd draw the line at two or three, but Groban has at least five. Andrea Corr is lovely as usual and adds a little Celtic flair. The Uillean pipes are also gorgeous. (However, I did find it bizarre that Groban would share how many records the Corrs have sold in his introduction of Andrea.) Angie Stone makes a nice duet partner on 'The Prayer,' singing with a great deal of heart and tenderness. The haunting 'Let Me Fall' shows the pathos and beauty his voice is capable of. If only he had been that consistent throughout the rest of the performance. One major low spot is the overblown 'Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring,' featuring singer/violinist Lili Haydn. She sings AND plays, but let's just say she should stick to the violin, so the song is essentially wasted. Groban would have better served to duet with someone who just sings, instead of Haydn attempting to multi-task.
Perhaps Groban's greatest challenge will be his decision to become a 'crossover' artist or a straight-up opera singer. He has the potential to do both, and personally, I hope he leans toward the latter. He may lose some of his fan base, but I'd rather see him sing 'Turandot' at the Met than do watered down versions of 'Nessun Dorma.'
All in all, this collection heralds great things to come for Groban. He still has room to grow, which is encouraging, but let's hope he doesn't get lazy with all the gushing adoration he gets from his 'Grobanites,' who would stand up and scream if he was reading the back of a cereal box.
(by Roisin the Irish Princess)
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