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Elly Roberts reviews
Warner Brothers
- Released: December 2008
- Rating: 8/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Moving up to No.24 on the UK charts (w/c 22nd Dec) Joshua Winslow Groban has created a clever niche for himself, amassing 25 million sales.
In what he does, he has no competition, at all, though pretenders to the throne like X-Factor Welshman Rhydian are posing stiff competition.
To date, Grobans pulling power has been classic singles February Song and You Raise Me Up, with the former self-penned. Other originals (collaborations) are Awake, Per Te, and Remember When It Rained, with hitmakers Albert Hammond, Abbas Benny and Bjorn, Ennio Morricone , Richard Marx, Linda Thompson and Charlie Chaplin, (yes the moustached little tramp) adding to the repertoire.
When you begin to analyse Grobans appeal, its based on pseudo classical-operetta leanings (he stood in for Andrea Bocelli at the 1999 Grammy Awards) with bags of crossover oomph and mucho romantico for the chicks, which are probably the same middle-aged brigade that also go for Michael Buble, Il Divo et al.
One thing above his contemporaries, he can sing, brilliantly, in his range you only need to check the live Anthem for proof. Weeping, a gospel masterpiece with the Soweto Gospel Choir is equally impressive stuff. Hes already hinted hed like to go into musical theatre, so the likes of Michael Ball and co. must be quaking in their show-time booties.
For me, Groban scores his Brownie points with swooning ballads in their simplest of formats such as Alejate, with just enough orchestration to avoid the saccharine bowl.
Morricones stunning tear-jerking ballad, sung in Italian, is possibly the key moment here, showing he can deliver the sentiment in a, for what is, to him a foreign language.
Disc 2 is a selection of Crimbo covers, very well done in his inimitable style, though hell never match Mario Lanza or Beniamino Giglis Ave Maria.
File under: Top singer.
Weblinks:joshgroban.com /myspace.com/joshgroban
The full list of tracks included are :
Disc 1:
1. Oceano
2. February Song
3. You Are Loved (Dont Give Up)
4. You Raise Me Up
5. In Her Eyes
6. Awake
7. Alla Luce Del Sole
8. To Where You Are
9. Anthem (Live from Chess In Concert)
10. Per Te
11. Remember When It Rained
12. Weeping (Live) with Vusi Mahlasa and Soweto Gospel Choir
13. Alejate
14. Hymn A LAmour
15. Cinema Paradiso (Se)
16. Smile
Disc 2:
1. Silent Night
2. Little Drummer Boy
3. Ave Maria
4. Panis Angelicus
5. Petit Papa Noel
6. Noche De Paz (Silent Night)
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Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.