RoR: Forum

There are two things of note about this CD. One is that it contains *several* definitive performances, including the 'Some Day' of which Muriel has written so eloquently. Two is that another of those definitive performances is the sensational rendering of Che Gelida Manina from La Boheme. I would be interested for the younger folk here to purchase & critique, since everything about these performances embodies everything they have been brainwashed so successfully into despising: sincerity, honest sentimentality, beautiful diction as opposed to mumbling, a beautiful voice, intelligently used, as opposed to Rod Stewart-type sandpaper rasped out by a moron, melody as opposed to jungle repetition ... & so it goes. Now, in the past, when I have said this sort of thing, the apologists for headbanging caterwauling have simply gone nuts & insisted that going nuts was sufficient. This time, let them confront the depravity of their contemporary icons & make an argument.

Linz

Post 1

Sunday, December 5, 2004 - 1:09am

This does look like a great album. Thanks for the review Derek.

As Lindsay knows, I'm quite a Lanza fan, so I'm sure that when I do buy it I'll agree with his evaluation above. I'll also continue to enjoy those rock groups that I've praised here on SOLOHQ (not speaking for others but for my part I have confined my comments to certain specific groups). Its been said before by myself and others here that good and bad music exist within every genre (with the possible exception of rap!). I don't personally see that enjoyment of the best classical and operatic works on the one hand, and enjoyment of the best rock on the other, have to be mutually exclusive.

Edited to add - if there is anyone here who's never heard any of Lanza's magic, quite a few of the tracks on this album would make a good starting point :-)

MH

(Edited by Matthew Humphreys on 12/05, 1:21am)

Post 2

Sunday, December 5, 2004 - 1:31am

Linz is right, of course. Lanza's rendition of Che Gelida Manina is a peerless piece of singing - a masterpiece that remains as potent as ever 55 years after it was recorded. No less an authority than Arturo Toscanini pronounced Lanza "the greatest natural tenor of the 20th century" after hearing this recording. But you don't have to take Toscanini's word for it - check it out for yourself, and if you're not blown away by the beauty of this unsurpassed combination of melody, voice, and interpretation, then there truly is no hope for you. As a recent discoverer of Lanza commented to me, "The way the 28-year-old Mario sings it - all liquid gold capped by a dazzling high C - has to be heard to be believed. Breathtaking, thrilling, ravishing, you name it: it applies!"

Post 3

Monday, December 6, 2004 - 6:38pm

It is not Christmas without Lanza and hasn't been in my life since 1956. Although I have come to realize the Christmas album is far from Lanza at his best, when he is not at his best he still leaves others in the dust. How I wish they had made him record every Christmas song ever written on the sday that he sang "Silent Night" on the Coke show!
"Che Gelida Manina" is also my Lanza desert island recording, although when pressed it is sometimes "I'll Walk with God."
If you want to know the difference between Lanza and the others, listen to the "Song of India". Other people sing a song; Lanza paints a fresco that belongs in a shrine.

Post 4

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - 12:55am

James - so right about the Coke 'Silent Night': *much* better than the commercial version, for which he should have been shot. As he should have been for his sloppiness in Joy To The World. And for barking when he should been singing in most of the carols. At the very least, I would have given him a damn good flogging.

Linz

Post 5

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - 2:20am

That said, you're right - not at his best he still leaves others in the dust. :-)

Linz

Post 6

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - 3:58am