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Trollheart · 09-21-2012, 06:20 AM

Illuminate your musical life with Josh

Artiste: Josh Groban
Nationality: American
Album: Illuminations
Year: 2010
Label: Reprise
Genre: Easy Listening
Tracks:
The wandering kind (Prelude)
The bells of New York City
Galileo (Someone like you)
L'Orra dell'addio
Hidden away
Au jardin des san-pourquoi
Higher window
If I walk away
Love only knows
Voce existe em mim
War at home
London hymn
Straight to you
Chronological position: Fifth album
Familiarity: “Closer”
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: An instrumental opening?
Best track(s):Galileo (Someone like you), War at home, Higher window
Worst track(s): None.
Comments: Josh Groban was the first artiste to show me that I could actually listen to and enjoy songs sung in other than my native language, and to demonstrate to me the value of listening to the song instead of trying to understand it. Even now, songs like Oceano and Per te from the “Closer” album I featured as one of the very first albums I reviewed in my main journal resonate in my head, even though I have no idea what the guy is singing about. I came to realise that it really didn't matter: the lyrics were not as important as the actual song itself.

Interestingly, the album opens on an instrumental, quite Divine Comedyesque with a celtic feel to it, then the first vocal track is in English, with a beautiful piano backing and some sensuous violins. This album in fact has less “foreign-language” material than “Closer”, only three tracks of the thirteen not being in English, perhaps a commercial decision given Josh's rising popularity? Galileo (Someone like you) sounds like it could have come from a Broadway show, while If I walk away builds from a fragile banjo (!) melody into a full, triumphant orchestral piece.

There's no doubting the power of Groban's voice, whether he's singing tender ballads in a language other than English, as in L'ora dell'addio, or punchier, more uptempo fare such as Voce existe em mim, or English songs like The bells of New York City or Love only knows, and I see echoes of the lovely Remember when it rained in the dramatic Higher window, but it's the bleak, lonely, stirring pathos of War at home that finally shows you how effective Josh's voice can be, as he laments the fallen in so many wars.

Throw in the beautiful, haunting London hymn and an unexpected cover of Nick Cave's Straight to you, on which he does a phenomenal job, and you have an album that surprises, delights and entertains, and once again manages, if only in a few places this time out, to transcend language in the expression of music and again brings home another triumph for this unassuming young man.

Overall impression: Almost sorry to hear less non-English songs this time, but an excellent and well-balanced album. Another winner.
Intention: Just continue listening to this guy's music, and never be ashamed of being a Josh Groban fan!

09-21-2012, 06:20 AM	#92 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Illuminate your musical life with Josh Artiste: Josh Groban Nationality: American Album: Illuminations Year: 2010 Label: Reprise Genre: Easy Listening Tracks: The wandering kind (Prelude) The bells of New York City Galileo (Someone like you) L'Orra dell'addio Hidden away Au jardin des san-pourquoi Higher window If I walk away Love only knows Voce existe em mim War at home London hymn Straight to you Chronological position: Fifth album Familiarity: “Closer” Interesting factoid: Initial impression: An instrumental opening? Best track(s):Galileo (Someone like you), War at home, Higher window Worst track(s): None. Comments: Josh Groban was the first artiste to show me that I could actually listen to and enjoy songs sung in other than my native language, and to demonstrate to me the value of listening to the song instead of trying to understand it. Even now, songs like Oceano and Per te from the “Closer” album I featured as one of the very first albums I reviewed in my main journal resonate in my head, even though I have no idea what the guy is singing about. I came to realise that it really didn't matter: the lyrics were not as important as the actual song itself. Interestingly, the album opens on an instrumental, quite Divine Comedyesque with a celtic feel to it, then the first vocal track is in English, with a beautiful piano backing and some sensuous violins. This album in fact has less “foreign-language” material than “Closer”, only three tracks of the thirteen not being in English, perhaps a commercial decision given Josh's rising popularity? Galileo (Someone like you) sounds like it could have come from a Broadway show, while If I walk away builds from a fragile banjo (!) melody into a full, triumphant orchestral piece. There's no doubting the power of Groban's voice, whether he's singing tender ballads in a language other than English, as in L'ora dell'addio, or punchier, more uptempo fare such as Voce existe em mim, or English songs like The bells of New York City or Love only knows, and I see echoes of the lovely Remember when it rained in the dramatic Higher window, but it's the bleak, lonely, stirring pathos of War at home that finally shows you how effective Josh's voice can be, as he laments the fallen in so many wars. Throw in the beautiful, haunting London hymn and an unexpected cover of Nick Cave's Straight to you, on which he does a phenomenal job, and you have an album that surprises, delights and entertains, and once again manages, if only in a few places this time out, to transcend language in the expression of music and again brings home another triumph for this unassuming young man. Overall impression: Almost sorry to hear less non-English songs this time, but an excellent and well-balanced album. Another winner. Intention: Just continue listening to this guy's music, and never be ashamed of being a Josh Groban fan! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-13-2015 at 11:22 AM.