Ancora CD review

Let me start of with saying that I am not a fully fledged Il Divo fan or anything, so this is not a biased review saying oooh look how great they are. Also I have nothing against them either, so I won't be dissing them for the sake of it. I am however the sort of person who doesnt buy an album just because everyone else is, that's why it has taken me so long to buy one of theirs, and to be honest thats only cos it was SO cheap .

I have seen the guys singing on the TV, but I didnt see what all the crazy fuss was about, but they are the sort of guys that you wouldnt switch the TV/radio off if they were on. They do have nice voices, However I don't know which voice goes to which face

Right then, when I got the album first thing I did was to look inside the cd booklet. I was disappointed to find that they didnt have the english words next to the foreign lyrics, as i like to know what the songs are about.

I have now listened to the album 3times, and from the first listen I can see why they have a nickname of being a popera group, what with taking well known English songs (Hero, All by Myself and Unchained melody) and changing the language, I'm afraid to say Heroe and All by myself bored me a bit 'cos of this. I kind of liked Unchained Melody though, but for their voices I feel that it could have been more powerful/emotional if they were to have sang that one in English.

Also I found that in the popera songs their voices just merged together, and I prefer them to be a bit more separate at times.

BEST SONGS
Ave Maria- I felt this really bought out the strength in their voices. I prefer them singing the classical tunes rather than the popera.
O Holy Night - Another song that showed how powerful their voices are and a great song to end the album on.

WORST SONG
I believe in you - I don't think they need Celine Dion to help them sell records. I thought this was the weakest song on the album- it was just too dull for my liking.

OVERALL REVIEW ON ALL SONGS
I have given ach song a score out of 5 (remember this is just my own person opinion on the album)

1. Heroe (3) This is a nice easy listening song and was a good choice for 1st song of the album.

2. Isabel (4) Very powerful ballad

3. I Believe In You (Je Crois En Toi) - Il Divo and Celine Dion (2) Sounds a bit too cheesy for me, then Celine Dion comes in which lowers the score sorry.

4. Unchained Melody (4) Really liked this one, but would've liked it even more if was in English

5. Si T?? Me Amas (4) Very nice easy listening song - don't know what it's about cos no English lyrics in booklet, but it sounds sad and you can hear a lot of emotion in their voices.

6. Ave Maria (5) Hits the nail on the head, Best song on the album. They are good at the classics and should have more like this on the album.

7. Hasta Mi Final (3) another easy listening tune, again shame there's no english lyrics as would love to know what this song is about.

8. All By Myself (Sola Otra Vez) (3)- too cheesy for my liking sorry

9. En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor (3) good powerful song, but seemed a bit slow to get started

10. Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore (4) Don't know what it's about but it was very soft and sounded romantic like a lovesong or something. I liked it

11. O Holy Night (5) beautiful, again a song that brings out the individual strengths in each of their voices.

Overall score 40/55
This was higher than I thought I'd score them.
Overall I am quite impressed, But it isnt an album I'd have on continously for days (like some albums I own)

Added: February 19th 2006
Reviewer: rainy
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