Search - Claudio Villa :: I Successi Di

Exquisite music but no liner notes

D. Bakish | New York City and Tucson, AZ | 02/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Claudio Villa's voice is sweet nectar in the tradition of wonderful Italian popular singers. He is so good that it's unfortunate this CD has no liner notes, no recording dates, or biographical information. I went to the Wikipedia and there's not much there either. This compilation was copyrighted 1991. Villa died in his early 60's in February 1987. All titles are only in Italian, though if you have some smattering of Spanish and Italian, you can figure out most titles. Only a few are well-known to Americans--mainly, Granada and Arrivederci Roma. "Il Successi di Claudio Villa" (Greatest Hits) is still highly recommended."

A Ogni Uccello Suo Nido e Bello

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 09/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"That's an Italian proverb meaning something like 'we all love what's ours'. Claudio Villa, who died in 1987, was the voice of Italy - my Italy, as a longtime resident foreigner. Whenever I come back to Roma, I NEED to hear Villa to believe I'm home.



Villa's song "Stornelli Amorosi" was the lovely ornate theme song of the movie Big Night, and the first cut on the sound track of that film. It was recorded very early in Villa's career, when his voice was almost unbelievably fresh and clear, and it represented the old-style decorative folk tradition of Italian popular song before the influence of international taste. My only complaint about this CD - The Hits of Claudio Villa - is that it doesn't include Stornelli Amorosi, but it does include several pieces in that flowing ornamental style. There are no significant notes with this CD, so I can only guess that the selections come from very different moments in Villa's career. I can hear different ages in his voice, also, from the crystal innocence of his youth to the slightly stagey emotionalism of his stardom. I much prefer the former and I recommend this CD largely because it represents Villa's older, purer repertoire.



Why Villa? It's all about the voice, as warm and vibrant as any operatic tenor, and the musicianship, even though devoted to a repertoire I usually avoid. If you have any illusions that Frank Sinatra or Perry Como or Mario Lanza, our American Italians, or Andrea Bocelli, in all his sanctity, could SING, then you'd better listen to Claudio Villa and hear what singing is all about."