Fine albums from underrated singer
Thomas Bumbera | Maplewood, NJ USA | 05/16/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Julius La Rosa is far more than a 50s pop footnote. He was at his vocal peak when recording these two Roulette albums (after three hitless years on RCA, which sadly seemed to saddle him with the novelties that Como turned down). On "Love Songs," he sings with remarkable passion and strength - his version of "How About Me" must rank among the all-time best versions of that song, which can be taken to maudlin extremes (even Garland overdid it- here it's just perfect). "Sunny Side" is just that, a marvelous collection of uptempo standards. If you like Sinatra or Darin, it's time to discover La Rosa!"
LaRosa at his peak...
Thomas Bumbera | Maplewood, NJ USA | 12/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you love great interpreters of the Great American Songbook, you owe it to yourself to grab this pairing of two fine albums from Julius LaRosa. Arguably, his talents were reaching their peak in this early-60s period; with ten years of experience behind him, both his voice and his phrasing were reaching full maturity. His infectious enthusiam on the "Sunny Side" album is particularly delightful."