Search - Riccardo Cocciante :: Un Uomo Felice

Good Stuff!

Brenda K. Spevak | Los Angeles, CA (orig. San Diego, CA USA and subse | 07/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I find it hard to believe that this truly high-quality album is only available via special order. "Un Uomo Felice" has it all...a very highly crafted piece of work by a clearly talented artist obviously possessed of a strong classic background.... Accessible, quality pop music: powerful, rich vocals set to lyrical, catchy melodies, underpinned by interesting rhythms, and finished off with imaginative arrangements using real instruments performed by a credible lineup of players. (This isn't about some yob with a B.Mus sitting in his study programming his synthesizer.) My facility with Italian is pretty much limited to musical terms and names of wine and food, so I am not in a good position to judge the quality of the lyrics (for reference, I generally tune out the lyrics in most pop music even if the music itself is good, due to their sheer banality). However, even if the lyrics are lame (which I seriously doubt), the texturing between the vocals and instrumentation more than makes up for it! There is one track on this albumn in English, "I'd Fly" which is one of my two personal favourites. My other favourite track is "E Pensare Che Pensavo Mi Pensassi Almeno Un Po"(Simply smashing! --no, that's not the translation.) A rarity among the glut of utterly uninspiring, ephemeral kitsch ever dominating the pop music marketplace. For practical purposes, this album is just the thing for a quiet (or not so quiet!) evening at home, alone or with friend(s). Sufficiently engaging to make good company/provide energizing ambiance without being so obtrusive as to get in the way of whatever you are doing! I'm sure there is plenty of stuff similar to what he has created here, but I don't have any of it, so am at a loss for something to compare his work to. What more to say...I love it! Looking forward to obtaining more music by this artist, or better yet, catching a live performance of his somewhere."

A must for Cocciante fans

Francesca Jourdan | Montreal, Canada | 12/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A special album with beautiful lyrics. What else can one expect from an artist with such talent as Cocciante ? Some songs were originally done in French, such as "Un uomo felice" ("Un homme heureux" by William Sheller), "L'amore esiste ancora" ("L'amour existe encore" by Celine Dion) and "Sopra un preludio di Bach" ("Sur un prélude de Bach" by Maurane). The song "I'd fly" is the English version of Cocciante's Italian "Per lei" which he also did in French, "Pour elle." Nevertheless, the Italian versions are just as beautiful musically and lyrically speaking. (Cocciante is one of the best Italian composers and songwriters.) Cocciante is accompanied in this album by talented Italian female singers, such as Mina, Giorgia, Cecilia Bartoli and Mietta. There are many different sounds from rap to romance to jazz to rock. Enough to satisfy everyone's taste. A (rare) definite must for all Cocciante admirers !"