Josh Groban - Closer
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Free Music Notes for Closer
Free Music Review: Josh returns, and all I can say is, great work.
Hit: 5 Stars
The headline of my review for this album says it all very quickly. The moment I heard that this was coming out, I almost literally felt my heart give a jump, and that says a lot. This was well worth the wait. That smooth baritone voice has improved with age (even though he's still just 23). This is every bit as good as his first CD, and I will be bold and say that I actually prefer this one to the first one.Oceano- Reminiscent (to me) in spirit to "Alla Luce Del Sole". This is carried by lovely piano work with drums in places, buoyed by Josh's exquisite singing. This feels to me like a hymn or song of celebration, almost like a song of honor to the ocean, despite it's relatively quick pace.
My Confession- I LOVE this. It's my favorite piece on the CD in fact. Heavy on beautiful flamenco guitar, with nicely invigorating soft drums and a touch of gorgeous string work. Someone has tried to shut himself off from the power of love, and now must tell the woman he loves that he can no longer escape the power of the pangs for her that he carries in his heart and soul
Mi Mancherai - This is the theme from the movie, Il Postino. I did not see the film, nor do I speak Italian, but I like this song anyway. The combination of Josh's wonderful singing and Joshua Bell's lovely violin work produces a sure-fire winner.
Si Volvieras A Mi- This to me is in the same spirit as "Alejate" from his debut CD, but that's NOT a bad thing. It's great in fact, as I love that song too. I guess it's just that to me this one feels different somehow. I really like the melody in this song, and Josh's singing is, as always, first rate.
When You Say You Love Me- This one took a bit to grow on me, but it's lovely nonetheless. This is a gorgeous song, with a moving melody and a great set of lyrics. For all of us men out there, this is a song that tells the women in our lives just how much they really mean to us all. A great piece.
Per Te - Another beautiful Italian cut. Great job Josh. No matter the language, your voice still touches the heart of all but most jaded of listeners, and you've certainly touched MY heart with this one.
Al Improviso Amore- I LOVE the string work and the piano interplay with Josh's golden voice in this. The faster pace of this song in relation to the previous two cuts makes for a nice change. This melody and Josh's voice is invigorating to me here. Very invigorating.
Broken Vow- Yet another standout. A bitter lament of a love gone sour and the burning need to ask the question "Why?" Mixed in is the wish that the love once shared could be rekindled in all it's glory and the depths the singer would go to to make that happen if they could do it. For all who know the pain of losing someone they love to another, this strikes a chord.
Caruso- I like this song a lot, even though it took awhile to grow on me. That's probably because, in some places, it's sung faster than I've EVER heard Josh sing anything before. Still, it's a great song. The melodies and Josh's voice won me over rather quickly to this piece.
Remember When It Rained- Yet another tale of love remembered fondly after having gone sour for one reason or another. This one features lyrics and music written by Josh Groban himself and is very VERY nice indeed.
Hymne l'Amour - A very lovely French song. See my comment on languages in my listing for Per Te. Josh can touch a heart and soul, no matter what language he happens to be singing in.
You Raise Me Up - I LOVE the emotional feel of this piece. The choir vocals add a great touch. Josh's voice starts gently, as always, and then positively SOARS to reach the heavens. I only WISH this song had more verses to it. Still the melody and feel of the song, to me, make up for its lack of verses. It's still a great piece and it STILL managed to win me over. It does not detract from my love for the rest of this CD.
Never Let Go- A nice closing piece. The appearance of Deep Forest as guests here make this track different, and the most distinct cut on the CD. As always Josh's lovely voice carries it all and makes the piece a gem.
All told, Josh Groban has returned, and this CD packs an even stronger punch than his self-titled debut CD "Josh Groban". I cannot wait to see and hear what the future has in store, both for Josh Groban himself, and for us, all his fans out there. What a GIFT God has given this young man. At 23 years old, he has a dazzlingly bright future, and for all his fans, myself happily and gladly included in their numbers, it promises to be a great, hopefully MANY-year listening experience. Happy listening to all readers of this review, and God bless you and yours, always and forever. Peace.
Free Music Review: A stunning masterpiece!
Hit: 5 Stars
I haven't heard a new artist come forth with incredible music in many years up until I got a chance to listen to Groban's second album entitled "Closer" and what I have to say is is that WOW! I had lost much of my faith in newer younger artists who have been breaking onto the music scene. Around 99 percent of them just sell themselves to being poseur rappers (yergh) or generic commercial pop, rock bands with little to no uniqueness in their styles. The result is just bland, forgettable and sometimes just awful music in my part. Josh Groban though blows all of his peers right out of the water and into the trash with his second album "Closer" and I can't believe that I'm saying this but he is already rising into becoming a favorite of mines for the year 2003 and 2004 and with "Closer" I could very well consider myself a fan of his. He brings forth among the greatest singing skills that I haven't heard by many artists in many years and to back that up, he selects the perfect styles of music to go along with it: Opera, pop, with some classical spice thrown in and the result is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time, possibly in years. A lot of this album benefits from David Foster's production whose production is among my favorites of modern music producers. Go and check out his 1986 self-titled and "River Of Love" album as they are both incredible. What's even better is that Josh in fact wrote and composed some of the songs on this album! This album opens with a stunning snowstorm of beauty with the bittersweet "Oceano" and ends with a stormy bang with the ethnic "Never Let Go". "Oceano" starts as a tender ballad with haunting opera vocals and tender piano and then rises into a dramatic power pop ballad with a classical pop sound to it. This album also has songs in four languages: French, Spanish, Italian and English but even with the confusion in translating, the songs are all amazing like as if you could still understand them and break down the language barriers. In between the first and final songs are songs of just sheer beauty with songs like "My Confession", "Caruso", and "Remember When It Rained". "Caruso" is a really exotic song sung in Italian and having a rather colorful Spanish or Italian acoustic classical sound. This reminds me a lot of Andrea Bocelli, another favorite of mines.
The final track "Never Let Go" is a stunning closer with dark and haunting ambient pop textures and featuring an amazing collaboration between him and the New Age/ World pop group Deep Forest. The mixture of Deep Forest's atmospherics and haunting ethnic background chants combined with Josh Groban's unbelievably gorgeous opera singing skills is phenomenal. I especially love hearing the song go from a dark minor note song into an uplifting major note song. Just incredible! I felt almost like as if I were flying through rain storms during the minor note parts and in clear sunny skies during the major note parts when listening to this incredible song. I love the other songs on this album but the ones I mentioned are what deserved the greatest attention.
I am definitely looking forward to Groban's next album in the foreseeable future. I'm not sure what the future may hold for Groban but where things stand right now, with the numerous poseur artists ruining music, Josh Groban fills a HUGE void in pop music by making music that is deep, artistically creative, dark, and powerful. If the same people who bought a lot of the plastic poseur material like "In The Zone" and 50 Cent also bought Josh Groban's "Closer", then my faith in America's taste for music would have a huge boost. Not since Seal burst into the light with his debut album more than 12 years before then has a new artist brought forth such great music at such an early part of his/her career.
I strongly urge just about every music lover to go and get their hands on a copy of this AMAZING album! I even urge younger people to get their hands on this to see that there are younger artists that are defying the awful MTV trends and putting out great music. Josh Groban is a breath of fresh air these days in the music scene.
This album definitely "Raised Me Up" and continues to do and and will "Never Let Go" of it ever! There is so much more that this album offer than I could ever dream of mustering with this review. Enough said, just go and buy this album. End of review.
Free Music Review: Greatest CD ever!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Josh Groban has the best voice I have ever heard in my life!!I listen to all his songs nonstop,but this album is his best one.It far outshines his debut album and I think it's even better than Awake.The English songs are comparable,but the foriegn songs are much better in Closer.I love it so much,I'm gonna go through each song.
Oceano-I love that this is the first song on the CD.It starts with a trickling piano and a quiet Josh and gradually gets louder and more filled with energy.It's perfect to wake up to in the morning.The chorus is amazing.And the words in Italian are beautiful-about the one he loves leaving him shipwrecked.
My Confession-This sounds rather Spanish with the guitar and the tolling bell.Very gripping and expertly written.It's basically him telling his love how wrong he's been about her and how much he really loves her.
Mi Mancherai-This is the most beautiful song I've ever heard.Joshua Bell on the violin is just magical.Paired with the voice of Groban,they're unstopable.Simply gorgeous.
Si Volvieras A Mi-This is my favorite foriegn language song of all time.And I've heard a lot of them.It's the only one in Spanish.The lyrics are breathtakingly heartrending.The music is so singable that I memorized the entire song-in Spanish.The climax is outstanding as they are in all his songs.
When You Say You Love Me-Such a sweet song.Josh gives such effort and talent into this with the many soaring parts that leaves you stricken with amazement.
Per Te-I'm not very taken with this one.There is no really outstanding part to it and the music itself isn't gripping and moving like the rest are.
All'Improvviso Amore-This is a fun song,with a rather bright chorus that probably wasn't what they were going for,judging by the lyrics.Not his greatest,but I still love it.
Broken Vow-Oh this is the sadest breakup song ever.With the piano accompaniment and the tragic message...It's just rips your heart out.
Caruso-This seems more like an Andrea Bocelli song than one for Josh.The words run through like a flood and the music is-again-heartbreaking.
Remember When It Rained-O my gosh,this is THE greatest Groban song ever.Even better than You Raise Me Up-if it's possible.The words(co-written by Josh) are beautiful and compelling.You can feel the emotion in the every word and the climax is the best part any of his songs.Stunning!
Hymne a l'Amore-this song is in French.It's very pretty,but it doesn't seem to work with Josh.It's lacking someting...
You Raise Me Up-Josh's most popular song-and with good reason.He uses a gospel choir which adds so much energy and emotion to the already stellar performance.Josh hits a high B flat which isn't as good as some,but it sounds better than most.A real hit!
Never Let Go-Josh gets kind of off the trail with this one;experimenting,I guess.It took me a while to get used to,but when I did,I loved it.
There also are two bonus tracks;
Mi Morena-It's in English,by the way.This talks about his love and infatuation for this girl.Rather sensual.Not really.Just some lyrics.Very artistic,though.
She's Out Of My Life-Actually,this is probably sader than Broken Vow.Beautiful piano again and heartrending to the fullest.
So this is definately the greatest of his albums.Beautiful foriegn songs,heart rending break up songs,amazing climaxes,and a voice from heaven.I you want some of Josh,this is the best one to get,but you really should get Awake too.
Free Music Review: Great music
Hit: 5 Stars
I love his first album and I love this one. No, Josh cannot be compared to some of the finer classical singers (as "MaestroMichael" so scathingly said in his review) but that isn't why most people like his albums.
There is a definite maturity from his first album, though I feel that he sounds a bit more strained in this one when he is hitting higher notes.
"Oceano" is my favorite song ever. I listen to it and never get tired of hearing it. It is sung in Italian and is both upbeat and calming and seems to be always changing from one key to another.
"My Confession" is very pretty and is a great, more mellow followup to "Oceano."
"Mi Mancherai" is hauntingly beautiful with Joshua Bell playing the violin in the background.
"When You Say You Love Me" is actually my third least favorite song on the album. It sounds more pop and sickeningly sweet at times.
"Per Te" is another Italian song and would be perfectly suited in a dramatic acting piece, another haunting melody.
"All Improviso Amore" is yet another Italian piece that is nothing but energy from start to finish. At first I found it to be annoying, but the more I listened, the more I liked it.
"Broken Vow" was first heard on the PBS special. It is probably one of his most beautiful English songs. A very sweet, simple song.
"Caruso" is the last Italian song on the album and is meant to be a tribute. It is definitely an interesting tune as the Italian is sung so quickly.
"Remember When It Rained" was penned by Josh, the piano was played by him as well. It is a very sad, but beautiful song with some beautiful piano solos by Josh.
"Hymne a l'Amour" is sung in French and brings that type of environment to mind. Personally this is my least favorite song on the album, but some might like the peppy sound.
"You Raise Me Up" the first 50 times I heard this song I really enjoyed it. In fact, it was the first song off the album that I heard and it brought tears to my eyes. Since then it has been overplayed and now does nothing but annoy me. It has a beautiful Irish gospel type sound, but one can only listen to that so many times. It holds as my second least favorite.
"Never Let Go" is a collaboration between Josh and Eric Mouquet of Deep Forest. It is the most "alternative" track on the album and is a nice change, but I feel that it shouldn't have been placed last.
There is another version of this album with four more songs that I will cover here as well.
"Mi Morena" an English song with a Spanish title. It is a mellow but beautiful song with Spanish influences in the music.
"She's Out of My Life" is a cover. I didn't enjoy it so much the first few times around because I actually preferred the 98 Degrees acapella version, but this song grew on me. The accompaniment is very subdued so the vocals are very clear.
"You're the Only Place" some of this song was played on the PBS special. This is the full song. A nice, pretty song. Nothing overly special, but it's easy to listen to.
"My December" is the cover of the Linkin Park song of the same name. It is similar, yet very different. It is subdued and mellow, but rocks more than most of Josh's songs. Very good effort.
Free Music Review: Que habra despues de ti
Hit: 5 Stars
When you say you love me
The world goes still so still inside and
When you say you love me
For a moment there's no one else alive
~When You Say You Love Me
The minute I found this CD I was in love with the religiously romantic experience of listening to Josh Groban's heart-awakening voice. His voice awakens my entire being and it was as if my soul said: "Yes, this is the music you have been looking for."
The first song threw me into a world of absolute musical ecstasy. I could not believe what I was hearing, nor could I believe how profoundly this music would affect me. One minute I was swirling in some dreamy exotic world where I felt complete love and happiness. Then, next I was crying because this music has an energy that permeates every part of your being. It takes you to new emotional depths and creates waves of emotions unlike anything I've ever heard.
Not only are some of the lyrics an expression of beautiful vulnerability when in love (In Confession), some of the lyrics will even make you cry when you don't even know their meaning. I was amazed that I was crying when I could not understand the lyrics in Mi Mancherai (il postino). The violin is literally weeping in music. I think this music is more profound if you have always wished for your true love/soul mate to sing directly to you. It feels like every song was written for the listener and you can't help but get caught up in the full-range of emotions. Josh Groban captures all the emotions of the words and once I looked up a translation I understood why the song was so beautiful. Unfortunately the song translations are not included.
I'll miss you, if you go away
I'll miss your serenity
Your words like songs in the wind
And Love, that you take away.
~Mi Mancherai
"When You Say You Love Me" is one of the most exquisite songs I've ever heard. I mean, this song could make you literally breathless. Remember When It Rained has an almost ecstatic soul-shivering ending. The music is as powerful as a storm and the ending is as cleansing and healing as the freshness of the air after a thunderstorm. The passionate lyrics are a bit like lightning that really capture your attention.
Josh really pours an entire range of emotions into every selection, especially in Never Let Go. The power of the music and his voice is almost too much for my headphones.
CLOSER is filled with classic bittersweet moments, melting and exquisite declarations of eternal love, heart-stopping lyrics and imaginative metaphors. All the elements intertwine to make this one of the most beautiful CDs I've ever heard. I am stunned into silence by Josh's voice and definitely want to go to a concert!
The first time I listened to the entire CD I stayed up all night in a state of heady intoxication. I literally listened to this CD over and over again for 6 hours. Josh Groban made me into a fan in under two seconds. If you are a true romantic, his music will almost put you into a romantic trance.
~The Rebecca Review