Herbie Hancock, Josh Groban - Awake
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CD Details
Artist: Herbie Hancock, Josh GrobanBrand: GROBAN,JOSH
Performer: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Performer: Vusi Mahlasela
Edition: Music CD
Audio: German (Unknown); English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2006-11-07
Music Label: Reprise / WEA
Product features:
- GROBAN JOSH AWAKE
- Mai
- You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)
- Un Dia Llegara
- February Song
- L'Ultima Notte
- So She Dances
- In Her Eyes
- Solo Por Ti
- Now Or Never
- Un Giorno Per Noi
- Lullaby -- w/ Ladysmith Black Mambazo
- Weeping -- w/ Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Vusi Mahlasela
- Machine -- w/ Herbie Hancock
Music reviews of Awake
Music Review: Expect the unexpected
Rating: 5 Stars
At first, I found this album very challenging in light of his first two, but it has really grown on me, now that I've listened to it several dozen times.
This is the album where it becomes clear that Josh Groban is totally unclassifiable in musical genre. This is the album where it becomes clear that he is a genius, that he produces sounds that no one else has ever come up with, that he is a paradigm shifter, that he is unpredictable -- that his genius makes him easily bored, that he must be constantly moving to something new in order to be happy -- and we who follow him, therefore, need never fear being bored, as nothing he does is ever quite the same as before even in a concert series. His very voice shifts unpredictably through different singing styles, sometimes even in the same syllable.
The only common element here is that the songs are slow and his voice is powerful and beautiful -- except for some of the falsetto, which does not always sound as good to me as the falsetto on his earlier albums.
Individual songs:
Mai: This song is more of Josh's traditional almost operatic classical/pop crossover style. It ends on the most equisite high falsetto note. Lyrics in Italian.
You are loved: This is Josh's attempt at cheering up depressed people, especially depressed female fans. There's a music video for it out there showing depressed women being transformed to smiling women. It's not my favorite one of his songs. I find the video a bit offensive in that men seem to think that women exist only for the purpose of smiling at men, that it's not acceptable for us to have negative mood. I don't think the falsetto works here. It sounds awkward and strained. Still, Josh is trying very hard to care, to help, to uplift, and that shows his essential sweetness
Un Dia Llegara: I *love* this one. Beautiful guitar. Again the signature classical/pop crossover. Lyrics in Spanish.
February Song: This is one that Josh wrote or helped write. From a musical perspective, it's fascinating. He's just so innovative with it! It has an unusual melody, with unexpected intervals, and intriguing use of falsetto. I would call the genre of this one "new" music, not classical, pop, or folk. He plays the piano and sings together on this one. I like that, because he clearly prefers to do that, and I think that this mode of performance really shows his inner soul. From a personal perspective, I wonder if it's his song about getting past January, his ex-girlfriend.
Ultima Notte: Another of his signature classical/pop crossover songs. Very pleasant to listen to. Lyrics in Italian.
So She Dances: A very moving, romantic, sweet pop song.
In Her Eyes: I love this one. It's got a bit of a beat, clearly a pop song. The lyrics are very insightful, human.
Solo Por Ti: Another of his signature classical/pop crossover songs. Pleasant, lyrical. In Italian.
Now or Never: This collaboration with Imogen Heap is an earth-shaking masterpiece. I can't say as I like the subject, which is why he wants to dump a girlfriend -- not very romantic -- BUT the music is extraordinary. The sound is unlike anything I've ever heard before -- exotic, sort of electronic, an eerie unpredictable melody -- totally out-of-the-box. The poetry is fabulous. The whole thing is just riveting. If you have not heard this song, please stop everything and go over to YouTube and listen to it. It will bend your mind. A very raw, vivid bedroom scene -- albeit only in audio.
Un Giorno Por Noi: An Italian version of the movie song from Scorsese's Romeo and Juliet. Powerful, romantic, sweet.
Lullabye: One of Josh's originals, performed with Ladysmith Black Mambaso it's musically interesting. Josh wrote this after he had visited South Africa and met a lot of kids there, whom he became attached to, and whom he was sad to leave. It arose out of some very deep personal emotions for him. Unfortunately, it does not really convey the depth of what he was feeling as much as he might have wished. Listen to the music and don't pay too much attention to the lyrics.
Weeping: Sudden paradigm shift -- think Pete Seeger. This song from South Africa was written as political commentary about Apartheid, but has social relevance to many other contexts, about fear and opression. Perhaps one thought of Josh as a very conservative young man who likes to sing Christian and near classical songs. Perhaps one did not think of him as suddenly becoming Pete Seeger -- but you must remember that Josh is a genius. He is highly creative, easily bored, and never likes to stay in the same place for long. Expect the unexpected with him.
Machine: Co-written by Josh. This song could perhaps be described as a light rock/jazz/electronic crossover, rather than classical/pop crossover. Like most of Josh's songs, it's slow, but it has a much more definite and danceable beat than the others -- totally different from anything else Josh has done, but again remember that he's easliy bored and constantly moving. I confess to feeling slightly defensive when Josh sings accusingly "You're a Machine." Makes me want to poke him and say "I am not." It's one of those rare instances where he starts to sound like an angry, young man, the way so many rock/metal singers sound (though much more subdued). Still it's catchy in its own way and you want to bop around a bit while listening.
Description of Awake
The Josh Groban phenomenon continues with Awake, his third studio album. Both of the extraordinary singer's first two studio discs have been certified five times platinum, with his most recent, 2003's Closer, charting #1 pop. His uplifting music rises ever higher on Awake. More Josh Groban  Josh Groban |  Closer |  In Concert |
Josh Groban is making it hard for anybody who can't say "classical crossover" without smirking to maintain an acceptable level of snobbery. Awake, his third studio disc and arguably his most personal--he co-wrote four tracks and favors his native English over Italian--boasts as many bold names as any tricked-out hip-hop disc: Dave Matthews, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Imogen Heap, and Herbie Hancock contribute in various capacities, and a slew of behind-the-scenes collaborators best known for their work in mainstream pop circles deepen the dimensions of a style widely considered claustrophobic. For all the studio doors that got opened to create Awake, though, Groban's signature sound never once slipped out to take the air; "the voice"--that hypnotic, spun-silk wonder of an instrument--is as concentrated as ever, and Awake, in addition to showing off its many splendors, serves as a vehicle for parading its versatility around. While "Un Giorno Per Noi," the deeply romantic theme to the 1968 film Romeo E Giulietta, delivers the Groban that fueled the sale of 16 million previous discs to soft-hearted fans, "Machine," with Hancock, gives up a new form of funk: dignified, classy, and surprisingly unstiff. --Tammy La Gorce
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