Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of My Favourites, 12 May 2001
I had to wait patiently for my copy of this album, as it was a promised Christmas gift from my son - but it was worth the wait. When an album stays at arms length in my studio for almost 5 months, then it's a sign of a firm favourite with me. It has seen me through the dark winter afternoons and right into spring, and I'm certain that it'll still be with my 'most played' pile by the time winter comes around again. I was quite amazed when I first heard Russell Watson sing. Amazed not only by the fact that his voice is refreshingly different, but also by his age - I find his voice quite something for such a relatively young man. I did think that I wouldn't like the more modern tracks on the second half of this album as I usually prefer different types of music kept apart, but I did like them, and after playing the album a few times, hardly noticed the transition. I do however prefer the more classical tracks. One very nice touch with this album is the fact that the booklet not only gives the words to all the tracks, but also, where necessary, English translations. I was prompted to write this review by the fact that I had just listened to Classic FM's top ten albums programme for the first time since January, and was delighted to find this album still at No.1. Russell Watson deserves this success. It's not always easy to leave paid employment to follow a dream, but when it pays off as his dream so very definitely has, it's a wonderful thing. I for one wish him many years of success with 'the voice' as he calls it. This is certainly my number one favourite this year.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mellifluous and magical - the voice to touch your passions, 2 Oct 2001
By A Customer
I read about Watson before I heard him, and I am so grateful for that review. Watson's debut CD is an amazing show of raw talent and the joy of singing. As he belts out those high notes, he makes the pulse race. I am reminded of a younger Pavarotti, or an untamed Domingo. He does not yet display their skill and virtuosity, but the freshness of his approach makes up for this. This is a man who can truly bring the operatic aria to the masses, the joy of great singing to the factory floor. I especially like his Miserere, where his voice ascends from the depths of the opening stanza to rise in crescendo in the bars, "misero me", followed by a lighter, husky tenor. In this song, Watson is almost two people with seemingly different voices and styles. It is worth the price of the CD just to experience this remarkable change from baritone through to powerful tenor, husky crooner and back to operatic tenor again. Amazing. A bonus for me it the inclusion of the words to the songs, both in Italian and English for those of us who like to sing along or who just want to know the reason behind the pain or joy in the voice we hear. This CD will be the first in my Watson collection. I eagerly await number two.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Russell Watson, album number 1 (The Voice), 8 Jul 2008
The Voice, released in May 2001, is Russell Watson's debut album and marks the end of his progression from the pub and club circuit, and the start of his recording career after signing with the Decca label.
The album hit No.1 in the UK Classical charts and reached No.5 in the UK Album Chart. Following its release in the US it also hit the top spot, making history as the first time a British artist has topped both the UK and US Classical Charts, and if that wasn't enough, it was awarded `Album of the Year' and 'Best Selling Classical Album' at the Classical BRIT awards in 2001.
The songs are a mix of classical and popular, with the emphasis on the classics to enable its eligibility for that chart: 60% of the playing time must consist of `classical or traditional music' to be accepted.
The classical choices are mostly familiar pieces, many of which are drawn from Watson's repertoire used for the stage performances from which he had recently emerged, and while the tracklist may not be groundbreaking, the performances certainly help break the mould for the stereotypical opera tenor. Watson, the `factory boy from Salford' may not yet have mastered the Italian language but the versatility of his voice and the delivery of the songs - `Nessun Dorma' included - cannot conceal his passion and enthusiasm for the music. Watson remember, even before this debut album, had learned his stagecraft from grass roots pub level to an altogether different grass - a magnificent performance of Nessun Dorma at Manchester United's Old Trafford Football ground at their final match of the 1999 Premiership season.
Of the classics on the album I liked Ennio Morricone's `Nella Fantasia' (In My Fantasy), `A mor ti vieta' (love forbids you) from the opera Fedora and, one of Watson's trademark songs, `la donna e mobile' (the woman is fickle) from Verdi's opera Rigoletta.
`Vienna' and `Bridge Over Troubled Water' provide some pop relief, while the slightly wayward `Barcelona' duet with Happy Mondays singer (and fellow 'Salford lad') Shaun Ryder is perhaps a little too extreme for some, but it's a fun song nevertheless.
My favourite though is the version of Nessun Dorma, a powerful and emotionally charged performance which I think challenges the best singers around. Don't expect a comparison with one of the late great tenors from me though. Watson himself may find such comparison with one of his idols flattering, but more likely a little embarrassing and largely irrelevant.
`The Voice' label incidentally originated from those management people around him at the time who, to Watson's slight irritation, insisted on asking `how's the voice today Russell?' rather than `how's Russell today Russell?' The name stuck, while the voice got better.
In summary, I think this is a debut album fully deserving of the success it enjoys.
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