TWO FAIR ALBUMS FROM ONE GREAT VOCALIST
Giovanni Marra | Lockport, IL | 03/10/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Al Martino won't be remembered like Sinatra or Tony Bennett years from now, but he remains a great vocalist with warm phrasing and voice suited for ballads. It's no wonder he's Italian, his voice is just like a rich, red wine. It's commendable that EMI continues to release this type of product from the Capitol vaults, but with the lack of almost ANY of Al Martino's records on compact disc, these two albums seemed the least likely to be released, especially since it's been years since an Al Martino "2-fer" from EMI has been released (only one other is out there). Still in all, this collection does boast some decent numbers worth hearing, including Al's cover of the Henry Mancini hit DEAR HEART. Other numbers just seem to drag along; the hit of the day, THEN YOU CAN TELL ME GOODBYE, seems a bit much for Al to handle (Andy Williams covered it with better results) and the best of the CD doesnt come until the last song, when Al sinks his teeth into THE MINUTE YOU'RE GONE. Hoping EMI gets a few more of Al's albums together, like the superb 1972 "Love Theme From The Godfather" album and / or 1967's THIS LOVE FOR YOU or DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL on compact disc soon."