Rita Pavone - a tiny singer with a big voice
John Napper | Milton Keynes, England | 04/26/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first discovered Rita Pavone in 1966 when she had two minor hits in the UK, 'Heart' and 'You,Only You' I bought both along with the less successful 'Sunshine Boy' in 1968. Until recently I knew nothing else about this Italian singer with the marvelous voice.
Thanks to Amazon I was able to buy this Greatest Hits CD. It is all in Italian. I can't understand a word. It doesn't matter. This is marvelous music and includes 'Cuore', the Italian version of my favourite song, 'Heart' in a very different arrangement. Her amazing voice copes easily with a wide variety of material from the powerful balad 'Fortissimo' to the Italian version of a song I imagined to be untranslatable, 'Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious' from Mary Poppins which sounds so much better than I remember it in English. I could go on for ever. I've played no other CD since I bought it a month ago.
Supercalifragelisticesperalidoso."
Italian singer of the sixties
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/13/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rita has a very powerful voice but controls it well on this selection of songs, mostly from the sixties and all sung in Italian. Rita was a huge star in several countries although she only managed top hits in Britain (Heart, You only you) , both of which made the top thirty but not the top twenty.. The Italian version of Heart (Cuore) opens this set. Although released as a double CD, all 24 tracks would comfortably fit on a single CD.
Not knowing any Italian, many of the songs are unfamiliar to me but I recognized Datemi un Martello (If I had a hammer - Pete Seeger), Qui ritornera (Here it comes again - Fortunes), Stai con me (Stand by me -Ben E King) and Supercalafrigilistichespiralidoso (Supercalafragilisticexpialadocious - Julie Andrews). One or two others sound familiar but I can't name them.
An understanding of Italian is not essential - Rita's powerful, expressive voice is a delight to hear."
Disappointed
Charles Ginetto | NYC | 06/08/2007
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I returned these CDs because they bore no resemblance to what they were advertised to be, i.e., Patty's original recordings."