Review Summary: Incanto: Bocelli’s way of saying thanks.
Tuscan-born tenor, Andrea Bocelli shows no signs of deceleration at the age of general retirement. Despite his ongoing success, beautiful voice, and obvious romantic sensibilities,
Incanto (“Enchanted”) rarely shows any signs of Bocelli at his pure absolute best. It’s arguably not a place to begin experiencing the man but more importantly probably the best place for someone willing to experience a more complex design, crafted between musical interplay, modern orchestral arrangement and even signs of pop fraying at the edges. As epic as the collection begins in this respect with harmonic bliss in
“Un Amore Cosi Grande”, there’s no place here for a modern rhythm section forcing its way between the female chorus and strings.
Whether he’s joyfully reminiscing during
"Mamma" or vibrating through the clouds of love-laden lyricism of
“Because” (formerly a
Perry Como hit) he does maintain a sense of unmatched vocal entertainment, given there are times of uncertainty. Other standouts include the overly well known
“Funiculi Funicula”, which demonstrates one of the only pieces to have a genuinely complimenting orchestral score. It’s evident that his influences over the years have given him a sense of direction, a sense of purpose and confidence, and in turn forged this release. The question is – will this personal devotion generate as an emotional reflection in the audience as 2006’s
Amore did?
The answer? Probably not. However being as broad, as wistful and as fun as it could have possibly been, Incanto is successful in one respect but presses upon the lesser side of his skills - finding a collection of pieces for the man to either seemingly rerecord, or magnificently rebuild. Looking for anything completely unique in this recording will leave many lost in its walls of generics, but will have them find gems of brilliance here and there.
