I RECEIVED MY CD TODAY AND HAVE NOT STOPPED PLAYING IT. I HAVE JUST PLACED AN ORDER FOR ANOTHER OF JOSH'S CD'S. HE HAS AN AMAZING VOICE AND THE SONGS ARE BEAUTIFUL. I WILL CERTAINLY BE WATCHING FOR FUTURE WORK BY JOSH AND I WILL ORDER. THANK YOU JOSH FOR SHARING YOUR BEAUTIFUL VOICE WITH US.

I will try not to be quite as snuedy as the music snob, I mean, "enthusiast" who gave this CD two stars. First off, Josh Groban is not a tenor. A fact made apparent by the high notes on this CD. They are Fs, F#s, Gs and one or two As, all definite baritone notes. Secondly, the "pop twist" he puts on these songs? They're pop songs, what's he supposed to do? Okay, now that the corrections have been made, here's what's good about this CD: Josh Groban has had classical/musical theatre voice training, but has the smarts to realise that if he wants to appeal to the majority of America/Europe, then he's going to have to 'lighten up' a bit. He sings breathier than a full blown 'opera singer' would and makes sure that he keeps his top very 'popp-ish', in order to attain a more mellow sound. Highlights on this CD are Gira Con Me (my absolute favorite Josh song ever), You're Still You from his appearance on Ally McBeal, To Where You Are his single and I must say a truly moving song and performance (I understand his grandmother passed away during or before the recording of this ablum, perhaps that had something to do with it), Alejate, Un Amore Per Sempre, and The Prayer (despite *gulp* Charlotte Church). His voice has a warmth to it that you don't hear much in "opera singers" that is very endearing. I give "Joshy boy" FIVE STARS!

You've never heard anything quite like this.
Sure, you've heard "Vincent" before, and you've heard "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" before.

But you've never heard this voice. In 2001 he had a very light baritone/rich tenor range and the high notes were (and still are) amazing.
Yes, it helps if David Foster produces your album. And it helps if you have an impressive list of guest stars (the Corrs, Lili Haydn, Charlotte Church?). But he amazes above and beyond that. People weren't expecting this amount of versatility, from rocking out on Alla Luce del Sole and Canto Alla Vita to sounding immensely soulful on Jesu and The Prayer, crooning through Home to Stay (a tearjerker if there ever was one) and Vincent, and enchanting with Gira Con Me and Cinema Paradiso. There's a Spanish flair on Alejate (this is Celine Dion's "Just Walk Away", re-written with Spanish lyrics), and Euro-pop influences with Canto Alla Vita, a little New-Age music with Cirque du Soleil's "Let me Fall". The Corrs (who normally don't sound that terrific) really shine on their duet with him. Charlotte Church, who has gone downhill faster than you can say "Drugs, booze, and cigarettes", had a lovely voice at the time and their duet is incredibly gorgeous.

2 of my other favorite songs, "You're Still You" and "To Where You Are", were actually sung on Ally McBeal (where he acted for a few episodes) before the album was released. Cinema Paradiso and You're Still You have music written by the A-mazing Ennio Morricone. To Where you Are, Richard Marx. The Prayer, David Foster. Some have lyrics written by David's wife Linda Thompson, Un Amore Per Sempre is written in part by Walter Afanasieff. No matter where you turn, it's good material. Some of it familiar, yes, but why not? We want familiarity! The blend between the old and new is excellently done and the fact that this album is still selling like hotcakes after 4 years is proof.

He was 20 (sorry, not 17. He was 17 when David Foster "discovered" him and he sang at the Grammys with Celine Dion, Bocelli was sick.) when this album was recorded and released. Operatic tenor? No, and he says so himself. He's a light (but very rich) baritone with tenoristic capabilities who hopes to sing opera later on in his career. Not sure where this confusion comes from, there is NO OPERA on here. Look at the track listing. NO OPERA. Just because he has the breath control and the volume that comes with **SOME** classical training --not everybody can pick this up, and even some classically trained singers end up doing gooey, breathy pop---, it's being mistaken for opera? One look at the tracklisting makes it quite apparent that it's not opera, and they're not marketing it as opera, so stop already.
A common --and unfortunate-- misconception is that if it's in Italian, it must be opera. No, sorry, folks! This is called "Europop", or possibly "Italian pop", or maybe "what they play in the grocery stores in Italy", but it's not opera. On his second album, there's a great song called "Caruso" which might be considered opera by some. I wouldn't. Pavarotti, Bocelli, they've all sung it but that doesn't make it opera. You want freshly done opera with a classical base? Listen to Amici Forever. Want rock opera? Then listen to these new people, East Village. Want house-shaking, full length things? Then go to your local opera house and watch a real opera. I'm afraid most of the people on here complaining that it's not opera have never seen or even heard the real thing.
But Josh doesn't sing opera --yet--, and that's fine with me. When David Foster and/or David Romano gives the nod, I'm sure we'll hear it.

By the way, if you log on to eBay, and click "Community", then "groups" and search for Classical Crossover, a music discussion group pops up... we'd love to yak about music with you...