The first entrĂ©e was Caravelli’s tribute to Spanish singer Julio Iglesias. This is easily one of the all-time gold standard productions by Maestro Caravelli. While it contains many hits exclusively popularized by Iglesias featured in Caravelli’s assorted LPs from the 1970s and early 1980s, putting them all together breathes new life to the romantic genius of Iglesias’ song choices and the arrangements made for him. Truly, this is Mediterranean romance bottled and shared with wonderful moments for a worldwide audience through Caravelli’s gift for lush melodic arrangements. Amazingly, Caravelli makes extensive use of trumpet, saxophone, piano and strings with minimal synthesizer effects except on the introduction to ‘Pauvres Diables’ and ‘When I Fall in Love’. His pop sound restores a connection to the 1960s and 1970s when popular orchestras used synthesizers sparingly. “Begin the Beguine” is as much a hit for Caravelli in this version as it was for Iglesias worldwide in 1981 featuring a semi-disco ‘Love Boat’ style tempo. Then there follows the cascade of romantic passages that flow from his saxophone and string version of ‘When I Fall in Love’, ‘Mes Trente Trois…’, ‘Pauvres Diables’, ‘Fidele’, ‘All of You’ (the best EZ listening version out there), ‘Island in the Sun’, ‘Abrazame’, ‘Hey’, ‘Manuela’, ‘Le Monde Est Beau…’ right to the end. ‘Je N'ai Pas Change’ is a surprise on this album with its wordless female soprano delicately opening the masterpiece with a tone that comes closest to an imaginary caress of one’s hands by one’s lover. Every tune is delicately dressed in the fresh enticing colours of a Mediterranean sunset!
This was probably the second of some five original
albums from the 1985-9 period when Maestro Caravelli was experimenting with a
creative reinvention of classics of popular song from the world music charts
and from Broadway, Latin catalogues and the Jazz Age. This album sparkles
because Caravelli treated every song with a mood evocative of an uptown restaurant
and wine bar where only the most sophisticated socialites mingled…But then
again, these are all very melodic rearrangements of pop standards from the
1960s and early 1970s while sounding in vogue with the saxophone led and strong
bass sound that characterized the era when Madonna, Whitney Houston, Wham and
Starship ruled the airwaves. So, Caravelli brings huge dollops of lush romance
back into the pop sound of the 80s by arranging ‘Moon River’ with a slower
tempo punctuated with a breathtaking harmonica solo that ‘walks’ the melody
through the moonlit promenade instead of singing it straight through like the
orchestras of the 1960s did in keeping closely to the original Mancini. Then
there is the GREASE-inspired take on ‘Down Town’ with a distinctive 80s sound,
and the blend of Reggae and Pop-rock rhythms on ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’.
‘Only You’ originally by the Platters, is given an unusual flavour of the Big
Band era with basslines and percussion from the 80s, while ‘Cuando Calienta...’
brings you down memory lane with a Waltz like tempo. More slow waltzing follows
on ‘Everybody Loves Somebody’ – that definitive hit from Dean Martin. Finally,
Caravelli manages to refresh ‘You are the Sunshine…’ and ‘Strangers in the
Night’ with smooth saxophone solos throughout each piece while accentuating the
beauty of each tune with contemporary basslines. Overall, this whole album is
like vintage 1960s-70s, finely aged wine, uncorked in time for a new audience
in the 80s to rediscover.
TRACK
LISTING:
1.
Red Roses
for a Blue Lady
2.
Moon
River
3.
Save
the Last Dance for Me
4.
Down
Town
5.
Strangers
in the Night
6.
Classic
& Sequencer
7.
Only
You
8.
You are
the Sunshine of My Life
9.
Cuando
Calienta el Sol
10. Yesterday
11. Can’t Help
Falling in Love
12. Everybody Loves Somebody
Finally, let’s take a trip to Blue Rondo! Caravelli et son Grand Orchestre. Blue Rondo. Made and released in Japan by EPIC SONY Records Japan in 1989 under catalogue number ESCA 5124.
This was probably the fourth of some five original albums from the 1985-9 period when Maestro Caravelli was experimenting with a creative reinvention of classics of popular song from the world music charts and from Broadway, Latin catalogues and the Jazz Age. This album sparkles because Caravelli treated every song with tremendous imagination with the help – according to the liner notes – of Serge Planchon, Gil Gambus and Patrick Vasori. Patrick is of course the son of Claude Vasori – Mr Caravelli himself. The title of this album evokes the jazz tunes of the 30s, 50s and early 60s. ‘Blue Rondo’ might be jarring initially to listeners unaccustomed to jazz but this is Caravelli taking you on a bold musical departure, teasing the listener with the less familiar, but staying close to the melodic core of the tune with plenty of lush string sound. Then there is ‘Take Five’ – another tribute to Dave Brubeck’s Quartet – ‘Louise’, ‘Syracuse’ and the ever hummable ‘Mack the Knife’. The orchestra is still extremely melodious and pop instrumental in its soul. For that reason alone, Caravelli’s fans will adore this musical adventure. This trip to jazz land is balanced with a few brilliant arrangements of pop and Broadway standards like ‘Charmaine’, ‘Tea for Two’, ‘Singing in the Rain’, ‘New York, New York’ and the nod to Bossa nova paradise – ‘Desafinado’. Caravelli keeps to his 80s styling so fans enamoured with his tribute album to Julio Iglesias, the ONLY YOU album and RAINBOW will find this album a treasure to be added to one’s collection. ‘Charmaine’ is one of my personal favourites as he takes the song far away from its trademark Mantovani arrangement towards something more intimately ‘sung’ with flute, bassoon, guitar and wall to wall strings to keep that ‘swooning’ magic. ‘Mack the Knife’, ‘Syracuse’ and ‘Desafinado’ are arranged for dancers with their fusion of neo-polka and jazz ballet rhythms, upgraded for the 80s. There is enough familiarity within these classic songs to avoid alienating Caravelli fans from the 60s and 70s. Like Caravelli’s companion 1988 album TENDERLY, the maestro sure knows how to wow old fans while attracting news ones from the 1980s!
TRACK
LISTING:
1. Blue
Rondo a la Turk (A Bout de Souffle)
2. My
Own True Love (Love theme from ‘Gone with the Wind’)
3. Singing
in the Rain
4. Charmaine
5. Tea
for Two
6. Mack
the Knife
7. Prestissimo
8. Syracuse
9. Take
Five (Ne Boud Pas)
10. Desafinado
11. Louise
12. New York, New York
ALAN
July 2021
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