While his previous albums, The Italian and Forever Begins Tonight, focused on Italian songbook classics and adaptations of English-language pop songs, romantic balladeer Patrizio Buanne's first release since signing a major-label deal with Warner Records is a much more conventional affair that recalls the contemporary swing-pop output of Michael Bublé. Produced by Humberto Gatica (Elton John), the Napoli baritone's self-titled third studio album sees him perform predominantly in English for the first time, a move that has resulted in a slightly more accessible sound but one that has also robbed him of his unique selling point. Renditions of big-band classics like Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" and show tunes from My Fair Lady ("On the Street Where You Live") and Oklahoma ("I Can't Say No") are all competently performed, but without his seductive native-tongued delivery, they lack the intrigue, passion, and emotion of his previous work. Alongside cover versions of Patsy Cline's "Crazy," Rosemary Clooney's "Mambo Italiano," and Santa Esmeralda's "You're My Everything," there's also a fairly modern offering, Bryan Adams' Don Juan DeMarco theme "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" and a brand-new song, "Why Did You Have to Be?," penned by the prolific Diane Warren. But the album only really comes to life when Buanne reverts to his Italian roots, as on the gorgeous duet with Reneé Olstead on an interpretation of Shirley Bassey's "Never, Never, Never." Patrizio is a valiant attempt at mainstream easy listening pop, but it fails to offer anything new that will enable him to stand out from the plethora of modern crooners on the current music scene.
© Jon O'Brien /TiVo