LOU MONTE SINGS - The Great Italian-American Songs
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The Great Italian - American Songs
| SIDE 1 THAT'S AMORE SIXTEEN TONS SORRENTO VOLARE ABBRACCIAMI I'M WALKIN' |
SIDE 2 A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND CHITARRA ROMANA O SOLE MIO LUNA, LUNA, LUNA LU VIA VENETO COMM'E BELLE A STAGIONE |
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THAT'S AMORE | ||
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SIXTEEN TONS | ||
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SORRENTO | ||
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VOLARE | ||
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ABBRACCIAMI | ||
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I'M WALKIN' | ||
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A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND | ||
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CHITARRA ROMANA | ||
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O SOLE MIO | ||
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LUNA, LUNA, LUNA LU | ||
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VIA VENETO | ||
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COMM'E BELLE A STAGIONE | ||
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LOU MONTE SINGS - The Great Italian-American Songs |
| SIDE 1 THAT'S AMORE SIXTEEN TONS SORRENTO VOLARE ABBRACCIAMI I'M WALKIN' |
SIDE 2 A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND CH1TARRA ROMANA (ROMAN GUITARS) O SOLE MIO LUNA, LUNA, LUNA LU VIA VENETO COMM'E BELLE A STAGIONE (WHEN I HOLD YOU IN MY ARMS) |
| The most cursory glance down
the roster of America's most popular troubadours immediately reveals one
prime and inescapable fact — the majority are of Italian-American
extraction. Sinatra . . . Como . . . Damone . Martin . . . Darin . . .
Bennett . . . La Rosa . . . the list seems endless. Of this goodly company, however, only one bears the title, King of Italian-American Singers — that's Lou Monte. As evidenced by his many record hits — Darktown Strutters' Ball, Italian Hucklebuck, Lazy Mary, Sheik of Araby and numerous others — Lou Monte's performances are notable as much for bubbling, unrestrained enthusiasm and infectious humor as for the high degree of musicality in his singing. And always there is the unexpected : the fresh twist to familiar material that has served to endear the singer to a multitudinous audience, to maintain his position as one of the nation's top night club entertainers and to keep his recordings hot on the best-selling lists. In his first album for Reprise, the irrepressible Mr. Monte lends his certain touch to some material already familiar in different garb. Who but Monte, for example, would dare take off on the wild Italian version of Fats Domino's rock and roll classic, I'm W alkin' ; or have the temerity to invest that anthem of the red,hot marhas, A Good Man Is Hard To Find, with the torrid spirit of a Mediterranean piazza party? Or take his version of That's Amore; he wallops the song home in a fashion that can only be described as a cross between rock and roll and swing. Then, of course, there's the tale of woe about the hard-working stiff who "owes his soul to the company store," Sixteen Tons. In Italian? Only Monte could bring it off. There is a straight side to Lou Monte also. He reveals it in his rendition of the romantic Italian favorite, Comm'e Bella Stagione (When I Hold You In My Arms), in the ballad Abbracciami or the ode to Italia's Fifth Avenue, Via Veneto. Chitarra Romana (Roman Guitars) is done bi-lingually, in both Italian and English, while Sorrento and 0 Sole Mio are Mediterranean to the core, redolent with the scent of olive groves. Luna, Luna, Luna Lu is a reprise of a song that became a great success in England, and Volare, of course, is Italian and swinging all the way. Throughout, the imaginative orchestrations of Joe Reisman, highlighting the voicing of accordions and mandolins to achieve a sound that is different, yet in character with the singer, construct a perfect framework for each performance. DISTRIBUTED BY PYE RECORDS 566 ELIZABETH STREET, MELBOURNE |
 Lou Monte |
