Andrea Bocelli’s “Pasion” CD Review

What is Andrea Bocelli doing in Latino Music Cafe? I never thought I would review an album by Andrea Bocelli, but “Pasion” is an exception.

“Pasion” is an album recorded mostly in Spanish of mostly “bolero” standards. There are also songs in French, Italian, English, and Portuguese. In case you don’t know, Andrea Bocelli almost reproduced the album in a “live” concert in the port village of Portofino, Italy. The Portofino concert is beautiful and this album is equal in beauty.

“Pasion” was released in January 2013 just in time for the St. Valentine’s season. I was not expecting much of this romantic album. This is because the 15 songs included are mostly standards of the Latin American “bolero” songbook. Yet, “Pasion” brings us a full symphonic orchestra with excellent soloist. The extraordinary arrangements make this recording a delight to listen (sorry for the spoiler).

What I Liked About “Pasion”

Where do I start? Well, I loved Andrea Bocelli’s performance in this album. Andrea can sing in Spanish in a way that sounds authentic (as opposed to the almost mechanical type of lip-sync other artists do when just singing words in Spanish) and besides with…errr…passion.

I also liked the symphonic orchestra. The sound in the CD is nothing short of amazing. It just sounds so good! The orchestra, the engineering, the arrangements; everything is done in a way that makes this album sound just beautiful.

The guest artists Andrea Bocelli brings are right on. These include Jennifer Lopez (“Quizas, Quizas, Quizas”), Nelly Furtado (“Concorvado”), the late French legend Edith Piaf (in a recording of her voice in “La Vie En Rose”), and trumpeter Chris Botti (“Contigo En La Distancia”).

Below is a video of Andrea Bocelli singing “Quizas, Quizas, Quizas”

The song selection was excellent, and the few romantic songs in other languages fit the album like a ring to a finger. Although I do understand a bit of the Italian and Portuguese songs, I honestly don’t pay that much attention to the lyrics and more to the beautiful performances with the gust artists.

My favorite songs in the album are “Perfidia”, which has an intoxicating melody that highlights tunes by the guitar, “Champan” which although sang in Spanish, the accordion makes it sound very French, just like the beverage is, and “Concorvado”, the Tony Jobim classic sang in Portuguese in a beautiful duet with Nelly Furtado.

Suggestions for Andrea Bocelli About “Pasion”

Well…I’m almost out of words. I normally like to find something, anything about an album that maybe someone might not like. It was hard with “Pasion”. I’ll just point out 2 things:

The last song, “Love Me Tender”, the Elvis classic and the only song in English in the album, is one of two songs I did not care much in the album. The other song I didn’t care much for is “Era Ya Todo Previsto”, which is a song in which Andrea highlights his skill as a tenor, but that I find more depressing than romantic.

The other thing I’ll point out as a commentary rather than as a “don’t like” is that the song “Quizas, Quizas, Quizas” with Jennifer Lopez might have been better if song in English.

My Recommendation of “Pasion”

I really liked “Passion” mostly because of the quality of the romantic songs in this album and the quality of the performances. Andrea Bocelli is one of the best selling artists of our time for a reason. The attention to quality and details in this recording are simply amazing.

I’m also mezmerized by Andrea’s ability to sing in Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese in such a natural way. Listening to this album is really a treat that you should enjoy with your loved one over your favorite bottle of wine.

I also recommend that you check out the concert “Live at Portofino” where Andrea Bocelli highlights “Pasion”. It’s a beautiful video with more guest artists. I saw it in PMB and just couldn’t stop watching until the end!