Various Artists – An Evening In Italy – Dining, Dancing And Romancing The Italian Way – CD

Digipak

Ever think about how much fun it would be to visit Italy but not really in the mood to leave the comfort of your living room? ‘An Evening in Italy – Dining, Dancing And Romancing The Italian Way’ offers the perfect compromise, an atmospheric soundtrack for all three of those tremendously satisfying activities whether you’re sitting pretty in a lovely Venetian café or luxuriating in your own easy chair. Naturally, some of the country’s favorite sons are prominently featured -Domenico Modugno with his 1958 classic Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volaré), Renato Carosone, Natalino Otto, Fred Buscaglione, and Rocco Granata, whose Marina was an international hit in 1959. Plenty of American stars shine bright on this anthology too: operatically trained tenor Mario Lanza delivers a climactic Ave Maria following the effervescent Lou Monte (translating Merle Travis’ Sixteen Tons into Neapolitan as well as relating the romping tale of Pizza Boy U.S.A.), the eternally suave Dean Martin, Connie Francis, Louis Prima, Elvis Presley (It’s Now Or Never was an updated O Sole Mio), Paul Anka, and Dion, whose Italian-language rendition of Donna The Prima Donna brings him right back to his old ‘hood in the Bronx. A few performers you might not expect to encounter on such an ethnically themed collection are here too – Nat ‘King’ Cole, Rosemary Clooney with her festive Mambo Italiano, doo-wopping Norman Fox & The Rob Roys (their jumping Pizza Pie must have enlivened a few New York eateries in 1959), and thundering R&B pianist Camille Howard, who transformed one of Italy’s most beloved themes into her showstopping O Solo Mio Boogie. Order up a plate of pasta and a bottle of wine and dig this Italian serenade!

• Louis Prima with Sam Butera and His Wittnesses – Buona Sera
• Vittorio & die Rivieras – Tintarella Di Luna
• Lou Monte – Pizza Boy U.S.A.
• Van Wood Quartet – Butta La Pasta, Teresa
• Dion – Donna The Prima Donna (Italian)
• Fred Buscaglione E I Suoi Asternovas – Love In Portofino
• Renato Carosone E Il Suo Sestetto – Tu Vuo Fa L’Americano
• Nini Rosso E Il Suo Complesso – La Ballata Della Tromba
• Domenico Modugno – Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volaré)
• Elvis Presley – It’s Now Or Never (O Sole Mio)
• Dino Sarti – La Pasta Asciutta
• Nat King Cole – My Dream Sonata
• Tony Renis – Quando, Quando, Quando
• Renato Carosone E Il Suo Sestetto – Torero
• Connie Francis – Roman Guitar
• The Gaylords – Ma Ma Ma Marie
• Natalino Otto – Mister Paganini
• Rosemary Clooney – Mambo Italiano
• Rocco Granata – Marina
• Fred Buscaglione E I Suoi Asternovas – Teresa Non Sparare
• Louis Prima with Keely Smith and Sam Butera and His Wittnesses – Angelina / Zooma Zooma (Medley)
• Sharkey and His Kings Of Dixieland – Pizza Pie Boogie
• Paul Anka – A Steel Guitar And A Glass Of Wine
• Dean Martin – On An Evening In Roma
• Lou Monte – Sixteen Tons (Italian)
• Norman Fox and The Rob Roys – Pizza Pie
• Camille Howard – O Solo Mio Boogie
• Mario Lanza – Ave Maria