Il Divo - Siempre

Are they good looking opera boys or opera boys who look good?

(Los Angeles, California) In all fairness, I think Simon Cowell’s sophisticated hunk band, Il Divo, could sing the alphabet to me and I’d love them just the same. So…yes…go ahead and roll your eyes because this is going to be one of those reviews.

Since I first reviewed their debut recording, Ancora, I have fallen head over heals in love with Il Divo as much for their music as for their heavenly visages. What I think I’ve come to appreciate most about the international megastar group is that they really are a genuinely talented bunch of guys who have been blessed with extraordinary good looks and the tutelage of starmaker Cowell, who is presently at the height of his powers. In fact, the only downfall I see to Il Divo as a group is that their choice of music does not always rise to the level of their talent.

At times on Siempre, Il Divo’s latest recording, it feels like the album’s producers, in their efforts to appease all those Middle American housewives that Oprah’s got all lathered up over the group, overshot the middle a bit and landed squarely in schmaltz-ville. The best example of this is track 3, the quartet’s take on the most retooled song of 2006, “Without You”, which is as boring and uneventful on Siempre as it is on Clay Aiken’s latest covers album. Even big notes from the boys of Il Divo can’t save this track from being a wince-inducing skipper.

That said, Siempre’s opening track “Nights In White Satin (Notte Di Luce)” pays brilliant witness to the thing that makes Il Divo special and that is the way their magnificent voices blend to create romantic musical melodrama. And just to further prove that point, “Caruso”, the disc’s second track provides an even better example of this uniquely Il Divo trait.

Other winning tracks on Siempre, include “Have You Ever Loved A Woman (Un Regalo Que Te Dio La Vida)”, a track Il Divo elevates to dramatic heights Bryan Adams never even dreamed of scaling, “La Vida Sin Amor”, an Adult-Contemporary chart-topper waiting to happen, and the Spanish guitar tinged “Una Noche”, which inspires thoughts of stripping down naked, jumping into a fountain and having wild passionate sex with a raven haired young, titled Spanish gent …well at least that’s what it did for me.

Yes I’d love to see Il Divo team up with the likes of Enigma or with some of my favorite European DJs like Francois K. or the Shapeshifters and really do something that revolutionizes the way the world thinks about classical music and the magical effect that real voices can bring to any musical medium. But at the same time, I’m equally as happy to look at the pretty faces that make up Il Divo as they beautifully give voice to pretty songs. What can I say? I’m easy.

Il Divo’s Siempre and The Christmas Collection by Il Divo are both in stores now.
*Review by Duane Wells, 365Gay.com