Al Martino's biggest claim to fame is that he was the first artist to have a UK No 1 single. When the very first Top 40 was published in November 1952, his "Here In My Heart" sat proudly on top of the pile. It's nice to think that whatever else can happen in your career, they can't take that away from you.
What fun it is to look at that first chart. All those great singers like Mario Lanza (a close friend of Al's), Vera Lynn, Guy Mitchell and…..er, Max Bygraves with the immortal "Cowpuncher's Cantata". But we're getting off track somewhat so back to Mr Martino.
He was born Alfred Cini in Philadelphia on 7/10/27 and began his singing career with help from Mario Lanza, the Italian-American opera singer. Indeed it was Lanza who passed over the opportunity to record "Here In My Heart" that allowed Al Martino his big break, as he stepped in to take his place at the microphone. As well as being No 1 here, the single sold over one million copies in the USA.
"Here In My Heart" was one of a string of hits for Al between 1952-1955, as his rich baritone timbre put the finished touches to stylishly written and orchestrated songs like "Now" and "Wanted". Coming high on the list of You Couldn't Make It Up, his 1955 hit "The Man From Laramie" was kept off the top of the charts by Jimmy Young's version of the same song. (I'm old enough to remember Jimmy Young as a Radio Two DJ!!)
The UK hits dried up but he remained a popular live act and enjoyed something of a renaissance in the early 1970's, appearing as Johnny Fontaine in "The Godfather" (it's him singing at the wedding in the film's opening scenes), and having another big UK hit with Bert Kampfaert's composition "Spanish Eyes", which has gone on to become his theme song.
Alright, well what's the CD like? It's 19 tracks of live recordings, with hugely enjoyable renditions of chestnuts like "Feelings", "Painted Tainted Rose" and "Strangers In The Night", along with some old Italian-American favourites "Volare" and "O Marenariello", with Al and the band all totally at ease with the material and each other. During "Strangers In The Night" he throws in a line "you looked like you were nervous" and you can hear the band all laughing in the background.
I like his careful rendition of "Mary In The Morning" and the funked up quickstep of "Quando Quando Quando". He often switches from English to Italian whilst singing, which is fun to listen to. A good example is on Livraghi and Panzeri's "A Man Without Love (Quando Minamoro)". And of course we have "Spanish Eyes". This is just adios and not goodbye.
I got this CD from our local Morrison's supermarket for £2.99 but I've seen it on Amazon for as little as 92p. Perfect for Sunday mornings, and although I usually prefer my sounds as hard and heavy as they come, even us middle-aged rockers need some chillout time occasionally and this is ideal. A nice collection of easy listening classic recordings from a really good singer.
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23.11.2005 19:37
I like 'Spanish Eyes' and 'Volare' I think I might have a listen to this. Great informative review. Rachel x
06.10.2005 16:12
not heard of him. a well written review em x
29.09.2005 13:29
Where on earth do you find this stuff........... LOL. A most enlightening review.