Josh Groban Live at the Greek: great value, great songs, great effort, but…
Written: Apr 14 '05 (Updated Apr 15 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: Concertmaster Lucia Micarelli; Josh extends his upper singing range
Cons: Despite a gallant effort, Josh's voice seems somewhat tired in the last Closer tour concert
The Bottom Line: I have to wonder if this recording truly reflects Josh's vocal skills – I hope not. It's good, but there are vocal clues that he's worn out from touring…
bob_tomato's Full Review: Live at the Greek by Josh Groban
Concert touring has got to be tough, especially on those doing a major venue tour for the first time. Rushing from city to city night after night, singing in front of thousands, meeting fans, endless interviews – sounds like a lot of fun for those of us who long for fame, but if you think about it, touring is a stressful cycle. When watching the new concert DVD by Josh Groban, the reigning prince of contemporary pop vocals, this becomes very evident in a bonus featurette On the Road with Josh - he's obviously having a great time, but he looks ready to drop in some scenes…
Let me be clear about something up front – Josh Groban: Live at the Greek is really quite good overall. I enjoy almost all of the tracks, I like the darker turn that Josh has taken in some of his song selections, and the production value of both the CD and the DVD is high quality.
BUT (and oh, how I hate having to say this…) Josh has been better than what is heard in this single performance.
Take a closer listen to Josh Groban's latest offering, Josh Groban: Live at the Greek, and you may hear this stress come out in Josh's voice as he performs the final concert of his 2004 concert tour.
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Closer
Don't get me wrong – I do like Josh Groban's voice, and I appreciate his talents very much, but I think that he might have been better served by a "live" concert recording cherry-picked from the very best performances of the entire tour. I find it hard to believe that this final concert of his 2004 Closer tour at Hollywood's Greek Theater reflects Josh at his best. I don't recall hearing these same problems in his first concert recording Josh Groban in Concert.
Problem number one – in this concert, he sings a lot more notes at the high end of his range. There are times when Josh seems to be overextending his voice, and over the course of the tour, this may have taken a toll on his energies. Secondly, there are times when Josh's very fast, tight vibrato gets a little out of control – not so much as someone like Belinda Carlisle in full bleating sheep mode – but he had his vibrato under greater control in the first concert recording, which was only a one-time deal. Third, the problem that is most likely to be noticed is an overly nasal tone which, unfortunately, is heard most often in his pronunciations of the Latin language songs, which should be rich and overly rounded, if anything. It is still present in his English lyrics, but sometimes, it works better within the sound of English. (Check out Canto Alla Vita as the best example of this difference – it's sung in Italian and English)
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Josh Groban: Live at the Greek
What saves the performance are three things – Josh's backing ensemble, the arrangements of the songs, and Josh's sincere attempt to give his best effort.
I like the configuration of the instrumental ensemble very much. Josh's music requires a classical element, and despite the advances in audio technology, it is still very hard to faithfully reproduce the sound of a live string section. The set is divided in two sections – on the left is the string ensemble, about fifteen strong, which is augmented by a couple horn players and a harp. On the right is a typical pop/rock rhythm section, with drums, percussion, bass, guitar and keyboards. Each side is fronted by a lead musician – the strings are led by a strikingly beautiful violin ingénue, Lucia Micarelli, while the rhythm section features the talented keyboardist Zachary Provost, who also serves as the musical director for the Closer tour.
The resulting sound can only lightly be termed "classical" at its heart, because this tour is geared to be more in line with mainstream pop in sound and feel. The arrangements are less rooted in the past than some recordings of Andrea Bocelli and Charlotte Church, allowing for some vocal and instrumental sampling, guitar hooks, strong drum patterns. Micarelli is a very good violinist, and she is featured as a lead instrument on a few songs, giving a hauntingly beautiful, tender performance in Mi Mancherai (theme from Il Postino). Doesn't hurt any that she's an attractive young woman, standing out from the darkened stage in her gorgeous green dress, but I digress – she's a terrific violin player with a marvelously light touch, capable of impeccably deft runs that add strong dramatic effect to each of the songs she plays.
Song choice plays a large part in the sound of the show, featuring some of his more strident work such as Oceano and Remember When it Rained from the Closer album, along with Remember from the soundtrack of the movie Troy. Older fans of Josh might be hard pressed to recognize it, but that IS Linkin Park's My December that gets a decent arrangement from Provost and Groban that works fairly effectively, though I doubt it will bring any pop-metal fans into the Groban fold.
But you have to give Josh credit for even trying to branch out into new territory like this – he's a young guy, and I'm sure that his I-Pod has more than just Italian arias and Ally McBeal soundtracks on it. Josh might be trying to avoid being stereotyped as that guy who sings contemporary Italian popera on PBS, even though PBS aired this very concert back in December of 2004. Canto Alla Vita features a keyboard/guitar intro that would be at home in many rock arenas, and Josh ends the song playing the drums along with the band. (FYI – he's not too shabby either.) Josh also sits down at the piano to accompany himself in a very nice rendition of Paul Simon's America, proving that Groban could be a decent piano man if he chose to.
Whether Josh is actually fatigued or not, he does appear to be giving great effort in his performance from song to song. He is a bit awkward when trying to engage his adoring and screaming (far too often) fans, who seem to be mostly teens and twenty-somethings, hanging on his every move. Josh's repartee with the audience definitely needs some work – most telling is his shout-out "LOS ANGELEEEES!" during the cheesy big finish tacked onto the concert's closer Never Let Go. And the rest of the song was going so well – too bad they had to ruin it…
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Never Let Go
That ending seems to sum it up for me about this entire project – it's full of good music, a lot of earnest performances by Josh and the band, but I can't get over the suspicion that this is not Josh at his best. There are several really good moments – Josh belts out some very dramatic vocals in Remember When it Rained, You Raise Me Up, and Remember; a guest appearance by banjo wizard Bela Fleck livens up Alla Luce Del Sole; and Lucia Micarelli is a revelation, especially given the chance to shine as the soloist in Nocturne/Bohemian Rhapsody. But with all the fangirl Beatle-esque screaming that intrudes on quiet songs, the frequent slips of vibrato control and an overly nasal tone throughout, I can only cautiously recommend this CD/DVD set.
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The DVD
Some quick notes on the DVD (this is a Music review, so I made that my primary focus) –
The DVD is fairly typical for a concert production – lots of close-ups of Josh's earnest face, some dramatic lighting gracing a simplistic modern stage set, and the fans…LOTS of fans. This is definitely a collection that Josh's fans will love – the bonus documentary gives the fans a chance to see and hear Josh in some candid moments as he gives some gee-whiz, cutesy comments on touring, the road, his band, the venues, and of course, all his loving fans. Also included is a live version of Josh's Academy Award nominated song Believe from the film The Polar Express.
Navigation through the menu is easy – no weird setups, no easter eggs to hunt down. The picture is terrific, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround is good, giving an excellent "in the audience" feel, though the incessant screaming doesn't help any (but it makes for a realistic concert recording).
As with his first concert recording, I think that the CD/DVD combination is an excellent value, though I would like to have more of the songs on the CD (there's only eight tracks on the CD) – especially missed are My December and To Where You Are. I'd like to be able to listen to those when I'm on the go, away from a DVD player.
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Josh Groban - Live at the Greek
CD and DVD package
Originally released in November, 2004 by Warner/Reprise Records
CD Track Listing
Oceano / Mi Mancherai (Il Postino) / Mi Morena / Canto Alla Vita / Remember When It Rained / Remember / America / Never Let Go
DVD Track Listing
Oceano / Per Te / To Where You Are / Mi Mancherai (Il Postino) / Mi Morena / Alejate / Canto Alla Vita / Nocturne/Bohemian Rhapsody (performed by Lucia Micarelli) / Alla Luce Del Sole (special guest artist: Bela Fleck) / My December / Caruso / Remember When It Rained / Vincent (Starry Starry Night) / Remember / You Raise Me Up / America / Never Let Go
DVD Extras
On The Road With the Josh Groban 2004 Concert Tour
Bonus Performance Believe from The Polar Express
Josh Groban s 2002 PBS Great Performances special was a #1 selling DVD and the best-selling long-form music video of 2003. His second Great Performanc...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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