Track Listing

1. Oceano
2. My Confession
3. Mi Mancherai (Il Postino) feat Joshua Bell
4. Si Volvieras a Mi
5. When You Say You Love Me
6. Per Te
7. All �Improvviso Amore
8. Broken Vow
9. Caruso
10. Remember When It Rained
11. Hymme a L�Amour
12. You Raise Me Up
13. Never Let Go feat Deep Forest

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6462 in Music
• Released on: 2003-12-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced

Amazon.co.uk Review
Thanks to a fortuitous intersection of talent and fate, 22-year-old Josh Groban hasn't finished his senior year in performing arts school but has already released Closer, his sophomore effort on a major label. Fans of the young vocal phenomenon's debut will find much to enthral them here, even if it nudges the singer closer to the centre of producer/mentor David Foster's MOR pop sensibilities. Eschewing much of its predecessors more overt classic-lite pretensions and pop-rock covers for a slate of dramatic, Eurocentric ballads that serve as a showcase for the singer's inviting baritone, Groban shrewdly positions himself as the American alternative to the Bocelli-Watson crossover axis. "Caruso" may find the singer falling short of its operatic inspiration, but "Oceano" and "My Confession" quickly showcase the singer's true dramatic range (which seems to all but yearn for a bona fide Broadway musical challenge), while a vocal take of Bacalov's graceful "Il Postino" theme uses classical virtuoso Joshua Bell's violin flourishes to good effect. To his credit, Groban displays some promising efforts at songwriting collaboration on the bittersweet "Per Te" and "Remember When It Rains", while the ambient/ethnic soundscape of Deep Forest's "Never Let Go" offers a teasing alternative to the record's otherwise melodramatic production formula. Groban has found commercial triumph via Foster's mentoring, but there remains a nagging sense here that he hasn't truly pushed himself as an artist--yet. --Jerry McCulley

CD Description
Powerhouse vocalist Josh Groban may not be all things to all people, but he's certainly many things to many people. An international sensation, Groban is a Broadway-ready belter, romantic crooner, and classical/pop crossover phenomenon. Groban largely shies away from the more operatic side of his musical personality on CLOSER, leaning more towards a lush, cosmopolitan style that finds him singing in Italian, French,Spanish, and English with equal aplomb.
While the album is speckled with adult-contemporary pop production touches courtesy of Groban's mentor David Foster, much of the record sports a cinematic, grandly orchestrated feel. And on the closing track "Never Let Go", his collaboration with ambient popsters Deep Forest, Groban even bucks for inclusion on a future volume of the PURE MOODS series, showing that he's always got another stylistic surprise up his sleeve.

Customer Reviews

A wonderful album
I bought Josh Groban's debut album about half a year ago and then bought Closer recently. I am glad that I have listened to his debut first because Closer is an album that is a lot more emotional and it shows that he is more mature in his singing. My favourite tracks are Mi Mancherai, Per Te and Remember When It Rained, partly because I like the orchestral arrangment for the songs. This CD is highly recommended. I can't wait to get his next album!

Top Notch Album
The wait for this album is now over. Now the music rolls on from the debut album - Josh Groban...and the teaser Live album, where we first heard Broken Vow.

Broken Vow is heard here in CLOSER .... beautiful arrangement. This studio version is more intimate than the live version and takes us into the betrayal of this relationship.

Amongst the songs collected here, You Raise Me Up is truly outstanding. A cover of Secret Garden's gem. The opening, similarly, with Uilleann pipes sets the mood of the Irish Famine as pictured with the stirring lyric. Josh and team have done an exquisite take, made it quite his own. And I still love Secret Garden's version....

Paul Schwartz and David Foster's ALL'IMPROVVISO AMORE is another brilliant track. Punchy as the choppy sea...fluid as Josh's voice. I'm so impressed.

Joshua Bell's opening in MI MANCHERAI from il postino is typical of his standard - brilliant. Josh's voice flows into the song and again, fills it with poetry. More than I can say for Deborah Harry's version in English. As much as I love Deborah, her set of English lyric did nothing for the melody, which is recorded for the Cinema Italiano album.

Never Let Go is somewhat disappointing; a rather so-so track with Eric Mouquet. The voice does not sit into the song, or is it the other way, I cannot say.

Remember When It Rained with Eric Mouquet is so much better. Add the words, written by Josh and the song is very attractive. The arrangement sets the moody tone of rain and tears...

And there's something for everyone: a spanish track, a french one, throw in Lucio Dalla's Caruso and you get, all together, a very very impressive album from this young man.

Production-wise, this album sounds very good, with the vocals still warm and earthly.

Josh's voice has grown and the maturity shines through with smoothness and grace. Great album. Keep enjoying your work Josh and keep performing..

Thanks for the music.

Goosebumps every time!
This was the first Josh Groban CD I bought, but I'll definitely buy his debut album now. To think that someone so young can make an album of such magnitude! He is a truly gifted singer and thank God he can share this gift with the rest of the world through his CD's. I can't wait until he comes to Europe for a concert.

There isn't a song on this album that doesn't take my breath away, although my favourites are Mi Mancherai (the "duet" with the violin works magically), When you say you love me and You raise me up.

Buying this album is worth everyting you spend on it and makes a great (romantic) gift as well.

Take beautiful lyrics, amazing musical compositions and the astonishing voice of Josh Groban and - in my opinion - you have one of the greatest albums of all times.