La Luna Review
It seemed like an endless wait leading up to the release of ‘La Luna’, and the anticipation was huge. Could it possibly live up to the magnificent ‘Eden’? The original European release contained only 11 new songs, as ‘Serenade’ was only a 50 second introduction to ‘How Fare This Spot’, and ‘First of May’ was already on the single of ‘Eden’, but even so, I soon came to like it even more that Eden. With that in mind, the 4 extra tracks added to the US release make La Luna easily my favourite Sarah album to date. Her voice just keeps on improving, it is now more beautiful and pure than ever before, and would still be great to listen to simply on it’s own. The voice isn’t on it’s own though, but lends it’s sweet caress to many absolute gems of songs on this album. The overall production of the album is of a similarly high standard to that of Eden, each song is well crafted, and the blending of the voice with the different backing instruments sounds wonderful.
The album begins with the introductory track 'La Lune', much like 'In Paradisum' on Eden. It is mostly sound effects, and can't really stand alone as a good song, but it sets the mood effectively for what is to come. Next is the very upbeat 'Winter in July'. This is a great singalong, and really gives you a lift, a wonderful addition to the album. Next is ‘Scarborough Fair’, a traditional folk song that was recorded by Simon and Garfunkel. It is a lovely tune, and Sarah’s voice is lovely to match. Despite each verse being quite similar, the way each one builds up from the previous one is great. ‘Figlio Perduto’ takes a classical tune by Beethoven, gives it a modern accompanyment, and the result is an absolutely stonking piece of choral rock music. Very entertaining indeed. Fifth is a cover of Procol Harum's hit 'A Whiter shade of pale'. I don't know the original version that well, but this is very enjoyable and I'm certain its a big improvement.
Next is 'He doesn't see me', which has had its lyrics changed from the European release from third person to first person. Although I prefer the way the original lyrics sound more like a medievil love story, Sarah sounds gorgeous again, and the tune is very soft and calming. Next comes ‘Serenade/How fare this spot’, the second part of which is a melody by Rachmaninov. I might try and listen to more Rachmaninov after this, because this is so beautiful, and the translation of the lyrics make it even more so. Although it’s only 2 minutes long, this is probably my favourite on the album. ‘Hijo de la luna’ is sung in Spanish and indeed the song has a definite Spanish feel to it. It has a wonderful and flowing melody, and Sarah’s voice is at it’s peak, it’s sounds so close and yet very soft and clear.
‘Here with me’ is a pure pop song, and some have said that it seems out of place on the album, but I don’t agree. It’s a great singalong, with a wonderful symphonic ending, as good as anything from ‘Dive’. Next is ‘La Califfa’, which, like ‘Nella Fantasia’, is an adaption of a piece of music by the film composer Ennio Morricone. This has an absolutely gorgeous melody, and is beautifully sung, definitely one of my favourites. The pop ballad ‘This Love’ took a few minutes to get used to on first hearing, but is now one of my favourites from the album. There aren’t many lyrics, but Sarah’s voice sounds gorgeous, and the blending voices in the last 2 minutes are a joy to listen to. ‘Solo con te’ is another Haendel song, like ‘Laschia…’ from Eden. It’s nice enough, and better than ‘Laschia…’, but is probably my least favourite on the album. Next is ‘Gloomy Sunday’, which is known as the suicide song, but actually I find there is a glimmer of hope at the end of it. I don’t usually like anything jazzy, but this is as good as jazz gets, and thankfully there is no saxophone. It gets better each time I hear it!
The album ends with the powerful operatic aria, 'La Luna', by Dvorak. Both the verses and chorus are beautiful, and the climatic ending is awesome. I usually don’t like Sarah’s operatic voice as much as her pop voice, but here, I prefer the original European version, which Sarah sings with her opera voice, over the new version, which uses her softer voice. Still both versions are wonderful. As if this wasn't a good enough ending to the album already, they have thrown in a hidden track at the end just for good measure. 'Moon River' is sweet and sentimental, like a lullaby. Sarahs voice sounds so close to you, that you can hear every little breath, and there is very little accompanyment. It's a great song, but I think I would have preferred a full length version with full orchestra etc. Still, I shouldn't complain, this album is absolutely awesome, every song deserves its place.
Overall, I think La Luna has confirmed Sarah’s position as the most versatile singer there is, and if there is any justice it will be as successful as ‘Eden’, if not more. People have said that the album is cold, but then the moon is supposed to be cold. I prefer to think of it as an icy beauty, because the album is absolutely gorgeous. The only thing that worries me is how can Sarah's next album possibly live up to this!