Paul Potts [United Kingdom]: One Chance | Paul Potts | A promising first CD from an exciting new...

Paul Potts [United Kingdom]: One Chance | Paul Potts | Paul Potts: One Chance

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Paul Potts [United...

	Paul Potts [United Kingdom]: One Chance Paul Potts Sony/Bmg Int'l, 2007 average customer review:based on 242 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

2007 debut album from the winner of the first season of Britain?s Got Talent. Potts' winning performance of Puccini's 'Nessun Dorma' is now one of the most watched clips in You Tube's history (10 million+). The album includes that track as well as the equally captivating 'Time To Say Goodbye', a Spanish version of 'My Way' and Italian version of REM's 'Everybody Hurts'. 12 tracks. RCA.

A promising first CD from an exciting new tenor!

First of all, the current Paul Potts mania opens the door to all kinds of absurd descriptions of his singing. Readers should probably discount nearly all the extreme reviews and focus on those which show some sense of balance and impartiality. To call him better than Pavarotti or to complain that he is not a Pavarotti at this point makes no sense at all. He will be himself, and whatever that may ultimately mean is as yet uncertain (regardless of what we may wish or expect).

As to the CD, I bought it after seeing and hearing Mr. Potts on his famous YouTube video. From some reviewers' comments I got the feeling it might be a waste of money, but I wanted to hear a clearer sample of Potts' singing so I could judge his prospects for myself. After hearing the ten items on my CD I conclude that, though some imperfections are present, the disk is worth having, as it yields some unique and very satisfying musical experiences. It also provides clear evidence of Potts' musical talent, achievement, and possible future.

The voice itself is very fine and quite well developed for the brevity of its formal training. The musical sense is also very fine: it bespeaks a love of the art, a refined taste, a good ear for pitch, and a sensitivity to mood and persona. With the "one chance" offered by the Got Talent competition and his musical gifts and training, there is no reason why Potts should not be able to build a noteworthy career on the stage as well as on recordings. But that will depend on his willingness to strive for the level of performance such a career demands and his ability to assemble the needed resources. The prospects look good at this point.

"Nessun Dorma" is, of course, the piece we all have heard on YouTube, and the only operatic selection here. The performance is enjoyable and inspiring, though a few blemishes appear. Potts' diction in a few spots needs improvement. He occasionally mispronounces the Italian vowel "e," making it sound more like "ah." Musically, too, he may fall a little short at times, though overall he performs very well. (Thanks to Pavarotti, we're accustomed to a very high level of perfection in the singing of this lovely aria. That Potts falls a trifle short of that standard is no disgrace; moreover, he adds his own special vocal attributes.) Perhaps the best parts of Potts' rendition are the beginning and the sweeping ending where he sings "vincerò" (I shall win) as if he really means it. His high B-natural on the next-to-last note is powerful, brilliant, and in tune.

On "Time to Say Goodbye" Potts does a laudable job of negotiating the rather fast Italian lyrics at the beginning. The melodies he sings very beautifully, with the fine, sustained tone which separates him from lesser singers and the brilliance and drama which enliven climaxes. He obviously knows the Bocelli rendition, which he often seems to emulate.

His performance of "Amapola" in its original Spanish is quite endearing. At the outset he risks the exposure of his naked voice with only the barest minimum of accompaniment. To his credit he passes the test with flying colors. The naturalness and simplicity of his expression make us feel we're being serenaded by a real, flesh-and-blood person. He brings plenty of feeling to this old song, ending with the lover's anguished question "Amapola, cómo puedes tú vivir tan sola?" (Poppy flower, how can you live so alone?) Listen to it a few times: it will absolutely grow on you!

"Everybody Hurts" is sung beautifully in Italian from the very start, though a couple of very slight glitches occur near the beginning. Here he displays the smoothness of his range, from the low register through the middle and on up into high register.

"Caruso" is presented with lots of passion and conviction in flowing and quite well pronounced Italian. His singing in the low register is very fine. This dramatic rendition is convincing, satisfying, and well sung, with only the tiniest problem here or there.

"Nella Fantasia" is a lovely song which Potts sings with great warmth. His Italian sounds great and very natural. There isn't much to complain about in this beautiful performance.

"You Raise Me Up" is sung in Spanish as "Por Ti Seré" and starts out rather barely with only open fifths on the piano and the voice singing softly in its low register. It echoes the simplicity and naturalness of "Amapola," and exposes the beauty of Potts' voice with its fine tone quality and well suited vibrato. The sound builds slowly to include Celtic pipes, full orchestra, a rhythmic percussion beat, and background vocals. It is one of the finest performances on the disk, thoroughly enjoyable, engaging, and uplifting.

"My Way" is also sung in quite good Spanish, in such a way as to make us believe Potts knows exactly what he's saying. (He uses the Iberian pronunciations of the letters c and z, which sound a bit like lisping.) I've never particularly liked this song, but I must say it is well sung here and seems to lack nothing at all.

"Cavatina" is another standout among the contents of this CD. Again we are treated to the sweet simplicity, sincerity, and naturalness which make Potts' singing so accessible and affecting to his listeners. A simple, well-played guitar accompaniment keeps his voice clearly in the foreground. Few others could sing this song so well.

"Music of the Night" is another outstanding performance, perhaps the popular favorite on this disk. It is a fine vehicle to display the vocal riches which Potts brings, for it includes highs and lows not only of register, but also of emotional power and intensity, as well as a few strikingly dramatic moments, such as sudden pianissimo high notes. The performance is excellent, fully engaging, satisfying, and enjoyable, in spite of a few problems with diction. (The letter s tends to be lisped and some of the other pronunciations seem a bit too tender.) The ending note is gorgeous and stable in pitch despite the orchestral dissonances surrounding it.

In sum, this is a pretty good maiden recording. With Potts' talent and beautiful voice, along with more painstaking production efforts, we may hope for some magnificent recordings in the future. Potts' greatest attribute would seem to be simply himself. He comes across as a real person, and one whom we imagine we know, understand, and perhaps love. His apparent humility, lack of artifice, and down-to-earth wholesomeness make us attend carefully and sympathetically to what he sings.

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Paul Potts: One Chance

I listen to this CD over and over. By about the 3rd time I have forgiven everyone for everything and love them all! And that is without knowing what the words are saying!

Touching story with a happy ending! Thank you Paul!

I first heard of Paul Potts on YouTube and like many others, thought it was a fairytale ending to a beautiful story. Paul conquered bullies, sadness, and shyness and won over our hearts with his amazing voice and talent. He brought Opera to those that didn't understand it or appreciate it. I bought this CD not only for myself, but for Paul. He made me smile, cry, and laugh. Success couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Thank you Paul...

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Paul Potts CD

I enjoy this CD very much, and play it often. I've also bought or recommended it to family and friends. I look forward to the next CD he'll make.

Phenomenal!

Saw GBT a month or so ago, a fluke as it's the only time I've ever watched it and don't watch American Idol either. It was a totally mesmerizing experience and probably one of the most dramatic real-life stories ever seen. Distracted, it was only a week ago that I decided to Google it. Didn't even know his name just American Idol opera singer (even forgot it was GBT) and came up with Paul Potts. Ah, played his audition video over 200 times by now I believe. The most moving two or three minutes of television I've ever seen, better than any Hollywood movie! The awkward, none too handsome, nervous, fella with bad gnashers, wearing a cheap, ill-fitting,off-the-rack suit just totally floored me with the sounds that came out of his mouth, along with the judges and the audience of course.

Some of the opera mavens are saying he's lazy, untalented, cheated, at best a good pop singer, etc. etc. Maybe they're right. I'm pig ignorant at opera and had to even look up the word squillo and another by Kaine, but for good or evil I don't think Paul Potts planned to "cheat" by becoming good enough to impress us pig ignorant folk and never taking any pay to do so. Just worked out that way. I went back and started listening to the few opera cds I have and although I like Paul's version of Nessun Dorma even better than Pavarotti's I just listened to Ben Heppner's version and can easily see that he's got more equipment and sings it better than Potts, but hey, maybe Paul will improve enough to at least be a professional opera singer, maybe not. Nessun Dorma is one of the few arias us pig-ignorant of opera can appreciate cold though. I'd like to see him sing Rigoletto. Just saw Roberto Alagna sing it on a you tube video that blew me away. There's a tune that most of opera ignorant recognize and perhaps he should have sang that rather than Nessun Dorma again. Loved his Con Te Partiro on the show though -- made me cry -- was thinking of my mother, perhaps Amanda was thinking of her Grandfather. Yes, I guess it wasn't a "real" opera song, but a great one to show off a trained voice. Oh, and his self-confidence and demeanor were vastly improved from his "nervous little boy" that one detractor labeled him.

I've read every review posted by Amazon and the one attribute you'll see is his ability to get to us emotionally. The people that love Paul now though wouldn't be listening to him if he were to sing mostly real opera songs. You have to learn opera over a period of time I suspect.

Loved his Music of the Night rendition I downloaded. I'm just now buying his album. Btw, I have a program that allows me to download the videos from Google or YouTube and it also extracts the audio for mp3s. Made a CD with his audition Nessum Dorma, (even included Simon Cowell's "okay, ready when you are." and Time to Say Goodbye and Music of the Night. Actually surprising how good it sounds!

One thing that bothered me was one person said that Sony got him a top-notch coach, but I was reading his newspaper accounts from around the world and they were saying he was traveling light with only his tour manager and his wife. After this whirlwind tour I hope he spends more time improving his voice. I'm hoping he can at least make it to the professional level if that's what he really wants. Time will tell if he's good enough for the pros, eh? Having spent years studying chess I wonder if the mavens are correct in their assessment of his talent, i.e., even his potential talent? I know a grandmaster can judge a chessplayer's talent at a glance more accurately than the average club player. On the other hand Bobby Fischer was playing another grandmaster, Robert Byrne, in an important game and two grandmasters commenting on the game thought Byrne's had the better game. A few minutes later Byrne's resigned. So, even the experts aren't always seeing everything, perhaps what us common folk are seeing, i.e., the emotional power of his singing will transcend his deficiencies (if he corrects them at least somewhat, maybe a lot) to win all the marbles and grab the brass ring after. Then again, mabye not.

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