Awake by Josh Groban (CD, Nov-2006, Reprise)

Josh Groban is one of the most talented artists ever. At such a young age he has an amazing voice and sings in both English and Italian. These are the songs on this CD:

1. Mai

2. You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)

3. Un Dia Llegara

4. February Song

5. L'Ultima Notte

6. So She Dances

7. In Her Eyes

8. Solo Por Ti

9. Now Or Never

10. Un Giorno Per Noi (Romeo E Giulietta)

11. Lullaby (With Ladysmith Black Mambazo)

12. Weeping (With Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Vusi Mahlasela)

13. Machine (With Herbie Hancock)

If you are a Josh Groban fan, than this is another great CD for you! This one has 4 songs in English that I love! They are defiantely on my top play list right now. I actually think that this one is better than his other CD's. Theres about 6 songs that are in English. The CD is classified as a pop CD but if you dont know Josh and think hes pop, dont buy him, hes more classical than pop. However I mostly only listen to pop with the exception of Josh Groban, so he almost fits in.

I would call myself a Grobanite, so I would buy him singing the Encyclopedia Britannica. But, this CD is a small step in a different direction for Josh. Yes, you've got his beautiful Italian songs including a lovely rendition of the love theme from Romeo and Juliette. And, of course you've got his pop hit "You Are Loved". But the CD concludes with a couple of duets with Ladysmith Black Mambazo giving them an African feel. His final tune, "Machine" with Herbie Hancock, is a jazz feel that I didn't know Josh could do. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He is a world class musician, but it is a bit of a departure for those of us who have come to expect beautiful ballads alone. This is a welcome addition to my collection.

I bought the item at a great low price, yet the quality was better than average! I received it on time, everything was smooth and easy. Thanks again!

This is an awesome cd just like the seller said. I'd purchase other cd's with this quality again. The delivery was excellent.A+++++++++++

I bought this cd about a month ago with high expectations. To say the least, I wasn't disappointed. Josh's lyrics and enchanting voice are better than ever on his third album. I would highly recomend this cd to all Josh Groban fans and to anyone else who likes soothing and uplifting music.

Josh Groban released his third studio album, "AWAKE", on November 7, 2006. That was a day to celebrate for the millions of Josh Groban fans around the world. As a Grobanite myself, I knew that I couldn't go wrong buying his newset CD. I have heard the CD about 20 times. The basic version of the CD has 13 songs, including his newest single called "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)". That is a very beautiful and uplifting song. It's my favorite song of the CD right now. My second fav is "Un Giornio Per Noi", a.k.a. "A Time For Us", the love song from "Romeo and Juliet". It starts slow and becomes a stirring ballad. Other songs I rate as excellent are "Un Dia Llegara", "Now Or Never", "February Song", "Mai" and "L'Ultima Notte". Josh co-wrote the music and the lyrics on "February Song" (The lyrics were co-written with John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting.) The expanded version has two extra songs and a 33-minute DVD where Josh talks a little about each song on the CD. Josh Groban was in concert beginning in February 2007. I saw him at US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona on March 25, 2007 from section 115. It was a great concert. Josh Groban has an awesome personality. That concert tour has already ended. Learn more about Josh at his website www.joshgroban.com. You can also find information at my site, "El Mundo De Monte Mendoza" at http://home.att.net/~elmundodemontemendoza/index.html Monte in Mesa, AZ

I'll preface this by saying I've listened to the CD straight through now four times, so this is my impression of the overall CD based on that.

I absolutely adore Josh's first two CDs and I expected to love Awake too; I like it. I don't love it, at least not yet. It is a definite departure, style-wise, in my opinion. Josh has kept the orchestra but has lost most of the strong piano-driven melodies. Nearly every song has a drum line, whereas on his earlier CDs, maybe one or two had a discernable drum. Josh himself plays drums on one of the songs. Josh also has songwriting credits on more of the songs; David Foster still appears here and there, but is less of a force than on the earlier CDs. There are also some collaborations with guest artists (some successful, some not so much).

Of the 13 songs, 8 are in English this time, and those 8 seem to me to be more "radio friendly" than some of his past work. Of those 8, the collaboration with Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik (February Song) is by far the most likely to be a big hit.

Some - and only some - of the foreign language songs seem to me to be lacking the passion present in earlier CDs. I enjoyed the remake of Romeo and Juliet and the first song, Mai, but the remainder left me feeling flat.

My overall impression of Awake is that Josh is exploring some new sounds and feelings in his music. There really isn't much on Awake that sounds like anything on his previous CDs; the tone is different, the production is different, even the way he uses his voice is different. The feel of the music is much more contemporary top 20, a little jazzy and bluesy, less pop/easy listening and traditional foreign language.

I'm hoping on further listenings that I'll like this more; right now, it just seems a little strange. There's no denying that Josh is gifted; it just feels like something's missing.

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68 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
Christmas came early this year, November 7, 2006
By Amanda Richards "Modest to the extreme" (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews


The twenty-five year old phenomenon with the swoon-inducing baritone returns with his third studio album just in time for Christmas, and I'm guessing that many of his fans are going to give themselves a pre-season treat.

Groban expands his horizons on this album, writing and producing some of the tracks, and mixing it up with international artistes like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Herbie Hancock, not forgetting Dave Matthews, Five for Fighting and of course David Foster. Following his earlier formula, there are tracks in English, Italian and Spanish, and although the lyrics may be in another language, this doesn't detract from the simple and timeless beauty of the music.

First single "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" is one of the most inspiring tracks, with lyrics like "Don't give up / It's just the weight of the world / When you're heart's heavy / I...I will lift it for you", but the crème de la crème as far as I'm concerned is the amazing "February Song" where he accompanies himself on the piano.

Not to mention he's a total hottie!

This is not my favorite Josh Groban CD, but it is still done really well. There are more foreign songs on this album compared to his other ones. Overall, he still performs every song well, and his voice is as beautiful as always.

I decided to buy this because I can't really get enough of Josh Groban. I believe this is his best CD to date because I think it reflects more personal growth on his part. He wrote several of the songs which I thoroughly enjoy, and the others are excellent and chosen well, and compliment his voice. The songs I enjoyed the most are "You are Loved(Don't Give Up)" "Un Dia Llegara", "L'Ultima Notte" and "Un Giorno Per Noi" (The love theme from Romeo & Juliet). I don't understand a word of Italian, but the three that are sung in that language just sound so romantic! The song I liked the least was "Machine" written by Josh and two other songwriters. In the little booklet that came with the CD, there are 2 pages of Josh thanking people, and including his fans in that thank you. I was impressed by that, and it seems as if my Joshie is still a down to earth person, and that's what I like the most about him.=)

What can I say? Nothing to dislike about Josh Groban. Appeals to all ages, sings like "Butter". If only I was 30 years younger!!!

I just love Josh's voice period. He is a gifted , talented singer who just amazes me with his abilities. Beware though as this version did not have the bonus song of Awake on it. Some of the editions do as listed on the song list, but not all of them do. I alerted Ebay to it. The UPC numbers matched up, so I am not blaming the seller on this.If you buy it, check and see if it has the bonus song of Awake.

I don't normally listen to this style of music. I like rock/alternative rock. But I had to add this to my music collection. Josh Groban has an amazing voice, and picks good songs too.

Josh Groban is very talanted. His voice could melt butter. This is a very amazing cd. Singing in two languages.

loving everything about josh, awake is a keeper. can't wait for the next one. love in her eyes the best - my hero. the mix of international and english lyrics continues to be a strong element of grobans vocals.

Love this cd especially the on-line edition with 3 extra songs. Awake is the best bonus song on the disk and is well worth the extra cost.The concert tour based on this cd was awesome and I can hardly wait for a concert cd/dvd of it.Keep turning out great music Josh - we love you and your amazing voice.

Josh Groban is the epitome of a classic Renaissance man ~his voice divine, his lyrics has the classic European flair. Josh has always been my inspiration everytime I listen to his songs at home or while traveling. Although sung in a different language, sometimes French, sometimes Spanish, sometimes English, often Italian, you can see the connection he is trying to create regardless of one's native language. Each song is distinct and special and it always has some sadness to it but all together, we hear and see the voice of an artist creating a masterpiece!

Excelent quality and service. Would definetly buy from again!! Bought due to their high rating. Quick response time and shipping. Two were purchased, and both parties are very satisfied, myself included.

Josh Groban can really sing. His voice is a masterpiece and we never get tired of listening to him. Wonderful artist & great music the whole family loves!!

What's bad to say about Josh Groban?!?! His voice is fantastic no matter what language he's singing in. I ordered "Awake" and have almost worn it out! I especially love his version of the Romeo & Juliet theme song from the 1968 movie. Brings back so many wonderful memories! Thank you!

Orchestration and creativity and variety on this album is amazing!
Creative lyrics, moving and deep. Meaningful. Classic!
Multi-lingual music
Musical talent
Best Male vocal in WORLD!!!!! Josh Groban is at the pinnacle of perfection and this CD proves it.

I love everything about Josh Groban. He has the voice of an angel. He could sing the star spangled banner to me and make it sound like a love song. This incredibly gifted singer and musician is one of the very best artists of the 21st century. I would encourage everyone to get a Josh Groban CD if you don't already have one.

Anything Josh Groban I usually like, but I was disappointed with this CD. I can't really explain it, but I didn't think it was as good as all his prior CD's. The music seemed less than upbeat and not what I've grown to expect of Josh Groban. I gave it away to a relative who loves it.