US singer Josh Groban sang at the Oscars for the second time this year, bringing to the awards his distinctive baritone voice that is familiar to many from film soundtracks.
He is a true film fan, too and is releasing "Cinematic," an album devoted to songs written for the cinema or which became popular through the silver screen.
That includes classics such as "As Time Goes By," made famous by "Casablanca" (1942), Henry Mancini’s "Moon River" from "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" (1961) and "Brucia La Terra," Nino Rota’s love theme from "The Godfather" (1972).
While we hear the English version “Speak Softly, Love” in the film, Groban sings the Italian version in a Sicilian dialect.
He first sang it at a tribute to Francis Ford Coppola organized by the American Film Institute - and was personally invited by the “Godfather” director.
“I was so honoured,” says Groban in an interview with dpa in London. “Singing that song for him in that room with all my favourite actors from 'The Godfather' and that amazing arrangement behind me was like, 'whoa', this is ... I felt chills. I felt like this is really powerful for me.”
“Moon River” was a labour of love, as his father Jack plays the trumpet. “That was my favourite duet of all,” says Groban, who has sung with icons such as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand and Charles Aznavour.
His father hadn’t played for a long time. “I was so excited that he said yes, and so that was the most special day in the studio for me.”
Three Disney songs from three decades
No fewer than three songs on “Cinematic” are familiar from Walt Disney films. “You could make two albums just with Disney,” says Groban. He sings “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” (“The Lion King”, 1994), “When You Wish Upon A Star” (“Pinocchio”, 1940) and a moving version of “Remember Me” (“Coco”, 2017). “That melody almost made me cry the first time I heard it in the movie,” says Groban.
“Pinocchio was one of the first Disney movies that I saw when I was a kid,” he says. "When You Wish Upon a Star" represents all of "Disney’s magic," he says. "For me, that song more than the others. That's the trunk of the tree."
He initially hesitated over “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”. “Elton's version is just too iconic,” explains Groban on why he didn't want to touch it. “And we were joking, you know, kind of to ourselves about, you know, gosh, is there any love in the world? You know, can anybody feel the love right now? Because we're scrolling in the news and we're seeing the divisiveness and we're seeing communities that don't sometimes get a voice just being hit harder than ever.”
That’s what made him decide to reinterpret the song as an “outreach” with the Gay Men’s Chorus, a Los Angeles choir. “It was meant to be musically powerful as well as a sign of support and solidarity. Right now, especially in my country, you have to show that support loudly.”
A modern James Bond song
He sings “Unchained Melody” with Jennifer Hudson – famous from “Ghost” (1990), but originally written for the film “Unchained” (1955), he says.
Alongside the timeless “Stand by Me,” he makes Phil Collins’ "Against All Odds" from forgotten thriller "Against All Odds" (1984).
And then there’s a James Bond theme song. During a concert series in Las Vegas, he first sang "Skyfall" as a tribute to Adele, who won an Oscar for the song in 2013. Groban’s powerful version is every bit as good.
The adaptations on “Cinematic” are all worthy of their originals. With his unmistakable baritone and the powerful arrangements, each song takes on a new, yet still cinematic sound.
It is a wonderful album that occasionally verges on being kitsch. But isn’t that exactly what we love about all the best film songs?
