MONDO CANE

With Mike Patton's history in music, I think it is safe to say that the biggest surprise he could give us now would be to not surprise us at all. His versatility shines through on this album where he ventures into arranging and singing classic Italian cinema songs. This album is completely in Italian and his amazing voice is backed up by beautiful orchestral arrangements. One of the nicest things about this album is that the songs sound updated yet they still retain that genuine classical Italian flavor. You could be in any Italian ristorante listening to this music and think you are listening to a native speaking Italian. But Patton fans need not dispair, the voice is uniquely Mike Patton's voice and that's what makes this so wonderful. He pulls off the drama and the dynamics of these songs to convince you he is totally in a realm he belongs in singing Italian music and adds his own twists and turns so that you remember he is a contemporary artist and that there is no doubt that this is 100% Mike Patton. He even takes a slightly dark turn (not as extreme as some other albums however) in the arrangements "Che Notte!" and "Urlo Negro". The orchestral arrangements are beautiful and really are essentail to this collection, the most beautiful in my opinion is "Quello Che Conta". This album is excellent and should be added to anyone's collection that considers themselves a Mike Patton fan, it should be explored by prog lovers, but it probably could not be considered essential. There really is no new ground explored here, but the arrangements of the songs and production of this album is so well done that it should not be passed by if at all possible. Look this one up, especially if you are a fan or if you are into Italian Progressive.