Decca
2007
Pavarotti Forever
About This Album
That explains why this putative survey of Pavarotti's career breaks off in the mid-'90s, prior to such blockbusters as the Paris 1998 concert and most of the various Pavarotti & Friends releases. And it also explains the dominance of popular or semi-popular material: Pavarotti, when this disc appeared, was at the height of his renown and was making moves in the direction of crossover stardom. One of the two discs is devoted to crossover material, mostly Neapolitan song but also including a duet on "My Way" with Frank Sinatra. From a perspective overlooking the great tenor's entire career, this somewhat overstates the importance of popular song in his output. He enthusiastically recorded it, and well, but he never focused on it the way even the other Two Tenors did. In general, though, the time frame of this album serves the listener well. The weaker final stage of Pavarotti's career is omitted, and the operatic selections included on disc one, going back as far as 1968, offer a good overview of the evolution of Pavarotti's voice and show his talents in works beyond the Italian standards: hear his irresistible "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée," from Bizet's Carmen (CD 1, track 15). The lack of any notes at all, even a capsule biography, is a disadvantage in the packaging, and one could easily have been provided: the tracklist insert unfolds to a large image of the cover logo that isn't big enough to be a poster and isn't really suited to be anything else. For a couple of hours of Pavarotti for the commute, however, this double disc, also available as an .mp3 download, will fill the bill. ~ James Manheim, All Music Guide
Track List

Disc 1

Forever
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Disc 2

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