Barnes & Noble
If you couldn't get tickets -- or couldn't afford them -- to hear Il Divo perform on Barbra Streisand's 2006 tour, don't worry: The photogenic foursome return to a CD player near you with Siempre, their fourth album of multilingual pop-operatic romance. Fans of Carlos, David, Sebastien, and Urs will get exactly what they've come to expect from the quartet: four gorgeous voices that blend together to equal more than the sum of their parts. But Siempre, largely Latin in flavor, also marks a real breakthrough for the group. Their initial success may have been manufactured by musical mastermind Simon Cowell, but after singing together for a few years, they sound more comfortable, confident, and dynamic than ever. With their unique combination of voices, they can't help but make every song their own -- whether it's a translation of the Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin" (Notte di Luce) or of Bryan Adams's "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" (Un Regalo Que Te Dio La Vida), or even the evergreen "Somewhere" from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story. If there's any doubt that four voices can be more seductive than one, compare their version of "Caruso" with Josh Groban's or Andrea Bocelli's. But fans will need no convincing that the gentlemen of Il Divo have more than earned their place at the top of the crossover pops, and with a live bonus track of "Unbreak My Heart," there's even more hunk for your buck in this special Barnes & Noble edition. Scott Paulin
All Music Guide
Continuing their string of overtly sentimental albums, the multinational Il Divo released their fourth (including The Christmas Collection) full-length, Siempre, which contains more of the same Latinized versions of pop songs, as well as some originals (written by their producers). All four Divos sound professional and emotional, especially Spanish baritone Carlos Marin, who seems on the verge of tears every time he opens his mouth. The arrangements for the songs (including West Side Story's "Somewhere" -- the only one that's in English -- and the Italian version of the Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin," among others) are always very clean, with soft acoustic guitars and pianos backed by subtle yet swelling strings, adding to the romanticized idea and portrayal of the group. To be fair, all four are very talented vocalists, and they manage to make Bryan Adams' "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" sound even more profound and sensitive when they sing it in Spanish, and their phrasing on both "Without You" (originally made famous by Harry Nilsson) and Lucio Dalla's "Caruso" (with some of the lyrics cut out, despite the fact they're all listed in the album booklet) is excellent, drawn out to pull as much emotion as possible from each of the songs. Siempre is exactly what you would expect from Il Divo, so if you want more of what they've already given, it should be a satisfying record. [This version of Siempre features two bonus tracks, the previously mentioned "Somewhere" and a live version of "Unbreak My Heart (Regresa a Mi)."] Marisa Brown
All Music Guide
Continuing their string of overtly sentimental albums, the multinational Il Divo released their fourth (including The Christmas Collection) full-length, Siempre, which contains more of the same Latinized versions of pop songs, as well as some originals (written by their producers). All four Divos sound professional and emotional, especially Spanish baritone Carlos Marin, who seems on the verge of tears every time he opens his mouth. The arrangements for the songs (including West Side Story's "Somewhere" -- the only one that's in English -- and the Italian version of the Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin," among others) are always very clean, with soft acoustic guitars and pianos backed by subtle yet swelling strings, adding to the romanticized idea and portrayal of the group. To be fair, all four are very talented vocalists, and they manage to make Bryan Adams' "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" sound even more profound and sensitive when they sing it in Spanish, and their phrasing on both "Without You" (originally made famous by Harry Nilsson) and Lucio Dalla's "Caruso" (with some of the lyrics cut out, despite the fact they're all listed in the album booklet) is excellent, drawn out to pull as much emotion as possible from each of the songs. Siempre is exactly what you would expect from Il Divo, so if you want more of what they've already given, it should be a satisfying record. Marisa Brown