Best OF Anima 9

Just a generation ago, posterity hadn't quite made up its mind about Franco Corelli. Corelli was an operatic oddity, a self-trained singer with movie star looks who largely learned his craft from listening to old records of his predecessors. Corelli made up for what he may have lacked in conventionally trained, "beautiful" tone with an approach that emphasized power and electric energy over all, and gradually rose through the ranks of tenors to become a major star of Italian opera. This EMI collection, The Very Best of Franco Corelli, concentrates its focus on recordings Corelli made in the 1960s during the height of his popularity. As these selections are "bleeding chunks" drawn from recordings of complete operas such as Pagliacci, Rigoletto, Tosca, and others, this is kind of an odd sampling of Corelli.

The fabulous Swedish outfit is back! I was seduced by their second opus, "Elements" (2011). "Anima" is another tour de force. You'll find great song writing, arrangements, musicianship and production as before. It starts with Matts Bender on keyboards who plays his instruments with such power and resourcefulness. As in the previous opus, the keyboards are the dominant instruments here. But Par Helje does a great job on the guitars, with some gorgeous Hackett-like solos. And Anna Bender's (Matts' wife) crystal clear vocals and poetic lyrics just add emotion to the blend.