- BMG UK CD News
By Dereck Mannering
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- The long wait is almost over. I am very pleased to bring
you news of two stellar additions to the Lanza CD catalog, both from BMG's
London office. A special new "best of Lanza" 2-CD compilation
which I've been involved with is being readied for release in Great Britain
and a fabulous 'two-on-one' compilation is also in the works.
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- The CD under consideration is a 'twofer': two terrific
original Lanza albums SERENADE and A CAVALCADE OF SHOW TUNES issued for
the first time on a single disc. The London office has sought copyright
clearance for this from New York and all going well the CD should be available
in Britain later this summer.
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- The other Lanza compilation is a 2-disc set scheduled
for release in the U.K. at the end of May. Several months ago BMG in London
contacted me and asked me to work on MARIO LANZA: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION,
a 24-track CD featuring Lanza in top vocal form. Record companies are constantly
re-packaging their artists' greatest hits and BMG has decided to promote
this new compilation with a TV-advertised marketing campaign.
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- What makes this new collection extra special is the second
disc in the package: Christopher Lee's superb reading of THE MARIO LANZA
STORY, which I adapted for BMG several years ago from my first Lanza biography.
This is the first time Lee's narration has been issued on Compact Disc
and given his recent high-profile appearances in the "Lord of the
Rings" and the latest "Star Wars" movies this has to be
seen as a marketing plus for both BMG and Lanza. In addition, a selection
of photographs from my new pictorial book MARIO LANZA: A LIFE IN PICTURES
will be included in the accompanying CD booklet.
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- Choosing material for the hits CD was a challenge. I
had previously compiled "The Ultimate Collection" for BMG, a
disc that is still on sale worldwide, and the Company wanted to avoid duplicating
as many selections as possible on the new release. The solution lay in
the many newly remastered Lanza recordings released over the past few years,
in particular the outstanding work done by our host Jeff Rense in bringing
to light some fabulous material from the Coca-Cola series. "The Ultimate
Collection" featured Mario's RCA renditions of "Because",
"Granada", "O Sole Mio", "The Loveliest Night
of the Year" and "La Donna e Mobile". These tracks have
been replaced on the new compilation with sparkling performances from "The
Mario Lanza Show". Other highlights include the much sought-after
"Romance", Mario's best ever "La Danza", and his peerless
RCA version of "Che Gelida Manina".
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- THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION Compact Disc and my new book
MARIO LANZA: A LIFE IN PICTURES will be on sale in the U.K. at the end
of May; the SERENADE/CAVALCADE CD should follow soon after. All will be
available online from Amazon.co.uk.
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- DEREK MANNERING
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- MARIO LANZA - THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION
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- Disc 1
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- 1. BE MY LOVE (RCA)
- 2. GOLDEN DAYS (MGM)
- 3. BECAUSE (Coke Show)
- 4. LA BOHÈME: CHE GELIDA MANINA (RCA)
- 5. ONE ALONE (Coke Show - with Introduction)
- 6. LA DANZA (Coke Show)
- 7. THE LOVELIEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR (Coke Show)
- 8. ARRIVEDERCI ROMA (MGM)
- 9. NIGHT AND DAY (Coke Show)
- 10. CORE'NGRATO (RCA)
- 11. DRINK, DRINK, DRINK (MGM)
- 12. BEGIN THE BEGUINE (Coke Show)
- 13. O SOLE MIO (Coke Show)
- 14. RIGOLETTO: LA DONNA È MOBILE (Sung In English)
(Coke Show)
- 15. APRIL IN PARIS (Coke Show - with Introduction)
- 16. GRANADA (Coke Show)
- 17. BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE (RCA)
- 18. RIGOLETTO: QUESTA O QUELLA (RCA)
- 19. I'LL WALK WITH GOD (MGM)
- 20. TORNA A SURRIENTO (Coke Show)
- 21. Schubert AVE MARIA (For the First Time)
- 22. ROMANCE (Coke Show)
- 23. MARTHA: M'APPARI (RCA)
- 24. WITHOUT A SONG (Coke Show)
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- Disc 2
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- THE MARIO LANZA STORY read by Christopher Lee
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