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Album Reviews
Album Review: Ludovico Einaudi – Islands (Decca)
By Paul Vig | Published on Thursday 30 June 2011
Ludovico Einaudi is possibly one of the world’s most popular composers, although you may not be familiar with his name, you will very likely have come across this Italian’s beautiful compositions at some point – either through films, TV, or ads.
But if you are unfamiliar, then ‘Islands’ is a good place to start, a compilation of his works. And what will you get? Well, ‘I Giorni’, which is typical Einaudi, a beautiful, lush piano composition, and ‘Le Onde’, which typifies the skills of Einaudi as a composer. ‘Nightbook’, the title track from his 2009 album, is a little moodier, and has a certain hectic aspect with its backdrop of tense strings, while ‘Divenere’ is much more uplifting with its dancing notes slipping of the Grand.
There are no major low points. ‘Fairytale’ maybe leans on ‘I Giorni’ too much, while ‘Nuvole Bianchi’ and ‘Berlin Song’ are a little overly sugared for me. But that doesn’t distract from the real gems too much. The highlight is ‘Questa Notte’, which its pure and simple melody, precision and beauty.
All in all, a solid round up of this considerably gifted man’s work, and an excellent introduction to his often dazzlingly good compositions. PV
