Though living in the Gulf region (Oman) I truly appreciate ZUCCHERO's music !, 8. Juni 2008

ZUCCHERO - a portrait: His pseudonym "Zucchero", meaning 'sugar', has been his nickname from a very young age, and was given to him by an elementary school teacher who said he was as sweet as sugar, calling him "marmellata e zucchero" 'jam and sugar'.Adelmo Fornaciari was born in a Reggio Emilia (in a parish, frazione in Italian, named Roncocesi), Emilia-Romagna, though he spent most of his childhood in the seaside town of Forte dei Marmi (Province of Lucca, Tuscany).Zucchero is widely known as the biggest pop star to come out of Italy, selling over 25 million albums world wide since his 1983 debut. Over the years he has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Bono, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Miles Davis, Luciano Pavarotti, Sting and many more. All The Best features 11 of Zucchero's greatest hits including: "Il Volo," "Un Kilo," and "Senza Una Donna" which was originally released on his 1988 album, Blue's, the highest selling album in Italian history.Tutti i colori della mia vita is Zucchero Sugar Fornaciaris new single taken from the ALL THE BEST album, which has already exceeded the target of DIAMOND DISC and has conquered the charts throughout the world.After the huge radio successes achieved with the tracks Wonderful Life and Amen, Zucchero returns with a new track to celebrate the concert which will be held in Milan on 14 June 2008.For the first time and for one night only the SanSiro stadium will be transformed into the largest theatre in the world.The artist is currently on tour in Europe with SOLD OUT concerts in every venue.After dominating the charts everywhere last year, and after triumphant live performances throughout the world, Zucchero looks set to lead the field again in 2008."All the best" is in fact the first number one in 2008 in Italy. All the best has already exceeded the target of 5 platinum discs and is also rapidly climbing the charts in many European countriesWe are waiting for news about his ALL THE BEST TOUR 2008 (which will take him around the world for another eight months). "The blues is the blues; the soul is everywhere," claims Zucchero, one of Italy's greatest musicians, in a recent interview. Zucchero's philosophy is that there is no distinction between Italian blues and American blues, or the blues of any other country - however, that is only one form of music Zucchero is devoted to. He has a vast love for classical music as well, having been greatly influenced by Puccini and Verdi in his youth. Since then he has divided his attention between both classical and blues throughout his successful career, occasionally even venturing into rock-n-roll territory - he has recorded with Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli, as well as blues legends John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton. Zucchero (which means "sugar" in Italian - one of his junior high school teachers gave him the nickname) was born in Roncocesi, a village in the Province of Reggio Emiliaon, on September 25, 1955. His real name is Adelmo Fornaciari and he has sold approximately 2,000,000 copies each of his 13 albums. He got started in music by learning to play the organ in his local church, and at the age of 13 met an American student who introduced him to soul, blues, and R&B music, which he quickly fell in love with. He went on to form several bands, some of which were called "Sugar & Daniel," "Le Nuove Luci," and "Sugar & Candies," steadily working to develop his musicianship until he ended up recording his first album Un po' di Zucchero in 1983. In 1985 he went to America to make an all blues album with the bass player Randy Jackson titled Zucchero & the Randy Jackson Band, which included his first hit song 'Donne.' In 1987 Zucchero became hugely successful in Italy when his album Blue's sold 1,200,000 copies to become the best selling Italian record. In 1988 his fame spread throughout Europe and he toured in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Holland, and Switzerland. Probably Zucchero's most well-known song in Europe is 'Senza Una Donna,' which he recorded with the British pop musician Paul Antony Young in 1991. Because Zucchero is interested in many different styles of music, he can easily collaborate with various artists in all genres. Over the years he has enjoyed working with such greats as Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Sting, Miles Davis, Johnny Hallyday, Brian May, Luciano Pavarotti, Dolores O'Riordan, Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, and B.B. King, among others. He has stated that one of his dreams is to record with the American R&B, soul, and gospel singer, Aretha Franklin, who is known as "The Queen Of Soul." The first person Zucchero ever collaborated with was jazz legend Miles Davis in 1988. And Zucchero said it was a rather intimidating process since he was still at the beginning of his career. Davis came to Italy on a world tour and was greatly impressed when he heard Zucchero's song 'Dune Mosse' playing constantly on the radio. The jazz icon loved Zucchero's combination of Mediterranean melodies and traditional blues so much he wanted to collaborate with him immediately. Zucchero sings mainly in Italian, English, and Spanish and his voice has been described by fans and critics around the world as being bluesy, passionate, soothing, and intense - some people claim there is a definite Ray Charles quality to his voice. Fans who only speak English are always surprised when they discover that although they may not understand the lyrics to Zucchero's songs, they are still very much moved by the melodies and tone of his vocals. And Zucchero's musicality is not limited to only singing, he can also play many instruments as well, being proficient on the guitar, the electric piano, organ, mellotron, and the fuzz synthesizer. Even though Zucchero is well known in Europe and has had tremendous success there, only a small group of people are aware of him outside his home continent. But he is working hard to change that. In 2005 he struck a deal with Starbucks/Hear Music who put his 2004 album Zucchero & Co. on sale in coffee houses across America. Starbucks/Hear Music already had great success getting Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill: Acoustic album well known. Zucchero has spoken about how difficult it is for a European artist to break into the American market. But he is already satisfied with the level of exposure the Starbucks/Hear Music deal has given him. In 2004 Zucchero released a live DVD of his concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which features many of the duets he performed with artists on his album Zucchero & Co. Fans all over the world rave about how good the concert turned out. Zucchero even played at the Woodstock '94 concert and was the only international artist to do so. And in July of 1996 he was invited to the Montreux Jazz Festival becoming the first Italian artist to ever be invited; he performed at the festival with Little Richard. When you listen to a Zucchero album, be prepared for a diverse and emotion-filled journey - you'll be led down many varied paths of music and always enjoy the ride.

      Solider Überblick über das Gesamtwerk des italienischen Ausnahmekünstlers, 28. Dezember 2007

Zusatzinfo: Bei der vorliegenden Bewertung handelt es sich nicht um die internationale Version, sondern um die italienische Ausgabe (Doppel-CD) von "All The Best". // Es weihnachtet sehr... Wie viele bereits bemerkt haben, ist dies nicht das erste Best-Of-Album von Zucchero. Erst 2004 lieferte er mit "Zucchero & Co" eine Art Best-Of ab, auf dem größtenteils lediglich altbekannte Zucchero-Klassiker mit bekannten Künstlern neu eingespielt wurden. Freilich war das Konzept damals nicht ganz neu aber halt eben gerade in Mode (siehe Carlos Santana). Die letzte "offizielle" Greatest Hits-Compilation kam jedoch bereits 1996 auf den Markt, was nunmehr doch über 10 Jahre zurückliegt und somit das neue Werk "All The Best" zumindest von diesem Standpunkt her rechtfertigt. Das interessante an der vorliegenden Sammlung ist zum einen, daß Zucchero 5 neue Songs im Gepäck hat. Einige davon werden vielen bekannt vorkommen. Da wäre zum einen die Single-Auskoppelung "Wonderful Life", welches eine sehr gelungene Cover-Version von Black's Klassiker aus den Achzigern ist. I Won't Let You Down von Ph.D. stammt ebenfalls aus den frühen Achzigern, und wurde hier "einge-italienischt": Tutti i colori della mia vita. Auch das eher abgedroschene "You Are So Beautiful" von Joe Cocker ist wider Erwarten wirklich hervorragend gelungen. Ein weiterer Pluspunkt dieser Hits-Kollektion ist die wirklich abwechslungsreiche Anordnung der Songs. Schnelle und ruhige Stücke wurden sehr gleichmäßig verteilt, was bei den vielen langsamen Stücken, die Zucchero hat, hier wirklich ein wertvolles Detail am Rande ist. Außerdem wurde teilweise die Songs leicht überblendet, wodurch zum Schluß nochmal das gesamte Hörerlebnis zusätzlich aufwertet wird. Alles in allem: Wirklich eine solide Übersicht über die Studioalben Zucchero's, mit der der Meister selbst sicherlich auch zufrieden sein müßte.

       best of mit 5 neuen titeln-klasse!, 11. Dezember 2007

Erst war ich ein wenig skeptisch.best of nach seiner Zu+Co,naja!Aber hier sind die Orginalversionen drauf dazu 5 neue Titel,die zwar Coverversionen sind aber klasse hinterpretiert nach meiner Meinung.Zucchero ist es wieder gelungen neue Titel mit seiner Art zumischen.Einfach klasse!Und italienisch ist einfach besser!Für Fans ein muss!Versäumt die Livekonzerte in 2008 nicht,es lohnt sich wirklich.

       Neues vom italienischen Superstar, 4. Dezember 2007

5 neue Songs und (erneut) ein gut gelungenes BEST OF Paket in der italienischen Fassung. Zucchero beweist seine unendliche Bandbreite und läßt "nur" "Wonderful World" mit Eric Clapton auf dieser Compilation aus....ansonsten reiht sich ein Klassiker an den anderen....Klasse!