Amazon.com Kicking off this highly unusual collection of Italian music is "L'Italiano," whose contemporary arrangement veers dangerously close to Jamaican reggae. And if "Gloria" doesn't set sail on a sea of disco lights, then the Pope doesn't live in Rome. But the emphasis on pop settings over pizza parlor fare isn't too much of a departure from the "favorites" tag considering the influence of Neapolitan ballads and operatic arias on the early days of Tin Pan Alley. Fans of Italian music will still find plenty of traditional themes and melodies here and enough soaring emotion to satisfy the soul of Verdi. For lovely Italian songs more grounded in tradition, also look to the Putumayo label's Italian Music Odyssey anthology. For gritty street-corner folk music, check out the four titles released so far in Rounder Records' Italian Treasury series. --Bob Tarte, ISBN13: B000000LR3 ISBN10: B000000LR3 Material Type: audioCDAmazon.com Kicking off this highly unusual collection of Italian music is "L'Italiano," whose contemporary arrangement veers dangerously close to Jamaican reggae. And if "Gloria" doesn't set sail on a sea of disco lights, then the Pope doesn't live in Rome. But the emphasis on pop settings over pizza parlor fare isn't too much of a departure from the "favorites" tag considering the influence of Neapolitan ballads and operatic arias on the early days of Tin Pan Alley. Fans of Italian music will still find plenty of traditional themes and melodies here and enough soaring emotion to satisfy the soul of Verdi. For lovely Italian songs more grounded in tradition, also look to the Putumayo label's Italian Music Odyssey anthology. For gritty street-corner folk music, check out the four titles released so far in Rounder Records' Italian Treasury series. --Bob Tarte, ISBN13: B000000LR3 ISBN10: B000000LR3 Material Type: audioCD , ISBN13: B000000LR3 ISBN10: B000000LR3 Material Type: audioCD