Because Peppino D'Agostino has such a soft and lyrical approach, Mesa chose to market Venus over Venice as an NAC or smooth jazz effort.
This CD is far from hardcore jazz, but it does combine jazz elements with folk and pop--and it employs some jazz musicians, including flutist Steve Kujala, violinist Charlie Bisharat and percussionist Brad Dutz.
Pieces like "Goodbye Robbie" (a melancholy ode to the late guitarist Robbie Basho), "Holy Man's Smile" and "Echo of Delphi Valley" are light enough to appeal to NAC tastes, but for D'Agostino, light doesn't mean lightweight.
Although his music is gentle, it isn't muzak.
D'Agostino is heard as a vocalist on the Italian-language ballad "Ancora un Istante" and a remake of the Four Tops' "Walk Away Renee," which D'Agostino (who doesn't have a great voice but gets his points across) successfully changes from Motown soul to pop-folk.
1988's Sparks would be a better investment, but Venus over Venice is satisfying and decent more often than not.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belladonna | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 03:18 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Goodbye RobbiePeppino d'Agostino | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Venus over Venice | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Ancora un Istante | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Grand CanyonPeppino d'Agostino | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 05:13 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Holy Man's Smile | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Desert FlowerPeppino d'Agostino | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Mediterranean DancePeppino d'Agostino | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Walk Away ReneeMichael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansone | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Echo of Delphi ValleyPeppino d'Agostino | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Acoustic SpiritPeppino d'Agostino | Peppino d'Agostino | Play | 06:10 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 46 mins | 105 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Bisharat | Violin |
| 2 | Rick Braun | Arranger, Producer |
| 3 | Curtis Brengle | Piano |
| 4 | Michael Brown | Composer |
| 5 | Bob Calilli | Composer |
| 6 | Peppino d'Agostino | Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 7 | Jack Daro | Bass (Acoustic) |
| 8 | Brad Dutz | Percussion |
| 9 | Steve Hall | Mastering |
| 10 | Cliff Hugo | Bass |
| 11 | Dave Karasony | Drums |
| 12 | Steve Kujala | Flute (Wood), Guest Artist |
| 13 | Michelle Laurencot | Art Direction, Design |
| 14 | Mike Marshall | Guest Artist, Mandolin |
| 15 | Tom McCauley | Engineer, Mixing |
| 16 | George Nauful | Arranger, Executive Producer, Producer |
| 17 | Daniel Nevins | Cover Art |
| 18 | Nance Pettit | Vocals |
| 19 | Daniel Ray | Photography |
| 20 | Tony Sansone | Composer |
| 21 | Jim Snowden | Executive Producer |
| 22 | Peter White | Accordion, Guest Artist |
| 23 | David Wilcox | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 24 | Gary Willis | Guest Artist |
Peppino D'Agostino
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |