''I Am Mina'' is a compilation album by Italian singer
Mina, released on 22 March 2011 by
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
.
Overview
This album is a trilogy of compilations released in 2011 and also includes albums in French (''
Je suis Mina'') and Spanish (''
Yo soy Mina''). Some of the songs on the compilation have never been released in albums or in Italy.
''I Am Mina'' covers the period from the late 1960s to the early 1990s with English versions of some of his classic works, such as "
Il cielo in una stanza" ("The World We Love In"), "Vorrei che fosse amore" ("More Than Strangers") and "Quand'ero piccola". There are several songs from the repertoire of the 70s, when her albums usually topped the charts: "I Still Love You" ("Fate piano"), "Where Would I Be Without Your Love?" ("Ancora dolcemente"), "Love Me" ("Uappa"), with a different arrangement than the original. The album also features English versions of Mina's bestselling singles, such as "Runaway" ("
E poi..."), "Never, Never, Never" ("
Grande, grande, grande") and "Take Me" ("
L'importante è finire
"L'importante è finire" is a song recorded by Italian singer Mina for her 1975 album '' La Mina''. The song was written by and Cristiano Malgioglio.
The song became the first and only single from the album. Immediately after its release, it wa ...
").
English versions of "Quand'ero piccola", "Io innamorata" and "I discorsi" were previously unreleased.
"
Walk on By", "
Strangers in the Night
"Strangers in the Night" is a song composed by Bert Kaempfert with English lyrics by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. Kaempfert originally used it under the title "Beddy Bye" as part of the instrumental score for the movie ''A Man Could Get ...
", "
Only You" and "
Stardust" are already released on Mina's previous studio albums.
Most of the songs were adapted into English by
Norman Newell
Norman Newell (25 January 1919 – 1 December 2004) was an English record producer, who was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicians such as Shi ...
.
Critical reception
Mariano Prunes from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
highly appreciated the album's design, vocals and Mina's performing abilities, but noted that the translated versions of the songs are worse than the original lyrics in almost all songs, and also stated that the American jazz and pop melodies that end the compilation are not particularly inspiring. In conclusion, he wrote that this compilation is suitable only for fans of Mina, but for those who want to understand what her genius is, it is necessary to avoid it and listen to Italian albums.
Track listing
Personnel
* Mina – vocals
* Gianluca Lazzarin – digital mastering
* Mauro Baletti – cover art
* Giuseppe Spada – graphic design
* Gianni Rosco – illustrations
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
Charts
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2011 compilation albums
Mina (Italian singer) compilation albums
EMI Records compilation albums