Gene Italiano

AMG Review of Gene Italiano

Richie Unterberger
All Music Guide

Pitney's operatic voice and melodramatic material were natural fits for the Italian pop audience, and throughout his career he's recorded many of his hits (and non-hits) in Italian specifically for that market. This nifty 28-track compilation focuses on Italian-language cuts from the '60s, with Italian versions of hits like "Town Without Pity," "Only Love Can Break a Heart," and "I'm Gonna Be Strong," as well as several other songs that will only be known to Pitney diehards, whether in their English or foreign-language versions. Besides 18 Italian tracks, it also has four Spanish-language cuts, and six of his lesser-known quality English performances from the '60s. Certainly this is only for Pitney fans, but if you belong to that crowd, it's worth having, and much of the material and production is very good.