Michéal Castaldo's 'Extravergine': a review [VIDEO]
With the vocals to shake the pillars of modern music, Michéal Castaldo’s voice is a complete replication of what I imagine an Italian angel would sound like, belting his heavenly notes from atop the choir. His voice is a celestial entity springing forth from the unknown depths of an Italian-born Canadian who now resides in New York.
Extravergine is an album that should, in my opinion, have its own holiday to commemorate its release on November 15 of last year - that’s how heavenly it is. This holiday album deserves its own holiday, and I am sure that others may agree after giving this album a listen to. I find myself lacking any inclination to holiday music around the holidays. However, if I had my hands on Castaldo’s album, all 12 tracks would have been, without question, on repeat.
Most of the tracks are traditional Christmas songs which are heard every year in the United States, but Castaldo translated them himself in order to sing them in the beautiful, ever-sensual Italian language. Included on the album is the Latin version of “Adeste Fideles” and a Polish song called “Jezus Malusienki.”
The vocals are unmatched, captivating, and drive the listener to keep pressing the repeat button. The way Castaldo’s voice carries so hauntingly is mesmerizing and is one of his best qualities on this album. I challenge you to pick one track on here that is better than the others. It is impossible. Each track is moving and packed with enough emotion to put any American soap opera to shame.
Castaldo is a singer, song writer, composer, and music producer. He produced Extravergine with the help of Stein Berg Svendsen. Other than music, Castaldo founded an Olive Oil business in New York City in 2004. Castaldo has also started a wedding and event planning company where he brings a little bit of his home country of Italy to your wedding.
To check his vocals, watch the live video below. Although this song was not included on the album, it is definitely worth the 4:14 minutes.