As Volume 1, this volume represents some of the best of Connie's Italian recordings. I favor this Volume as it contains several tracks from the beautifully recorded "Love Italian Style" album, Connie's gem among the Italian LPs. Those recordings represent her voice at its best and one cannot help but become mesmerized as one listens to those haunting tracks. I am anticipating the release of that entire album on CD format. It ranks up there with Connie's most superb LPs.

If you think Connie Francis is just Where the Boys Are, Stupid Cupid, and Lipstick on Your Collar, you have another thing coming. In her prime, she could not be touched vocally and the albums which make up this CD, were recorded in her prime. Most of the cuts are from one of my favorite albums of hers, Love Italian Style, one of the most beautiful albums ever recorded. Her phrasing was right up there with Ol' Blue Eyes himself. Seriously, if you just enjoy good music sung from the depths of the soul, even if you don't understand Italian, Connie's voice will speak to you of the passion and beauty that is Italy and of this wonderful person who sings it. Treat yourself and buy the CD. In an age where good music is a thing of the past, you will be glad you did. Soft lights, dinner and this album playing in the background, and even Carrot Top could score.

Actually I prefer this disc over volume one only because it contains more material from her best Italian Lp "Love Italian Style". her voice is more supple and the music and voice combined is like warm, soft candlelight, a glass of wine and thou. You can't get any better than Connie Francis. This collection was one of the first attempts to release her best material--her Lp work and I hope this is something we are going to see more of, particularly her latter cuts where she is at her vocal peak. Kudos to Polydor for this 2 set collection. Now that Universal has acquired the material, I hope they have the good sense to follow suit.

Hi I loved it and she has super talent. Her Italian is fabulous sends your emotions soaring. I'm so happy I purchased both Vol.1 and vol.2 Italian collection. I would buy anything Connie Francis sings in Italian. I wish I can tell her myself. Warm Regards: Cathy Alexander(NH)

It is strange that all reviewers listen to the Italian Collection Vol.2 and nobody asks: What are the Italian roots of "La Mamma"? ("For Mama"; song no. 9, incorrectly ascribed in above track listings as "Mama"; "Mama" is included in Vol.1). As far as I know "La Mamma" was composed by Charles Aznavour (Armenian/French). Moreover, here it is sung totally in English (sorry, the words "Ave Maria" appear occasionally). This is another example of the fact that success has plenty of fathers.
Italian Collection Vol.1 & 2 (total running time approx. 60 and 55 min., respectively) contains enough free space to hold indeed the greatest Italian hits, both 'classic' (O Sole Mio; Santa Lucia; Funiculi,Funicula) and 'modern' (Romantica; Volare; Violino Tzigano; Come Prima; Addio,Addio; Tango Italiano; 24 Mila Baci; etc.).There was a good opportunity to collect all of them in the common edition. Especially that Italian Collection is the only example of her international collections available on the market (sorry, in Germany and Japan all her German and Japanese performances are available continuously).
Thus, apart from the fact that there is no scale for Connie herself, I rate this collection as a three-star, because in actual shape it can work only as a starter kit to the real "Italian Collection".
My question is: Why Connie's best performances of Spanish and Latin American, Jewish or Irish favorites are not available, even in the US? I am sick of the quality of the internet mp3 tracks of Connie, I would like to collect her original, remastered discs! Somebody like Connie Francis deserves that her entire, remastered discography should be available in her own country. It would be better to reissue one of her discs instead of Eminem's ten or other trash, which nobody will remember next year.
This, one of the finest voices of all times has sung in the past "God bless America". In this context another question arises: Bless, what? America doesn't care.