*** MARIO LANZA BE MY LOVE: GREATEST PERFORMANCES AT MGM

(Rhino)

Mario Lanza was that rarity, the possessor of a fine operatic voice who was also adept at finessing pop songs. Most opera singers approach pop standards as if they were essaying a second, or third language (which is sometimes the case). Lanza knew how to modulate his tenor so that on a number like Herbert Reynolds & Jerome Kern's "They Wouldn't Believe Me" or the Hammerstein II/Kern "All The Things You Are" -- two of the high points of this disc -- there's a caressing delicacy that's seductively interpretive.

The downside of the disc is the inclusion of such inevitable MGM musical folderol as "The Tina Lina," the occasional presence of the studio's resident heavenly choir (dreadfully arranged), and the flavorless warble of Kathryn Grayson. Still, there's much to enjoy, including some genuine opera excerpts (the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor with Dorothy Kirsten on hand is a keeper), even the potentially campy stuff like the title cut and "Because You're Mine" is redeemed by the singer's unforced warmth. The hook here for Lanza fans is that these are previously unreleased right-off-the-soundtrack recordings rather than the famous studio sides that were issued in the '50s.

-- Richard C. Walls