Smile! (Vitas album) explained

Smile!
Type:studio
Artist:Vitas
Cover:Витас - Улыбнись!.jpg
Recorded:2001–02
Label:Iceberg,
Moon
Prev Title:Philosophy of Miracle (Philosophiya chuda)
Next Title:Mama
Next Year:2003

Smile! (Улыбнись!, Ulybnis!) is a Russian album by Vitas (Витас), released on 11 March 2002.[1] Several songs from this album featured in his Philosophy of Miracle concert programme, whose performance at the Kremlin earned Vitas a record as the youngest artist to perform a solo concert at the State Kremlin Palace;[2] a DVD of this concert was later released.[3]

Release

The title track won the Russian Golden Gramophone and People's Hit awards.[2] "Good-bye" was released as a single, which included 5 different mixes of the song, the tracks "Ave Maria" and "Byelorussia", and the music video for "Opera #1" from his previous album Philosophy of Miracle.[4] "Good-bye" is notable for Vitas' extreme bass vocals, in contrast to his more usual high-pitched vocals.[5] "Blessed Guru" (sometimes translated "Blissful Guru") also exercises his seldom-used bass range.[6] The song titles "Good-bye" and "Do Svidaniya" (Russian: "До свидания", usually listed in English as "See You Later", as in the track listing here) can cause some confusion because the latter is often translated as "Goodbye".

It also includes Vitas' rendition of "Ave Maria" by Franz Schubert with a contrasting hellish operatic ending; a shortened version without this ending was included in Vitas' 2010 compilation album Masterpieces of Three Centuries.

Track listing

Track numberRussian title [7] English title [8] Music [9] Lyrics
01УлыбнисьSmile!VitasD. Plachkovsky
02Блаженный ГуруBlessed GuruVitasVitas
03Восковые фигурыWax FiguresVitasD. Plachkovsky, Vitas, S. Pudovkin
04Плачет чужая тоскаSomeone's Melancholy Is CryingVitasD. Plachovsky
05Аве МарияAve MariaFranz SchubertTraditional prayer
06Холодный мирThe Cold WorldV. MolchanovD. Plachkovsky
07Остров затонувших кораблейThe Island Of Sunken ShipsO. GazmanovE. Nebylova
08Фантастические сныFantastic DreamsVitasVitas, D. Plachkovsky
09Good-byeGood-byeVitasVitas
10СчастьеHappinessVitasVitas
11Отцвели хризантемыChrysanthemums Have Faded OutN. HaritoV. Shumsky
12Дождь в ТбилисиRain in TbilisiVitasRatner
13Слепой художникBlind PainterVitasD. Plachkovsky, Vitas, S. Pudovkin
14Милая музыкаLovely MusicVitasVitas
15БелоруссияByelorussiaAlexandra PakhmutovaN. Dobronravov
16До свиданияSee You Later (Do Svidaniya)VitasVitas

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 10 March 2002 . БЕЛЫЙ АЛЬБОМ ВИТАСА «С УЛЫБКОЙ» . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231107034828/https://www.intermedia.ru/news/136423 . 7 November 2023.
  2. http://www.wikimusicguide.com/Vitas WikiMusicGuide
  3. http://vitas.com.ru/diskograf_eng.php?id=23 Vitas official discography: Kremlin concert
  4. http://vitas.com.ru/diskograf_eng.php?id=19 Vitas official discography: the single Good-bye
  5. http://asiancinema2006.blogspot.com/2006/10/very-high-pitch-singer.html Asian cinema webpage
  6. https://www.amazon.com/review/R321MEO93NNDX3 Amazon review
  7. http://www.vitas.com.ru/diskograf.php?id=13 Official discography track list: Russian
  8. http://www.vitas.com.ru/diskograf_eng.php?id=13 Official discography track list: English
  9. http://www.vitaslyrics.com/authors.html Lyrics home: authors