Send "Mike Patton " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 The idea of Mike Patton grafting his Bowie warble to Italian golden oldies arranged for a 40-piece orchestra and choir should not surprise anyone. This is a man who has been throwing caution to the wind since the Reagan administration, be it thrashing with Mr. Bungle or Faith No More to screeching alongside John Zorn’s saxophone in Hemophiliac. Patton pretty much carves a niche for himself wherever and whenever he feels like doing so. It may be a stretch to call him a renaissance man, but weaker terms like “versatile” and “eclectic” feel insufficient when trying to describe someone who gets by on his ghoulish demeanor and frightening musical attack. And in his willingness to try it all, he often comes out the other end successful. The debut album for his crooning Italian pseudonym, Mondo Cane, is no exception.Part of the album’s success is that it does not sound like a gimmick. True, Patton did assume a stage name for this persona and performed with an orchestra throughout Europe, playing some pretty classy places. Everything, right down to Patton’s clothes and haircut, has “kitsch” written all over it. Yet the strings, backing voices and the star of the show himself sound so well versed in the performance of the Italian pop song that one could swear they’ve been at it for a lifetime. All told, it’s a genuine package, dispelling any notion of novelty or nostalgia as it plays....full text |
| Culturebully |
| In a recent interview with AOL’s Noisecreep Mike Patton attempted to sum up who Mondo Cane is for, “If you like orchestral music and have a heart in your fucking chest, you will like this record.” In keeping with Patton’s seemingly life-long preoccupation with non-linear career-jumps, Mondo Cane does exactly what many of the vocalist’s other projects have in the past: It requests that the audience place their trust in Patton as he experiments in a direction that few others would even consider following. And for the most part fans’ trust has been repaid handsomely. In that sense, Mondo Cane is no different. The project is the result of a decade-long idea which was inspired by Patton’s time spent living in Italy. Engaging himself in the culture and language—oh, also, his wife is Italian—Patton nurtured an appreciation for the country’s music; not modern music however, but rather pop and folk songs from the 1950s and ’60s. As he continued to familiarize himself with the music, Patton began to conceptualize what these same songs would sound like if he were to perform them… with an orchestra. And over the past few years he has done just that, performing numerous times with a band and orchestra while he rips through his Italian lyrics. The release itself finds Patton teamed with a 15-piece band and 40-piece orchestra performing a selection of the very same songs that initially inspired the singer. “My purpose in revisiting these pieces is not to relive the past, not for nostalgia, but more to illustrate through modern and adventurous interpretation exactly how vital and important this music still is.” Widely considered one of the most representative artists of Italian pop music from the era, a variety of Gino Paoli’s songs are strung together throughout the record. Perhaps the best selection of his is the opening track however, “Il Cielo In Una Stanza.” Popularized by Mina in 1960, where it topped Italian charts and reached the Billboard Hot 100, the song is introduced by a creaking organ that spookily rolls under a playful vocal duet. Early on in the track Patton’s range is tested, though amusingly it’s his animated annunciation of the lyrics which is most striking—the singer often rolling his tongue in perfect synch with the orchestra behind him....full text |
| Limewire |
| If it wasn’t for the willfully mercurial modus operandi that Mike Patton has established over the years with everyone from Fantomas to Mr. Bungle to Faith No More and beyond, his latest left turn might seem like something of a shock. But for anyone who has followed Patton through all his many twists and turns, an album of orchestral versions of ‘60s Italian pop classics just seems like another evolutionary step. On Mondo Cane, Patton tackles tunes by classic Italian composers like Ennio Morricone, Luigi Tenco, Gino Paoli, and others, bringing to bear his superhuman vocal range in front of a full orchestra. He’s not just a tourist taking a holiday in this musical tradition, though, he has lived in Italy (he was once married to an Italian woman) and speaks the language fluently. And while he adds some sardonic touches to his delivery, there’s not a hint of irony here — he’s meeting these tunes head-on. Some of the arrangements employ modern rock touches, but never in a post-modern way; Patton isn’t subverting the Italian pop tradition established by the aforementioned composers, he’s extending it, in a way that only he can....full text |
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