Big in Greece, yet our first time covering her somehow…
[Video][Website]
[6.71]
Jessica Doyle: A Greek Cypriot who knows a thing or two about rock operas, and Eurovision, and more Eurovision, and remixes, and putting a transcultural spin on a clichéd comparison, and offering a voice that can sound both warm and determined, neither pitying nor toadying to the listener but offering a place beside, and soaked through with four decades’ experience — all right, here is the drama; drama enough.
[6]
Alfred Soto: A blustery ballad that knocks the leaves from the trees, sung by a veteran with more conviction than inspiration.
[5]
Thomas Inskeep: Gleefully overblown-out drama-turned-up-to-15 pop that could’ve been produced by Jim Steinman. Instead it was co-written and produced by Vissi’s normal collaborator, ex-husband Nikos Karvelas, and for that we should be glad. He knows how to write for Vissi, and does so superbly here, giving the grand diva of Greek popular music lots to wrap her vocal chords around, an aching midtempo ballad whose title translates as “For You.” The song opens with a gorgeous piano riff over which Vissi starts singing, showing plenty emotion but not going over the top – until the chorus. Stabby synth chords come in and Vissi lets blow, wringing every emotion possible out of the song’s dramatic lyrics. “Gia Sena” is an [Insert name of country] Idol masterclass, and should be studied by aspiring big-lunged singers from all over the world.
[9]
Edward Okulicz: The transition from an 80s-ish ballad of the kind you don’t quite believe people make anymore, to a ridiculous mid-90s trance-synth-infused blowout of the kind you know people don’t is so delicious that it doesn’t matter that I can’t tell what’s supposed to be a chorus. As befits a veteran who’s no more vulnerable to criticism than changing trends, she belts it out with authority and sympathy.
[7]
Iain Mew: The piano part is an effectively sped up and concentrated “The Winner Takes It All”, and it only gets more monumental from there. The verses sound like years of pent up feeling beginning to show through cracks before the walls completely break down. When they eventually do, bludgeoned apart by dramatic pauses and glowing synth drops, Vissi’s reserves of wounded dignity mean that the setting sounds only fitting.
[8]
Scott Mildenhall: Those glistening synth parts are like the sonic embodiment of raining sparks, so to hear them go off unattended for a full twenty seconds is a rare thrill. It is a thrill that would be better with the corresponding visual, but Vissi’s vocal performance almost makes up for the lack of it by itself, a belt that rises to the lyrics and in no way belies her vast experience.
[7]
Brad Shoup: She’s great, but the ponderous piano is a copy of a copy. It’s behind her; so are the synths, but only at the end. Until then, they’re led to believe that they’re the main attraction. For someone else, maybe.
[5]