Customer Reviews

Bossa Mundo 2

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Take equal parts bossa, today's dance music tempo, and unwavering sunshine, and you'll have an infallible recipe for pleasure. It's also an apt description for the bossa-meets-jazz scene flourishing the past few years. Several record labels offer consistently high quality examples (Compost, Schema) and Yellow follows suit with more uptempo fare, here a successful sequel to their 4-star Bossa Mundo from 1999.

Included among the eleven tracks are Francois K's "Awakening," a stunning eleven minute masterpiece with sublime vocals courtesy Barbara Mendes, wrapped in strings, lively percussion, and sprightly piano solo partway in. Majestic stuff, and rivaled by Muro's "Bohemian," paying homage to the great destinations of the world (and Cincinnati), and the more seductive "Deepest Seas" by Limbo Experience.

Importantly, Bossa Mundo 2 succeeds by showcasing full-on band performances, adding a depth and warmth not always found in more common computer engineered work. Welcome variety comes from the acoustic tango "Triptico" and obscure-but-not-really groups Neon Heights and Tom and Julie, receiving welcome exposure. "Oka Uja's" a bit duff, and the import has an improved track order, but minor quibbles aside, BM2 showcasing the best this scene has to offer.

*Note that this is the same disc as the import Bossa Tres Jazz 2: Step Into The Gallery, but with a different track order (although the tracks are near identical). It's just the official domestic release via Wave music.

After listening to the first Bossa Mundo repeatedly for a good solid year, I took a chance and bought the sequel. Quite often, the second volume of a compilation is not as strong as the first, as producers often simply slap something together to cash in. That's definitely not the case with this gem. If forced to choose just one, I would lean toward the first, but the second one is uniformly excellent. Unlike the first compilation, which didn't have any songs over 6:00, this one has a few that approach the 10 minute mark, allowing the listener to get lost for 78 luscious minutes. Buy this, put it on at your next party, and see how many queries you get about this!!

Some people have said that this CD isn't as good as the first one, however I disagree. This one is better in my opinion. It's fabulous. It really has a tropical feel to it so if you want to escape to the islands, this is what you should turn on.