Brasil: A Century of Song, Vol. 4: MPB - Musica Popular Brasileira

Musica Popular Brasileira, Various Artists - Intl. - So. & Central America - Brazil/Bossa Nova/Samba | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 6, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 17, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Jackel
• ASIN: B000005AHM
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,775 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #62 in Music > Indie Music > World Music > South & Central America

Track Listings

1. Gira, Girou - Milton Nascimento

2. Cade O Boi - Tavinho Moura

3. E d' Oxum/La Aguiba Oxum Aura Olu Adupe - Gal Costa

4. Ilu Aye [Terra Da Vida] - Clara Nunes

5. Coisinha Do Pai - Beth Carvalho

6. Sumiu, Jacare - Alcione

7. Cravo E Canela - Milton Nascimento E Lo Borges

8. Povo da Raça Brasil - Simone

9. O Dia Que O Sol Declarou O Sue Amor Pela Terra - Jorge Ben Jor

10. Clareou - Ivan Lins

11. Nego Maluco - Edu Lobo

12. Feminina - Joyce

13. Esta Melodia - Marisa Monte

14. Swing da Cor - Daniela Mercury

15. Bragada - Tony Mola

16. Caravial/Chuva Danada - Exalta Samba

17. Vera Cruz - Milton Nascimento

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great MPB!, February 16, 2004

By 

M. Katayama-Lee (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brasil: A Century of Song, Vol. 4: MPB - Musica Popular Brasileira (Audio CD)

This is a pretty good album, full of wonderful MPB songs. If I could change one thing about it, I would wish that it had more songs. For those of you who may not know it this album is a part of a box set (the other 3 or 4 CD's don't come with this album though - you must buy those separately). Each one of the other albums (which consist of different styles of Brazilian music - like Carnaval samba music, Choro, etc.) are all wonderful. I defnitely recommend getting this CD whether you are new to MPB music and want a good introduction, or if you already know you love MPB and just want another CD to add to your collection.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the more astounding collections of songs anywhere, July 22, 2002

By 

Phil Rogers (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brasil: A Century of Song, Vol. 4: MPB - Musica Popular Brasileira (Audio CD)

This is some of the best produced [and unpretentious] cutting-edge music anywhere on the globe. It's solid from top to bottom.

#'s 3-7, 9-10, 12-17 are all 5 stars; #'s 8 and 11 are "only" 4 stars! These songs are all very meaty, unlike much of the fare we are currently served here in the States. I say this, and I don't even understand Portuguese [Brazilian dialect or otherwise].

#'s 3-6: Great lead singing, cuica/cavaquinho duels, and gutsy, full choral response. [Cuica is a friction drum = one that has a stick through its drumhead; the stick is rubbed with a damp rag to produce the instrument's characteristic repertoire of dog barking and whining sounds. Cavaquinho is a small guitar, about the size of the ukelele.]

#7: Begins with haunting whistling, acoustic guitar accompaniment and percussion. Once the singing begins, it's rather offhanded melody and rhythm (jazzy) with ample reverb in the mix.

#8: Unusual melody and rhythm, and almost a church trope in the choral phrases; electric bass/guitar, drum kit and other percussion.

#9: More whistling, with choral yelling, lead speaking then singing, 'atonal' studio style electric guitar chords and ostinado. An inspiring, medium to up-tempo love song.

#10: Double-tracked berimbau (musical bow), with electric bass and rock guitar. Jazzy melody with incredible singers; some multi-tap panning delay (an innovative engineer here!). Also, an awesomely-conceived, lengthy bridge section!

#11: Jazzy intro, motor-mouth singing, but very good!

#12: Double tracked bossa scat, panned right and left (female lead singer). Very innovative structure; gutsy, well-nailed performance. Pop-sounding, but exceedingly brilliant. Faintly reminiscent of the style of "The Girl from Ipanema", but a little quicker, and 100 times better [imagine that!].

#13: Lilting introduction @ slow ballad tempo with two acoustic guitars (left = low accompaniment, right = high flourishes) for 1½ minutes; then goes into a gorgeous medium-tempo samba with cavaquinho (~ukelele), traditional 'samba school' percussion, and a vocable chorus. The song is incredible!

#14: Samba on drum set, with electric bass, which reminds me of the style of Les Negresses Vertes, or else the Gipsy Kings.

#15: Back to samba-school style percussion, with an unusual, powerful ostinado chorus, in a minor key. String section comes in (but does not distract).

#16: Happy-sounding samba, which moves right along.

#17: Fusion samba . . . head-spinning progressive jazz, with samba beat in the quicker passages. Gorgeous singing and playing. This would serve as a gourmet platter for the right choreographer.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo e certamente utile, September 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Brasil: A Century of Song, Vol. 4: MPB - Musica Popular Brasileira (Audio CD)

La selezione dei titoli e degli interpreti può dare una buona idea dell'anima del Brasile. Purtroppo tale idea è solo un richiamo per quanti conoscono, o credono di conoscere, l'intimità degli abitanti di questo sterminato e sconosciuto Paese.