Customer Reviews

Brasileiro

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sergio Mendes started out in Brazil as a young and highly regarded arranger. In 1965 he put together an international band and had a number of huge pop hits that combined traditional Brazilian rhythms and songs with American pop, and for a few years he was one of the most popular acts in the world. But the American and European infatuation with watered down Brazilian music faded as the British invasion began in earnest, and Mendes and his various bands fade from public view.

With this album, though, Mendes has returned to a very basic and completely authentic Brazilian sound- far more authentic than the original Brasil '65 band. And it's an absolute treat. The sound of Carnival just echos through this album, and if you close your eyes you can imagine yourself in the middle of it all on the streets and beaches of Rio. Highly recommended for fans of Brazilian music, fans of Mendes, and people who just like to dance.

This is absolutely Sergio's finest work, a great fusion of American pop, Bahian samba-reggae and Rio samba, featuring the very talented Carlinhos Brown and other musical luminaries. The liner notes, by Chris McGowan, were especially helpful in shedding light on the music. I ended up purchasing McGowan's book "The Brazilian Sound" through Amazon.com and thus finding out even more about the career of Sergio and history of Brazilian music. Let's hope Mendes continues in this vein, of incorporating fresh new styles and rhythms from Brazil.

I'm writing this when others have already lavished high praise on the album. There is not much I can add except to say that from the opening few seconds of the first track to the last, I was deeply moved by everything I heard on this album.

Sergio is to be commended for his trip back to his roots. Brazil is indeed honored with this album and Sergio definitely deserved the Grammy award for it.

Bravo, Sergio!

Still one of my favorite Brazilian albums (I now have over 50). For those expecting simpering lounge music (I never caught Mendes in this stage, fortunately), you'll be pleasantly surprised. Much of this music is hard-driving or fanciful/experimental. What S.M. has done is really just assemble a kick-ass team of Brazilian musicians and let each go at it on different tracks, e.g. Carlinhos Brown (Magano), who is a contemporary musical genius of Afro-Brazilian Music. A lot of variety. A lot of preconceptions broken. A great album!

I was not into this album. The first couple of tracks are exciting, whistle blowers, but the rest of the album dissolves into a fusion jazz experience that I don't go for. This is nothing like Brasil '66, which is what I was hoping for. If you like Jazz fusion w/ a couple accoustic festival numbers thrown in, this CD is for you.

So many songs I remember from this CD. Sort of like a return party for Sergio Mendes, or a "hey, lets make something that reflects the new wave of music for this decade". That's not necessarily a bad thing, but, well, you'll see where I'm going in the end of this review...

This is a terrific CD! Some of the songs on this cd passed through all sorts of cultures at the time it was released & a few years later. For instance, "What is This?", a rap with a Samba beat featuring Carmen Alice was on a few movies (I think Whoopi Goldberg/Ted Danson's "Made in America" was one). But then there's just some gerat songs. Fanfarra is a good Samba and Magalenha featured Carlinhos Brown... when he was young!! What a beat that song has too. Sambadouro is a breezy samba that glides, although maybe in a cliche'd way. Joao Bosco featured in the breezy and sensual "Senhoras Do Amazonas", and then Gracinha Leporace featured in probably my favorite track on the CD: "Esconjuros". Wow. Other nice cuts were Pipoca, Chorado, Barabare and... heck, pretty much all of them give me warm memories.

All in all I'd recommend this. But this is an older CD and a bit "contemporary", and much much different than Sergio's music with Brazil 66. Translated: this might not be the most timeless of CD's and don't throw this in if you're looking to impress with some of the newest of the mature grooves in Brazil. And I emphasize the word "mature" because I wasn't even old enough to drive when this came out and my parents listened to it a LOT. So for a time, to me this was very uncool. However now I can appreciate this cd more and the musicianship is great, there are fantastic guests featured (including Ivan Lins, Hermeto Pascoal and more) and its good music. And if you like this, definitely check out Sergio Mendes' "Oceano". But if you want a more modern sound, check out a group called "Jazzinho".

This CD is one of my favourites. The musicians Mendes has assembled are superb and the songs are infectious. If the music doesn't lift your spirits, check your pulse!

The CD comes with terrific notes about how the album was created and outlining the styles and dances each song employs. It begins and ends with 100 Brasilian percussionists thundering out their unique rhythms in a parking lot, capturing what you would hear on the streets of Rio during Carnaval.

I love the Brasilian take on rap in "What Is This?" Beats the heck out of any other rap I've heard.

Other outstanding tracks include
Magalenha, featuring solo singer, 9 voice chorus and 15 piece percussion group
Indiado, integrating Brasilian, reggae and African rhythms, and supplementing the Brasilian musicians with L.A. guitar/bass/drums and Sergio playing synthesized funky horns on his keyboard.
Lua Soberana, written by the Brasilian songwriting team Lins and Martins, has a wonderful female vocal

But, every track is terrific!

The fourth and fifth albums (that's right, albums) I ever bought were both Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66. I loved his earliest Brazilian based tunes. I lost favor with his "lounge act" material of the 70's, but even during that time every now and then a gem of a song would appear. When I reluctantly purchased "Brasileiro" I was hoping for more of the '66 SM than the 70's SM. Boy was I pleased with what I heard. This is his best since "Look Around" (which is my all-time favorite of his). With the opening drums of "Fanfarra" the recording and production were killer! I was blown away with the Brasilian rap on "What Is This?", but got completely funked out with "Magano". Like so many of his earlier songs, I found myself singing (phonetically as I only know English) the words to this song as I walked down the hall. (If anyone knows what the "hook" line to "Magano" means, please let me know what I've been singing for months). If the beat doesn't get you the syncopated rhythms will. Once you've recovered from this the haunting melody of "Chorado" will not leave your head either. It was wonderful to have the old Sergio Mendes back. If he ever gets stuck in a groove again, I hope it is as well done as this. Thanks Sergio!

I heard this was Sergio's revenge after several questionable records that leaned toward the, shall we say, pop-ier side of Brazilian music.

Aside from track 4 being probably the worst rap song ever (yet with a GREAT groove!) this CD has NO dead wood.

I make all my students buy this who really want to learn about serious brazilian drumming.

IF you can't love this CD, you can't love brazilian music. It's the real deal.

I was a big fan of Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66. I really didn't care for the pop things he was doing in the late 70's-80's. So I was hesitant with this CD. But I am pleasantly surprised with the soulfulness of this album. Sergio gets back to his Brazilian roots and puts in a GREAT effort. I could have done without the rap thing, but other than that this was a really good record. The rhythm just GROOVES throughout! I'll start buying his records again if he's gonna make 'em like this!