Customer Reviews

Brazil: Essential Album

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

 

 

There's any number of Brazilian compilations out there, and most of them are good - but this double set is very, very good!
In fact, as the title says, it's essential. The 31 tracks cover a wide sweep of Brazilian music and take in gentle guitar/vocal bossa novas, percussive sambas, brassy celebrations of life, lazy-sounding folk ballads and much more.
The compilers have clearly put the package together with knowledge and love. They've selected accalaimed artists, celebrated songwriters and a mix of well-known and more esoteric songs as their starting point. Naturally Antonio Carlos Jobim is well represented with three tracks of which "Aguas De Marco" (from his seminal "Jobim" album) is typical of his relaxed style. Other well-known names featured include Tania Maria, Astrud Gilberto, Joyce, Jorge Ben, and the Tamba Trio. Tania Maria's offering is her wonderful original version of "Come With Me", which is a lot less urgent than the more famous jazz covers, but because of that it actually implies a latent urgency which which is the more powerful - if you know what I mean.
Astrud Gilberto's inclusion is her Stan Getz-paired version of "It Might As Well Be Spring", while the Tamba Trio's "Mas Que Nada" will forever be associated with those famous yellow and green shirts.
The lesser known material includes some lovely sporific bossa nova vocals like Maria Bethania's "Ambar" and the mightily percussive Timbalada Dance's "Beija-Flor" - and who cares if the vocals are in Portugese - the message is in the music.
The more contemporary side of Brazilian music is represented here by a couple of cuts that wouldn't sound out of place on a modern dance compilation.
Marcos Valle's "Freio Aerodynamic" flies along on the aerodynamics implicit in the title, while Jorge Ben's "Pais Tropical", though a little more subdued, is nevertheless irresistibly rhythmic.
In effect that's the secret of all Brazilian music. Despite its rich variety, it's all down to feeling the rhythm.

some of the songs are great and very popular but other sare not, some of the songs are just okay the sound its poor and thats why i gave it only 3 stars.

A gorgeous 2CD collection of some of the most popular Brazilian songs, by the most renowned artists, including the classic 'Girl from Ipanema' sung by composer Vinicius de Moraes. The album also spans a variety of sounds- axe, bossa nova, brazilian reggae, samba and pop and jazz fusion as well. Perfect buy for those who want an introduction to Brazilian music.

I admittedly did a review on this one several years ago but have found myself returning to the album, and wanted to upgrade the review. This is a double disc set of tunes dedicated to a variety of different BRazilian musical styles and musicians. No stone is left un-turned in this one as you've got everything from axe to bossa to bossa nova to MPB and Pagode on down the line.

CD1 is well stocked with quality. Tania Maria's popular cross-cultural hit "Come With Me" features, and you've got a delightful little Astrud Gilberto (with Stan Getz) song "It Might as Well be Spring". But I think the real gem on that album is "Cena" by an artist you won't hear much about outisde of Brasil (or even in Brasil nowadays). A terrific song... that sort of moves like a soap-opera... "You get jealous and make a scene..." You really do have to know Portuguese to get really get the song. There are several others that I enjoyed on that one too. Disc two's just as nice with stallwarts Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Two real highlights to me though were As Meninas track "Para Raio", remake of an old classic. It's so light and breezy - I like Monica's voice and this album got me into their music. As Meninas changed their group name to "Nois 4", and be careful as they are VERY different from the probably more popular Axe/pop group "As Meninas". I also liked Quarteto Em Cye's "Milagre". I mean the harmonizing is so perfect!

I recommend this one if you can still find it. It was a delightful two disc set that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a bit older though... pushing on 8 years or so. But it's still got some great tracks and artists. Jorge Ben, Lenine, Timbalada, Joyce, Djavan, Daniela Mercury, Maria Bethania, Chico Buarque, Novos Baianos and loads more appear. Pretty wide spectrum of music, so check it out! This album reminds me of a few other samples before and after it, like "A Night in Rio", or the "Beleza Tropical" series and countless others out there. Maybe I'll do a guide for them if it's wanted.