Customer Reviews

Caminhos

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is simply perfect. Ms. Pontes's voice is stunning in its range. She can be playful and charming (O Ferreiro) one moment, and then reduce you to stricken silence the next (forget the name, the song about Evora). The arrangements are lush and complement Ms. Pontes's masterful interpretations. Ms. Pontes's singing takes you on a wonderful rollercoaster ride, and she constantly surprises with her incredible, graceful talent. I bought this album at Christmas time and have not gone one day without listening to it.

To call Dulce Pontes just another great Portugese singer is to commit a grand injustice. Dulce Pontes is one of the finest, most gifted and most sensitive singers of popular music, anywhere.

This album should stand shoulder high with some of the classics of the music world, with its genuine interpretive masterpieces such as Fado Portugues, Ferreiro y Cantiga da Terra, not that the rest are not brilliant in their own right.

I went out and bought all of Dulce Pontes CDs that are available after hearing this CD, not something that I have ever done before or since.

Dulce Pontes has an exquisite voice. It's so beautiful, and she has such a command of it, that it's just impossible not to be completely swept away by her talent. The beautiful Portugese words combine perfectly with the lushness of the voice, and the lovely songs, a lot of which were written by Ms. Pontes herself. My favorite is Meu Alentejo. Gaivota is another song that showcases that beautiful voice, as does Lela.

But this is NOT one of those CDs with just a couple of good songs. It's a whole collection of lovely creations unfolding one after the other, and all are done by that mesmerizing voice. I must add a bit wistfully that I only wish the songs were translated, so that the totality of the experience could be achieved. This is a wonderful CD! Highly, Highly Recommended!!!

Dulce Pontes is an extraordinary talent. Her strong and rich voice is characteristic of traditional fado singers, but it is the range and diversity to which she applies her musical skills that so impresses the listener. Pontes is the greatest singer of this genre since Amalia Rodrigues who has dominated fado for the past four decades. What a remarkable voice, sweet and feminine, deep and sonorous one moment, then light and airy the next. Even if you don't understand Portuguese, this music is compelling. But if you do, oh my are you in for a treat. I recommend both the Caminhos and Lagrimas albums.

...and Dulce Pontes' voice is an instrument that could never be held by the boundaries of a single genre -- although her roots are in fado, and it permeates everything she sings.

This was the recording that introduced me to the incredible talent and voice of Dulce Pontes -- and she's come to be one of my favorite vocalists in the world. While CAMINHOS is not an 'acoustic' recording (as is O PRIMEIRO CANTO, her newest), Dulce's sense of style and taste never allow the arrangements to overpower her material. When the listener has the opportunity to experience her work as a whole, it's easy to see the progression she has made -- she has become over the course of her brilliant but short career a much more assured artist, constantly pushing her own envelope to wonderful effects.

This is a stunningly beautiful recording -- and one that shines as a whole, not just on the occasional track.

Dulce Pontes is without a doubt one of the best portuguese singers of our time, her album "Caminhos" demonstrates just that. I've only got one point to make. If you're looking for Fado -the real thing- you've come to the wrong place! It is for sure that Dulce Pontes sings Fados but she's by no means a "Fadista". She interpretes Fado in her own special way, her way is modern and innovative, but Fado it's not! Dulce Pontes makes a show just on her own and her creativity is comendable, but in singing Fado you have to find the essence of your soul in the lyrics and the music. Amalia Rodrigues was Fado, with her tradicional black shawl and melancolic expression she represented the soul of the Fado. Fado is not show, it's raw emotion! Dulce Pontes is show!

Listening to Dulce Pontes in every moment at any time brings the sweet memories of the long afternoons in Portugal seatting by the sea leaning into the mistical breaze of the Atlantic ocean down in Algarve, and savoring the beautifull songs of FADO from the QUEEN "AMALIA RODRIGUES", just steps away ,the fisherman worked on their nets for another hard day to come, but the melodies bring us the hope of joy and brigther days as long as the FADO goes on...and the Fado never dies.I was only six and thanks to her melodies ,i can become a child again at the touch of my finger tips in my "CD Player".Dulce is without a question the most greatest voices of fado coming from the gorgeous book song that is Portugal.In "Lagrimas" she brough us "Tears"of joy now in "Caminhos" shes bringing us a "Stairway to Heaven"....Wondefull CD ...Shes truly a Goddess voice....Luis Caldeira, St.Thomas04/09/1999

Last summer's visit to Iberia graced me with the voice of Dulce Pontes. What a voice! What humanity, what rich textures and ranges! At the core, she is following the storied fado tradition of her country, but in this cd she augments her repertoire. Beautiful orchestral arrangements are added. Anyone who listens cannot fail but to be swayed by her musicality, grace, and artistry. I highly recommend this music to any and all.

Dulce Pontes is one of the most talented singers in Portugal at this time. Her voice is absolutely amazing, she ranks up there and in some instances surpasses Amalia. I would highly recommend this CD to anyone even if you don't speak Portuguese.

I first heard Dulces Pontes' voice with Andrea Bocelli on his album "Sogno". The experience sent me online. I ordered her disc "Caminhos".
The songs, all by composers new to this listener, are programed for an affecting flow from one to another. But I'd have taken hostages to have composed Zeca Medeiros' celtic- flavored "Cantiga Da Terra". On its own, this song is worth the price of the disc many times over.
But at the heart of this musical treasure is the radiant musical instrument that is Dulce Pontes' singing voice. With loving musicianship, she gives us an aural spectrum of beauty, nuance, subtlety, emotion, and power. I know not one word of Portugese, but even if she sang in Martian, "Caminhos" witnesses to the universality of music. I'm tempted to fly to Lisbon and become a group-ee. I love this disc immoderately. Alan Wingard, Appleton, Maine