4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Noteworthy Brazilian pop-soul crossover, January 3, 2003
This review is from: Colecao "Brasil De a a Z" (Audio CD)
Although vocalist Wilson Simonal's mix of Brazilian soft pop and soul may seem pretty tame by today's standards, we was actually a pivotal figure in the growth of the "Black Rio" funk scene. Many of Brazil's top soul musicians apprenticed in Simonal's band; be himself mined fairly deep into the soul sound, although later on he fell into the disco trap. Here, he was still mainly a pop vocalist with some fairly mediocre arrangements, although he looked hella cool with his Buddy Holly-meets-Malcolm X fashion style. This box set collects his trio of "Alegria" albums, which are not awe-inspiring, but are classics of a sort. The first disc includes one truly incredible track, "Nem Vem Que Nao Tem," which has asexy Young-Holt Trio-style funk groove to it and really rocks. Also features a Caetano Veloso composition ("Remelexo") which, again, is not phenomenal, but it must be one of the earliest Veloso cover versions ever recorded.
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