Customer Reviews

Equinox

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mendes and his highly talented ensembles continue to make magic these many decades after their initial recording sessions.

The group was born in an era rife with musical competition. The same year Brazil'66 debuted, the Beatle releases Revolver, the Beach Boys unveiled Pet Sounds and a young guitarist named Hendrix was beginning to create a legend.

But Mendes, an already-established jazz performer (and outstanding arranger), picked his mark.

He sought the middle ground between pop and jazz, wrapped it in the rhythms of old Brazil and plucked two extremely fine vocalists (Karen Phillip and Lani Hall) from seemingly nowhere and inducted them into his troupe.

The result was a highly distinctive sound characterized by rich smooth harmonies and a pulsating Latin undercurrent.

The group's music creates an ambiance filled with sophisticated romantic notions and breezy rhythms.

Looking back, Brazil'66 is one of the few groups to really stand the test of time. They could have been recorded yesterday and their performances are as fresh and new as they were almost four decades ago.

Equinox is a case in point and probably their best album.

Porter's Night and Day is given a treatment it truly deserves and Jobim's Wave has never been delivered with such elegance and eloquence.

It's a short album, in total running less than half-an-hour, but its brevity is disproportionate to its quality.

The music, the songs and the arrangements still create an undeniable magic that is both unique and highly accessible.

FIVE STARS for the Swinger from Rio and his musical co-conspirators.

I just found this CD with its "special packaging" and had to buy it - I had "Equinox" on vinyl as a kid (when it first came out in 1967), and (no surprise) it sounds just as great today. Sergio Mendes' musical concept was seen as somewhat adventurous at the time, and maybe it was, but it was also deceptively simple: put a Brazilian beat and feel to some high-quality pop tunes and standards, add in some authentic high-quality Brazilian tunes, polish the musical arrangements, get some GREAT singers and players to perform them, and voila! The first two Brasil '66 albums ("Equinox" is the second) were both bona-fide masterpieces. The re-mastering on "Equinox" sounds great - in fact the only possible complaint I could have is that the CD is too short! (It's exactly the original LP length though, so I really can't complain)
I really love the songs here - my favorites are "Constant Rain", complete with harpsichord and sitar (both staple instruments of 1967 pop); the gentle but insistent "Cinnamon And Clove"; the two Jobim songs "Triste" and "Wave", both of which have beautiful vocal arrangements; and "For Me", which is sort of reminiscent of "Something's Coming" from "West Side Story", but with its own cool tempo and groove changes - and dig the piano improv on the fadeout! Mendes is a truly distinctive pianist, and Lani Hall is a breathtaking singer. The other band members - Bob Matthews, Jose Soares, Joao Palma and Janis Hansen - are top-notch as well. This is one of those CD's that will always make you feel good when you put it on - I haven't been able to stop playing it since I bought it! I highly recommend "Equinox".

When listening to this CD, I thought of the Irving Berlin quote that great music should be 1/3 melody, 1/3 harmony, 1/3 rhythm. This CD meets that rigorous standard.

Many of us have heard these melodies before. Watch What Happens was a hit for Lena Horne, of all people. Night and Day was from a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movie. Wave, Triste, So Danco Samba are all standards.

But Mendes and crew put a wonderful touch to these songs. Incredible arrangements, solid musicianship. There is melody, harmony and rhythm.

However, CD runs less than 30 minutes, packing as noted in other reviews is awful. This could have easily been combined with another CD.

The 5 stars is for the music.

However it wasn't until a friend of mine, told me she loved thier music, and that all thier albums are great. So I decided to try this one because it had a lot of classic jazz brazil standards on it, like Watch What Happens(who I've heard Lena Horne sing), and Night & Day. Well this version of Night & Day is really swank, and it swings, and is a little campy at the same time, this is bossa nova jazz, but it's really light due to the soft speken vocals by Mendes, Lani Hall and the band. Exellent jazz/pop lounge music from the 60's...

This second album of Brasil 66 is probably the best they did. Despite its extreme brevity (10 songs in 25 minutes), the quality more than compensates. Not a note or a single second of time is wasted.

The songs, some in English and some in Portuguese, are almost impossibly catchy; the musical arrangements wonderful, and vocal blending and phrasing of the group impeccable. Other than a wonderful rendition of Night and Day, there are no renditions of current pop songs which unfortunately became the group's staple later on. Despite the Brazilian sound of the entire album, this album personafies the 60s beat.

Lani Hall has got to be the best female pop vocalist that most people have never heard of. Her voice is truly remarkable and was the cornerstone of this group's fame. Sergio Mendes is still around and has had a variable career, with music ranging from superb to shlock.

Brasil 66 was immensely popular in the 60's and early 70s - this album will show you why.

From the fade-in of the first track, 'Chove Chuva', you're immediately transported to another time. Electric Harpsichord and Electric Sitar carry the opening melody - and then - THOSE VOCALS!

Alright, musically, it's a triumph, and as echoed in some of the other reviews, without a doubt the best effort by Sergio and Brasil '66. Each track is a reminder that at some point in time, this music was beyond 'Jazz Mod' as the liner notes state - it was Jazz-Mod-Retro-Psychedelic Cool, even then, and it still is.

Now for the not-so-great things about this release. LENGTH. At just over 25 minutes, you feel cheated. Granted, this is the 'original' release; no bonus tracks, no extended versions, but it's just over simply too quickly.

Next: Packaging. I have several of these 'LP Recreation' releases; two King Crimson remasters and a Japaneses Miles Davis "On The Corner". It's supposed to be hip that they've recreated the LP sleeve, with faithful renditions of the front and back covers...but again, this ISN'T an LP; it's 1/6 the size, the once readable text is now hard to see, and frankly, it doesn't fit nicely with all the other guys in my CD holder. Fortunately, this particular pressing will only be available until May 2005; perhaps then we'll be given a regular jewel case with some decent liner notes.

And a final note: REMASTERING. I completely disagree with the other review. The sound is brilliant, with tape hiss left intact, and EQed ever so subtly. If you listen to a recent issue of Chove Chuva from one of Verve's Reissue Compilation CDs, you can hear that this version was obviously from a different (and superior) master tape. If you like the dry, hiss-free, pumped-up-volume sound of some of the earlier 90s reissues, you probably won't dig this. But as an engineer, I can honestly say that this was well done, and a faithful rendition of the original LP. In fact, it actually sounds as if the last track (One Note Samba) may actually have been transferred from vinyl instead of tape - don't know for certain, but it still grooves, and it's forever Jazz-Mod-Cool.

Family friends introduced me to this album in the early '70's when I was in my early teens and I fell in love with it immediately. I wore that album out listening to it and eventually had to replace it. I even had it on an 8 track tape!! That thing was awful, but that didn't stop me from playing it. LOL!

I don't know what it is about this album, but every song is just... fabulous. The vocals, the melodies, the arrangements, they're all terrific and memorable.

After my turntable broke I never replaced it and I lost the cassette I made of the album. Over the past several years I forgot about this album, as it wasn't on cd then. While searching for something online the other day something made me think of it and I looked to see if it was downloadable. Then I thought, wait, let me see if it ever came out on cd and to my surprise and happiness it had! I ordered it and I can't wait for it to get here. Listening to the little snippets online leave me longing for more, for the real thing.

Yeah, it's short. Oh well, that's how the album was. Bonus tracks? A double cd? I don't know, that's not the album I remember, the album I want. I loved it just the way it was and will love it just the way it is when it FINALLY gets here. :-) I just wish I had discovered it again sooner!

After watching Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 40th Anniversary concert last Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl, I'm still in the mood for more Sergio Mendes music. I've been listening to all of his remarkable and my all-time favorite CDs and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I could listen to his music for hours and hours without tiring!

This album, produced by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss of A & M Records in 1967, is one of my absolute favorites from my collection. The impressive track listing consists of the liveliest Bossa Nova rhythms so typical of Sergio Mendes arrangements. He has made a name for himself in the music world and is one of the pioneers of Bossa Nova and has created and arranged the kind of music that is so endearing not only to my ears but also to his myriad fans. All his arrangements and interpretations are so splendid and his female vocalists, Lani Hall and Janis Hansen, deliver quite well. They have the most beautiful and lovely voices and they sing with feelings and emotions as evident to the lovely tracks such as two of Antonio Carlos Jobim's compositions, "Wave" and "Triste," Cole Porter's "Night and Day," Johnny Mandel/Alan & Marilyn Bergman's "Cinnamon and Clove," Paolo Sergio Valle and Marcos Valle's "Gente," and Jorge Ben's "Constant Rain" (Chove Chuva).

The beauty of this recording is not only attributed to Sergio Mendes' perfectly wonderful arrangements, his piano playing and his vocals on some of the tracks, but also the combined talents of John Pisano (guitar), Bob Matthews (bass/vocals), Jose Soares (percussion/vocals), Joćo Palma (drums/vocals), Lani Hall and Janis Hansen (vocals).

My number one favorite from this collection is a beautiful song melody-wise and lyric-wise, composed by Michel Legrand and Norman Gimbel, "Watch What Happens."

"Let someone start believing in you
Let him hold out his hand
Let him touch you and watch what happens

When someone who can look in your eyes
And see into your heart
Let him find you and watch what happens

Cold, no I won't believe your heart is cold
Maybe just afraid to be broken again
Let someone with a deep love to give
Give that deep love to you
And what magic you'll see."

Maybe, and that's really saying something. After he founded Brasil '66, a number of critics and others accused him of selling out to the pop music market, but honestly, I think the mix in this album of jazz/pop/Brasilian music in this album is probably about 40/30/30. Mendes' plays a mean jazz piano, and his blocky piano chords sound like Vince Guaraldi backed by a bossa nova beat.

Everything on this album works. The songs are wonderful and well chosen. The arrangements sparkle. "Constant Rain" always makes me laugh because the lyrics are so sad while the delivery is upbeat and cheerful. On this album, Mendes temporarily dropped the Beatles' cover songs and instead chose Cole Porter "Night and Day" and Michel Legrand's "Watch What Happens." There's also a trio of Jobim songs including one of the first vocal versions of "Wave" (in Portugese) and some more obscure but equally fine Brazilian tunes.

As previous reviewers have said, the packaging is awful, and the cardboard case probably won't fit into your CD rack, but it shouldn't stop you from buying this album.

A+

I've just recieved this CD along with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 debut album!!! I love the music on both of this CDs, these albums contain the best Sergio Mendes recordings that you can get!!! However I was quite dissapointed with the packaging in "Equinox"! It just doesn't fit in my CD tower, and I doubt that it will last as long as the regular case.