Customer Reviews

Garra

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

 

 

This 1971 album finds pop-samba-groove-bossa mastermind singer-songwriter at his creative peak, a set of songs that demolish genre and language barriers to take up permanent residence on your turntable or in your CD changer. Valle's work here is both incredibly diverse and instantly identifiable, not to mention catchy as hell. Beatlesque here, Jobim-ish there, some Bacharach & Webb-type stylings, a Mancini arranging flourish or three, a mysteriously alluring and beautiful quality akin to 60s European film soundtracks, and a definite flair for the funky groove. All this, and tunes like "Garra," "Wanda Vidal," "Que Bandeira" and "Paz E Futebol" will have you walking around humming and whistling incessantly and almost helplessly, even if you don't speak a word of Portuguese. This album, like Valle's others from the same period, tends to be desperately sought-after around the world, and although this reissue is a bit pricey, it's nothing compared to the unconscionable amounts that tend to be paid for original copies. A true classic!

Amazon.com has the wrong track list attached to this album (I have no idea what album they got those titles from). But here is the real one:

1 Jesus Meu Rei (3:10)
2 Com Mais de 30 (2:40)
3 Garra (2:57)
4 Black Is Beautiful (4:15)
5 Ao Amigo Tom (1:56)
6 Paz e Futebol (2:33)
7 Que Bandeira (2:59)
8 Wanda Vidal (2:04)
9 Minha Voz Virá Do Sol da América (4:20)
10 Vinte e Seis Anos de Vida Normal (2:22)
11 O Cafona (3:24)
12 Berenice (*) (3:01)

* Bonus track available on Japanese import

5 Stars - No Question - The only thing is that I wish it were longer than 40 minutes!

As the headline says, this ablum is not called Cafe Apres-midi, and as someone else noted, the tracklist is wrong and the correct one is below. That said, this is one of the greatest samba-pop albums ever recorded, and easily in the top ten of 20th century Brazilian music. Following the path Valle laid down with Samba 68, every song on here has a sort of easy listening vibe to it, but not cheesily - the instrumentation, melodies, and bridges are absolutely gorgeous. The songs are completely enveloping compositions of strings, guitar and horns, each of which is an encapsulated and unique journey through bossa nova patterns and afternoon lullabys. For those who have a real thing for song-writing genius, this is for you. The way the songs develop, the path they lead you down, and the vocal harmonies are as good as any Lennon-McCartney collaboration. (...)