Customer Reviews

Gil E Jorge

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reading the reviews it is clear that one either loves or hates this disc. As a rational, sane judge of all things good, I obviously fall on the side of those who find this record to be brilliant. I read somewhere (maybe on the liner notes) that this record was recorded in 12 hours. As a jam session it is one of a kind for a couple of reasons. First, the playing is good. On a few tracks it is great. Somehow, in the 21st century, people have become so used to hearing records that have been over-produced and tweaked at the sound boards (Even Kiss' famous Alive record was "enhanced" in the studio after recording)that they forget what real live human beings playing real instruments in real time sounds like. Of course you get screw ups. But even the greatest musicians playing and conducting in the greatest symphonies in the world, performing the most difficult music in the world, are bound to play imperfectly, either too flat, or with too much passion, or with the wrong passion, or too technically, or not technically enough. This record is not a technically perfect record. But it has passion, feeling, and is a lot of fun.

there is one thing that is very quirky about this record that you can hear if you pay attention to it. Apparently Jorge Ben was in a very different mood from Gilberto Gil that day and each had a very different idea about what they wanted the recordings to sound like, and so that tension runs through every song. In the same year this record was recorded, Paulo Leminski published "Catatau", one of the most difficult, obscure books ever written in the Portuguese language. In "Catatau" there is a character named "Occam" who, although a reference to Ockham, is according to Leminski's notes derived from Afro Brazilian mythology also (maybe Ogum?): he is the monster of the irrational that disrupts and disturbs order and expectations. For me, Gilberto Gil on this record is Occam. Jorge Ben plays very tame, in tune, very orderly, and Gilberto Gil goes absolutely insane, doing everything he can to disrupt the order and focus that Jorge Ben insists on following, turning lyrics upside down, singing out of tune on purpose, turning his voice into a noise box, making odd sounds in the microphone in imitation of Jorge's guitar strumming, etc.

And as a listener it is wonderful to focus on that tension and musical push-and-shove and see how it plays out in song after song. The struggle between order and chaos reaches its high point in Taj Mahal. I cannot listen to the studio version of taj Mahal from Jorge Ben any more because it sounds so flat and lifeless after hearing the incredible performance on this record. If you thought Jorge Ben's Taj Mahal was a vibrant song before this record, it is odd to realize that Jorge Ben needed Gilberto Gil's obnoxious studio antics to breathe life into the song.

Clearly some listeners approached this record with the wrong frame of mind, or misunderstood much of it, or were simply obtuse enough to be insensitive to the order-disorder games that these two masters of Brazilian 70s pop were playing in the studio the day this record was recorded. For me, this record is golden, a gem now 30 years old and still alive.

For two musicians to sit down and record this without intensive practice in one night is incredible. Their synergy must be heard to be believed. It is something of an extended jam--the tracks (most Ben's I believe) often run 10min or more, and they definitely feel expansive: allowing the playing itself to actually dictate the length of the songs. That doesn't bother me to the extent it might bother others who are more accustomed to hearing Gil and Ben's usually concisely written 3-and-half-minute pop-oriented songs.

The sets usually start out loose and a little uncoordinated, slowly getting tighter, until they are both furiously locked in at the finish. If you like Fela you'll appreciate this.

Also some of the greatest bass lines I have ever heard are here. Gil here is great, though his tendency to get Bobby McFerrinesque, endearing to some including myself, will probably alienate many; Ben is simply perfect, providing the grooves.

Gil is not inspired????? There's nothing but inspiration in the whole record. To say that Gil is out of tune is equal to say that Dave Brubeck played out of tune in "Time Out"!!! Gil and Jorge are one of the most perfect duo's that ever played. Songs like "Meu glorioso São Cristovão" or "Jurubeba" are the real brazilian classics.. As someone wrote, how rate it less than 5 stars?

Two acoustic guitars, one bassist and percussion give us a moment of fantastic talent and brillantism. Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben are two of the most important musician and singers in Brazil, and, why not, of the whole world. Buy it and do that trip.

A couple of Brazil's finest singer/songwriters jamming to each other's songs, the absolute antithesis of the slick studio album. Listen to it in the right mood and it will teach you to dance and play guitar and believe that humanity is a very good thing. In the wrong mood, this classic recording might sound like off-key caterwauling punctuated by repetitive lyrics. In any case, the irrepressible and fluid rhythmic pulse of this session will not soon fade from your memory.

I honestly don't understand how people can bash this recording. I will admit that it's not a perfect sonic masterpiece, nor are the recorded songs "tight", in a sense of the word. But the beauty of this record more than makes up for any flaws.

This record contains awesome jamming--as if you were hanging out at a beach party in Bahia, and Gil e Jorge were just having some fun with a couple acoustic guitars, a percussion player and a bass player. It also has some great vocal improvisation that never gets tiresome. The vocals are full of pure emotion, and it sounds as if the two are having a blast. This is an atmospheric record--it is about as close as you can come to transporting yourself to Brazil without getting on an airplane. Fun record, transcendant record--two pure musicians having a hell of a lot of fun. You will have fun too.

The high ratings this album received is fully deserved. However, I would like to warn those interested that this album was pretty much a jam session recorded in one night by two people (and other musicians in the session) who had never previously played together. And it sounds like it. The songs are played loose, where Gil and Ben settle into a groove and then improvise the rest. There's nothing complicated here- after a decade listening to this album, I even feel some grooves are simply repetitive, and even, dare I say it, annoying- just laid-back brazilian rhythms propelled by the uncut soul that is their voices. That it works superbly is a testament to the supreme confidence each artist has in their musical ability.

If you have no patience for subtle music, stay away from this CD. If you enjoy dissecting songs, basking the minute changes in rhythm and texture, this disc is hard to surpass. Ben & Gilberto are playful and innovative without losing focus. This is an exceptionally under produced and improvisational studio album. This is not for people with a short attention span who want canned and predictable pop, Brazilian or otherwise. If you want to find something different each time you listen to a CD, I highly recommend it.

This is the ultimate missed opportunity record. The idea is simple. Gil and Ben get together and jam for 12 hours with the microphones on "record", touch up the sound quality a bit, and release it as a record. Nothing could be simpler.

Except that Gil is off-key on every song on this album. Gil ruins this record. But Ben is brilliant, both for his singing and his guitar playing. I liked Ben's performance on this record so much that I was deaf to the fact that Gil was such a poor element in the sound presentation until someone pointed it out to me. I guess Gil was a little bit too "far out" that night. It gets really annoying when he starts improvising musical sounds with his mouth like it were a tambourine or something. But other than that, this is a pretty good record, with all of the exciting improvisational feel of a Saturday night jam session. Not Ben's best work, and certainly not Gil's, it is still listenable and enjoyable and worth having in any 1970's Brazilian record collection.

Este album no es ni Gilberto, ni Jorge. Es un híbrido de dos voces que representan movimiento, rebelión y buenas canciones.

Casi todo acústico, con ritmos tropicales y grooves suaves. lo que más me gusta es cuando Gilberto canta, de repente se te olvida que Jorge también está ahi, entonces cuando sale es como oh! una voz que reconozco. por alguna razón esta suena mas rasposa que en las grabaciones, pero eso no es algo nada malo. En general, Jorge es mi parte favorita de este encuentro, y sí, es muy recomendado si sólo te gusta uno de los 2. ah y si te gusta moverte a los ritmos brasileños de los 70.