Customer Reviews

Jogos De Armar

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

 

 

As with most of Tom Ze's CDs, this one doesn't start sinking in until you've heard it four or five times. But once it does, look out, you'll be listening for those strange sounds and wonder what he used to make it. In the past, he's not been content to be banging on everything from sticks and pots and pans to using the eerie sound of an electric circular saw, to rubbing his teeth on an inflated balloon. On this CD, there's more of the intriguing sounds that have become his signature. There's also some really catchy tunes, take for example the psychedelic Asa Branca, which swirls with a "cheem-chee-dee" refrain reminiscent of something out of Sound of Music that you won't soon get out of your head. One of the versions of "Jogos de Armar" contains an extra CD. I'd recommend getting this one. The extra CD contains bits and pieces of each of the songs from the actual CD, and when played back to back, gives the listener a glimpse into how Ze puts his songs together. The beauty of Tom Ze is that his music is inimitable and instantly recognizable, but yet he manages to keep it fresh from album to album. Not too shabby for a 65 year old. I'd actually rate this 4.5 stars, but couldn't figure out how to do that, or if it's possible.

Jogos de Amar is the best record I have heard in some time. It is colorful, funky, harmonically and melodically imaginative, catchy, and deep. After a bunch of looking around on the web, I got the English translation of the lyrics from Tom Ze and his wife, who generously responded to my request. Knowing the lyrics makes the music even more remarkable.

The only difficulty is that I can't quite think of what to compare this to for you readers. Some of the rhythmic and timbral ideas do remind me of Zappa, and the deep tunefulness and occasionally snarly voice reminds me a bit of Steely Dan. But it is much more naturally funky and unleashed than either of these. Some of the melodic and harmonic directions are bossa nova-ish, but again, much more driving and rythmically deep.

Anyway, this is great music...P>Enjoy!

This guy, "Tom Ze" is his very own musical machine creation encorporated, "disenterred", still alive but never a ZOMBIE ! I like to think of him as a lot of "Spike Jones", with a chug-a-lug of "Frank Zappa", the chops of "Stevie Wonder" and the spice of "Carmen Miranda" all in one sword of churrasco meat-music to slice off one track at a time ! The innuendo and sarcasm is enately Brazilian and "O Mestre Tom Ze" serves it all up on a firery platter of intellectualism and political relativism rarely seen in today's young artists of the other music genres. If you go to a Tom Ze live performance, bring "O MESTRE" an apple for the teacher and set it on the stage......He'll probably find a way to make it a musical instrument just to prove that HE is "The Boss", all the way down to the core ! Then after the show please kiss him on the lips for me and buy him a caipirinha! He just "TANGOLOMANGO"s me all in a little ball of "Silly String" love !

Yes, that's the best album in this decade, if don't agree with me , you may agree that is the best brazilian album in these last years. Tom Ze is always doing something new.

The first track is incredible, and I feel like that is the addition of the spirit of this CD. The experience, mixing all kinds of rythm and sound. In this track we really have the impression he is tunning instruments and sound, but at sametime it is a real music, and it doesn't hurt our ears.

The second track it the must for me, because he makes a "choro", a brazilian kind of music, in a completelly new way. I will not tell you how, it is a pleasure to discover it!

The third is a very brazilian, or portuguese language music, where he is playing with the words.

We also have Asa Branca a brazilin classic new fashioned.

That's the best album.

Buy IT!

After watching a movie at the San Francisco Film Festivel several years back about Tom Ze, I was tempted to buy this and other CD's - phenomenal.