Customer Reviews

Legendary

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my top #1 desert island disc. If I have not listened to this album 500 times since I bought it 10 years ago, then I haven't listened to it at all.

It contains three years' worth of absolute seminal recordings. Yes it is in the late 50's style (compared to today's productions, it is fairly "lame") but musically there is so much packed into these 38 tracks it is nothing less than astonishing.

What hasn't already been said about JG? That he is a guitar god? That he has worked with brilliant songwriters? That his mixture of guitar and voice is unique and enticing?

OK so the CD is out of print. Dang. While you wait, buy the Getz-Gilberto album in the meanwhile. It's better than nothing at all.

Long live bossa nova!

It's a shame this disc is out of print. Packed with two-minute bursts of Bossa Nova goodness. Sound is crystal clear. Of all the samba discs I own, this seems to be the one perennial. Find it used if you can. Hopefully World Pacific will release it again at some point.

This is an essential collection: Joao Gilberto's first three albums, Chega de Saudade, O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor and Joao Gilberto (which for some unfathomable reason have never been re-issued in CD), plus two tracks from an impossible-to-find double seven-inch mini-LP of Joao performing songs from the Black Orpheus movie. Those albums revolutionized Brazilian music, and epitomize true-blue bossa nova. It's all there: the songs (including pre-bossa ones revisited in Joao's unique style, cf. Rosa Morena and Aos Pes da Cruz, the latter of which was shamelessly stolen by Miles Davis and Gil Evans), the instrumentation, the arrangements (mostly by Antonio Carlos Jobim), the beat - and, of course, Joao's singing and guitar playing, the very heart of bossa nova and an undying influence on all that came afterwards.

(An update: I've learned that this CD has been unavailable for quite some time now due to a court dispute between Joao and EMI. Seems that, not content with putting the tracks all out of order, EMI has, in the remix, substantially altered - for the worse - the original recordings. If so - and all the reliable expert testimonies say so - it's not, alas, representative of Joao's work. More's the pity. If you don't have those albums, you may as well go for this CD, but you've been forewarned...)

I purchased this double album in 2003 in some cheap music store in Barcelona. I was new and only put me back 7 euros. Best purchase for an album EVER. If I could only take 10 albums with me to a desert island, this would definitely make the cut (along with Beach Boys Pet Sounds and Sublime's 40oz to Freedom).

It takes awhile for the hooks to set in (I'd start with the second disc first), but they will always stay with you. Highly Recommended.

update: I wrote this review before reading the other reviews. I didn't know the desert island vote was already used!

Hello everyone, can anybody please let me know if Legendary JG is JUST voice and guitar or with the additional instruments. I really don't want to spend my money if this cd is something with the orchestra or any additional instruments. I am interested Just in voice and guitar.
Thank You !

Hi Bossa Novaist,

Struck gold today by browsing through more than likely the only CD store alive in existence. Thumbing through the Brazil section and viola..."The Legendary Joao Gilberto" CD for sale used for $7.99, at first thought...who would want to sell this cd in the first place and besides i already own a mint copy of it that i bought when it first came out on cd. Without hesitation i bought it as a backup (cd's aren't invincible you know!). Then it came to mind that this cd is long "out of print" and now selling for $80 used? This backup is in mint condition without a scratch including the jacket sleeves and original jewel case. What a bargain! I feel bad for whoever sold this and without realizing it's current value. Besides, every track on this cd is so excellent and certainly the most definitive Joao Gilberto collection out there. Joao will always be my mentor on the nylon string guitar and his style of playing is very complex. I have been practicing his guitar playing style for a while now and truly he is the vessel of "Bossa Nova" as "Antonio Carlos Jobim" would be the father.

Addendum: There are a few guitar and voice only and the rest are in a band setting with "piano, bass, mallets, drums & percussion and the sweetest live string & brass orchestra behind his sublime vocals and guitar performances". If you are an admirer of Joao, i certainly recommend this complilation because it compiles many of his rarest tracks and not too mention they are extremely hard to find and cost lots of cash! This is out-of-print and worth the going price you can afford to buy anywhere you can get the goods. I have (2) copies mint and will not part with either of them. It's that awesome! If you like his intimate setting G&V only, check out the iTunes or Amazon and buy the download for "Joao Voz E Violato" where he revisited his classic tracks but he is much older though but no matter...it's still Joao! The man even sounds awesome reading the newspaper or recite a poem...LOL!

Outra Vez,
Migs Emano, 2011
Jazmix Arts & Entertainment

The collection "The Legendary Joao Gilberto" combines all the very distinctive e a r l y productions of Joao Gilberto without any glamorous gloss overs by orchestra or rhythm groups. So it's all the genuine Joao - voice and guitar - and no baroque trinkets or malformation. Enjoy unalduterated bossa nova.

From the first note, this amazing collection of songs just grabs you. Never mind the dated orchestra, the less than stellar recording techniques of 1950's Brazil..the brilliance just shines right through, and Joao has never sounded better. In some ways, I like this album even more than the landmark recording he did in 1963 with Stan Getz containing 'The Girl from Ipanema'. This one feels more authentically brazilian. I bought my copy of this CD in the 90's, and it's one of my prized possessions.