Customer Reviews

Livro

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am not from Brazil, i am from NY but i love brazilian music and i am sort of an officinado to the people that know me. I love Caetano Veloso especially his older stuff. His musical career is as varied as a landscape, you can love him one second and not the next so do not judge the "music of caetano" by listening to one or two albums it is vast. If you dont have caetanos older albums and you just heard this but didn't like it, check out "Qualquer Coisa" or "Joia".

Okay, first the disclaimer: I am not Brazilian, I need a dictionary to read Portuguese, and my musical upbringing is more conducive to James Taylor than samba, bassa, tropicalia or mpb. None the less, I love good melody, voice and rhythm, and Caetano Veloso much more than fits the bill.

This may be Caetano's most beautiful album yet. It is a "mature" album -- maybe with too many string arrangments for people who love "Estrangeiro" or earlier albums -- but with beautiful vocals, stellar musical arranging and percussion beyond reproach. It is the work of an artist at the height of his powers and comfortable with his talent and status -- not unlike Duke Ellington later in his career.

This is one of the finest CDs ever released. No wonder it won a Grammy Award; the sophistication of the lyrics, the bewitchering voice, the magic of the rythms, I just don't know which one struck me as more impressive. Yes, Caetano Veloso is a legend and one of the finest singers in the world; but this album is simply superlative, even to his standards. HIGHLY recommended.

Hey, I never even herad of this guy, I just bought this album because of a review in a rock magazine. When I first put this album on I didn't make it past the first song, I thought it was weird. The second listen I made it through the second song but it still sounded strange the next time I started the album at the third song and went about my business on the computer. After a few songs I had this good feeling in me that was being feuled by the wonderfully eclectic music of Caetano Veloso and his beautiful voice. Now I listen to all the songs and enjoy each and everyone. Great album!!!

The suggestion that this album proves that Mr. Veloso is 'suddenly old' is not only insulting to Caetano, but also insulting to anyone who might enjoy 'Livro'. The same holds true for the accusations that only a Brazilian can possibly have any perspective on the matter. On the other hand, one reviewer referred to Mr. Veloso as an 'icon' and then, parenthetically, suggested the possibility that Caetano was not an icon but, rather, an 'Iconoclast'. Well ... he was right. It is clear that Mr. Veloso is both. Tropicália, indeed, advocates shattering icons. However, its premise has always provided for the establishment of new ones; by which we may define tomorrow. This album is a solid reaffirmation of Tropicália. It possesses all that was ever embodied by the movement. All of the elements that cross the boundaries of the twilight world that exists between the waking world and the night. All that is rational juxtaposed against the primitive and emotional. All of the technological limitations of 1967 São Paulo versus all of the modern wizardry of wherever one cares to reside today. By definition, Tropicália can never get old. Therein lies the great hope of Brazil (and, dare I say, the world). It has often been said that Brazil is a failed nation, but I ask you: Is it gone? No it is not ... and so long as it lives there is hope. Hope for Brasil and hope for the world. Viva Caetano! Viva Brasil!

While considered a musical genius in Brazil, Gaetano has often underwhelmed me as a non-native speaker of Portuguese with some of his previous albums. I get the impression that his exceptional skills as a lyricist in Portuguese have compensated for his spottier successes as a tune-smith.

This CD is refreshingly different. Without understanding a word of Portuguese, a non-Portuguese speaking listener can still appreciate the sheer musicality of song after song on "Livro". There is much less of the self-indulgent experimental (and frequently grating) music on, for example, his album "Estrangeiro". "Livro" is smooth, tuneful, listenable - with more of the slow ballades that Gaetano's voice excels at. A great album!

Caetano Veloso writes a rich book of days here. His images are haunting and lifting in their own respect as the music weaves and twists its way through centuries of history to the present day. It's a great body of work.

OK, I stole that line from a newspaper review but to paraphrase my friend Mario "(titles)belong to those who need them." I am intrigued by Caetano Veloso-music is just part of his complex artistry-but for our purposes I'll stick to that. His voice is all palm trees and sandy beaches, sweet and supple as that of a 25 year old. Most of the songs have a seductive, hypnotic feel-if you get too close, you will fall in-but you know you want to! It should also have a warning: you can not listen to this and not dance! So draw the blinds if need be...I admit 2-3 of the songs have a very weird sound (to me)repetitive, chanting falsetto; but i will ascribe that to my lack of familiarity with the culture and the material. I know Caetano falls in the new-to-me catagory, but i think anyone who wants to be serenaded by an expert or have the neighbors wonder why you are samba-ing around the kitchen will love this CD.

I have the Brazilian copy of this disc, so I don't know if the international version will differ in any way other than possibly offering lyric translations. First, the packaging has been done with much care - a fold-out digipak featuring heavily-saturated, expressionist/psychedelic oil painting. Veloso offers some of his best music in years, since he and producer/arranger Jacques Morelenbaum have applied the lush, subtle sound of "Fina Estampa" to original songs, while retaining a certain edginess on some tracks. This edginess comes from electric guitars, the "kitchen sink" of percussion, and innovative mixing. Best songs: the title track, which alludes to the period of the dictatorship in Brazil; "Manhata", a swinging, seductive tribute to the Statue of Liberty; "Doideca", which means roughly "Crazy-teque" and uses a sample of Veloso's "London London" amid the cacophony of concrete rhythms to suggest Veloso's preference for the baroque culture of Brazil; "You Are Mine", a wonderful monologue from a mother to her child; "The Slave Ship", which utilizes an historic Brazilian poem over a heavy beat; and "Alexandre", an unlikely, catchy song about Alexander the Great.

Livro is distinguished by an explosion of Latin America passion combined with a refined intellectual narrative. Caetano creates a world where love, concepts, philosophy and history are intertwined in perfect mode. Veloso unveils in his poems the Brazilian tradition and encircles each of them with a melody that conveys the tropical milieu of samba and bossa nova. The tenderness of his voice in "Voce é Minha" and "Na Baixa do Sapateiro" softens the disgrace of unrequited love. "No Enche" and "How Beautiful..." are good examples of the need for samba. "Alexandre" is by far his best song; a tribute to Alexander The Great that moves and inspires anyone who is acquainted with the hero.