Customer Reviews

Minas

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those of you amazed and enchanted by "Clube Da Esquina" would do well to explore this next, along with its companion piece, "Geraes." This record is...any artist making any album should want to create something this powerful. Essentially a rock album with jazz know-how, no labels accurately define what Milton and his posse achieve here. All of the tracks are subtly interrelated, and sometimes suggest Philip Glass-meets-Pink Floyd-in-an-enchanted-Brazilian-forest. Then there's that VOICE. Lord have mercy. And the SONGS! Basically, this is an absolute masterpiece, and will reveal new layers and shadings over years to come. This is as great a record as was made by anybody in the mid-70s, and if you can hang, it will occupy a very special place in your collection. Get it!

This CD is worth buying just for the "Paula e Bebeto" song. Don't get me wrong, the cd has about 5 super classic songs. And even though you probably haven't heard them before, you feel as if you've known these songs all your life. However, the "Paula e Bebeto" song is an absolutely amazing achievement. The song is a merely 2 minutes 15 seconds long but it stands monumentaly. I am amazed how great music like the "Paula e Bebeto" song can be hidden and unknown to most people in the US. I am compelled to buy the Gerais album. Milton never ceases to amaze me and with "Paula e Bebeto" he has outdone himself once more.

Milton in one of his best moments. All tracks in that work are superbs. Indeed, it's one of the best brazilian albuns ever. Purchase Minas and you will listen to inspired songs, coming to you from the heart of a mystical and unique brazilian region: Minas Gerais. There are, at least, 5 classical songs in this album: "Minas", "Fe Cega Faca Amolada", "Beijo Partido", "Saudade dos Avioes da Panair" and "Paula e Bebeto". Nice, unforgetable work.

After the Sgt. Pepper-like revolution of 1972'a Clube Da Esquina, in my opinion his earliest masterpiece, and the gorgeous set of songs that became Milagre Dos Peixes, Nascimento decided to write and to pay homage to his native land, Minas Geraes.

Rather than releasing those songs as a double album -something rather common already in 1975 in the US but highly unusual in Latin America- Milton's gems became individual albums, Minas in '75 and Geraes in '76.

In a sense, although it may have been the result of his label's marketing demands more than anything else- it seems appropriate that this was the case since each album has such strong personality of its own.

Risking to abuse an already abused metaphor, whereas Geraes may conjure up the sun of his birth town and the music that its people live their day by, Minas' mood speaks of the magic that begins when the sun sets, and the moon -with all its stories and its creatures- reigns.

The beauty begins with "Minas" with its memorable children chorus which along with Milton's voice seems to invoke the very soul of his native land. This one "melts" into "Fe Cega Faca Amolada" -sung along with Beto Guedes- that shows early the great musicianship that the people Milton assembled are capable of -particularly and throughout this album, Toninho Horta on guitars, Novelli on bass, and Nivaldo Ornelas on soprano sax.

"Beijo Partido," the wondrous "Saudade Dos Avioes Da Panair," and "Gran Circo" begin to show the stunning gift of range in Milton's voice, particularly the latter manages a wider diversity of moods and themes in the confines of a song that some people may not achieve in full albums.

And then there's that magical voice of his -I know I repeat myself but it's inevitable!- taking you to heights and depths of your soul that, at least in my case at that time, I have not known before. Such is the case with "Ponta De Areia" which is built on the first song's melody and brings back the children chorus throughout.

From then on, things get even more nocturnal, with "Idolatrada" and "Trastevere." I'd rather call them"nocturnal" than "dark," a term that has been reduced to signify something sinister or depressing, and might miss on the hidden richness and complex feelings that are present here.

The next two songs from the original album -" "Leila" and "Paul E Bebeto"- are probably among his most famous melodies from that period, and "Simples" is a remarkable end to this amazing work.

The two bonus tracks on the remastered edition are, unlike it's often the case with these additions, worth being included and surprising to me that they have been outtakes for so long, specially his very personal version of "Norwegian Wood.

One thing worth noting: Amazon has listed two albums with the word "Minas" in it, one being this one, the real Minas, and the other being an A&M recording referred to as "Milton (Minas)" which is a completely different, both in songs and personnel. The latter CD is far from a masterpiece, although a good album, and should not be confused with the classic.

If you know Milton and you don't have the original "Minas," you must listen to it as soon as you can. If Milton is a new taste for you, this album -along with Geraes- is the equivalent with starting your climb at the top of the mountain, which I recommend. Then get Clube Da Esquina and Milagre Dos Peixes, and you'll be set for a long time.

Milton Nascimento, acknowledging the obvious genre differences, belongs to the same pantheon of great ones like Marvin Gaye or Bob Dylan, and this album is one of the most stunning examples of his musical stature.

Milton Nascimento is a post-Bossa Nova composer who has set a personal music style so called the sound of Minas. Minas refer to the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where Nascimento was raised. And the album title refers to the State of Minas Gerais.

A group of extraordinary artists from Minas Gerais has helped Nascimento craft the sound of Minas like composer and master guitarrist Toninho Horta, maestro Wagner Tiso, composers Lo Borges and Beto Guedes and lyricists Fernando Brandt and Marcio Borges.

Toninho Horta is specially present in this album as author of one the most beautiful songs of Brazilian Songbook and of Nascimento's career as a singer, titled 'Beijo Partido'. Nivaldo Ornellas, the master saxophonist plays an unforgettable solo on this same track.

Along with his composition career, Mr. Nascimento is also one of the most original crooners in Brazil with his famous falsetto resembling an impressive cry of deep sadness and despair.

This album brings some great standards of Nascimento's career like 'Ponta de Areia', 'Fe Cega Faca Amolada', 'Saudade dos Avioes da Panair', and 'Paula e Bebeto'.

This CD edition also offers a bonus recording of Beatles' 'Norwegian Wood' from a rare single issued in Brazil. Except for this bonus, all album is sung in Portuguese.

I didn't get to contain the emotion when I heard this CD. The songs are amazing, the excellent arrangements, Milton's voice is impressive. My favorite song is "Ponta de Areia", but all of the songs are equally beautiful. The version that I bought has a cover for "Norwegian Wood" of Beatles.

5 stars....*yawn*...look, Citizen Kane was a 5 star movie...so I don't want to see 5 stars going to a decent movie, but one clearly not on the same level. Therefore, when compared to Milton's masterpeice, 1972's "Clube Da Esquina", this does not deserve the same rating. It's even a slight level below "Geraes", it's follow-up album. With that being said, this is still a fantastic album that is worthy of purchase. Set it alongside those albums, as well as "Clube Da Esquina 2", "Milton" (1976), and "Milagre Dos Peixes"...and you will have all the best Nascimento ever produced.