Customer Reviews

Le Monde Musical de Baden Powell

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3 star:		(1)
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This CD is great. I need to buy more of his stuff. Kudos to you Mr. Powell

I went to a live concert of Baden Powell in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1970. Since then I have been a big fan of his fantastic playing. I have many of his records. This disc, Le Monde Musical, is by far my favorite. A great variety of songs.

I first heard this on vinyl which I dug up from my father's old record collection. It was my teenage introduction to Baden Powell, and because of this album he has remained my favorite Brazilian musician of all time.

As the title suggests, this album has a varied sound and is not 100% Brazilian. It's a "musical world" that includes everything from classic Brazilian tunes (Garota de Ipanema and Deve Ser Amore) to a cover of a traditional baroque song (Adagio de Albinoni). While there are many different kinds of songs here, however, there is an unmistakable sound in each of them that is uniquely Baden Powell. Even on the couple more "European"-sounding tracks, he adds an element of mystery that is captivating and certainly Brazilian.

There is a mysterious dissonance that is a key element of Baden Powell's uniqueness as a guitarist / composer, and that sound comes thru brilliantly in this album. "Chanson D'Hiver" and "Choro Para Metronome" are shining examples of this delicate sound, which isn't always apparent on some of Powell's percussion-laden Afro samba albums. Even "Bachaiana," a gorgeous little Bach-inspired tune here, has a palpable mystery to it (and it's the only song I've ever heard in which he overdubs multiple tracks of himself).

Baden Powell fans will NOT be disappointed by this album (which was, until recently, very difficult to find). And if you're just starting to listen to Powell, this is a great choice if you want a show of his wide musical bredth.

Powell is a wonderful samba guitarist and there isn't enough by him readiy available, but this is a disappointment. It's loaded up with goopy string arrangements and dreadful french hipster lounge production crap. It's as if you took Bo Diddly and recorded him covering Led Zep hits. The attempt is to make the original sound just like the imitation. It's perverse, and if you enjoy the perverse for its own sake, you might like this a little. If you love Baden Powell you will probably buy this regardless, but i warn you, you'll listen to it once and never again.