Customer Reviews

Nova Bossa: Red Hot on Verve

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this CD. I purchased it shortly after I bought Red Hot + Rio some three years ago. And this does not disappoint. It is the companion piece to Red Hot + Rio only it features many of the original versions of the songs by their original artists. Astrud Gilberto, Vinicius, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Edu Lobo, Baden Powell, Stan Getz and of course, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto all star on this CD with many others. What is also special about this CD is the flow of the music. The interludes tie perfectly with the CD. None are too much, only a hint of the streets and escolhas do samba in Brazil. From the first track, taken directly from Orfeu, you're taken into Carnaval in Rio. And the entire album has a melancholic feel to it. Saudade, or a darkness but a happiness in having a dark cloud over you, if that makes sense. And then you're taken to the last track, Corcovado before Waters of March and a truly nostalgic live recording of Aquelle Abraco with Joao Gilberto and Gilberto Gil. Romantic, well put together, and a sure classic compilation. Get this CD! It is tremendous!

I bought this CD a while ago but it will never leave my CD changer. It is an incredible collection of bossa nova songs that aptly fit together on one CD, mixing the various styles of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Edu Lobo and Sergio Mendes among others. Furthermore, it contains those hard to find songs. If you love bossa nova and the quiet, soothing feeling which it may bring, then you will love this album from start to finish... A must have for any Bossa Nova collection + a must have if you've heard its companion, Red Hot + Rio.

I remember buying this after I bought its companion, "Red, Hot & Rio," and this one is much better in my opinion. It's a good mix of bossa favorites complimented with some pop songs from Caetano Veloso ("Superbacana" is actually one of my favorites from this album) and Gilberto Gil. In some ways this collection is unimaginative, because many of the songs found here are the songs which appear on every bossa/brazil collection (Agua de Beber, Aguas de Marco, Garota de Ipanema, Surfboard), but because they really are so wonderful I can't give it any less than five stars.

If you had to choose between the newer recordings of these songs on "Red Hot + Rio" and this compilation, I say listen to the original artists sing and play their tunes. This is simply the best compilation of classic bossa nova tunes (when you take into account variety of tunes and price of the CD). My favorite is "Mais Que Nada" forever made popular by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 (but I think this version is way better). I also LOVE "Agua De Beber" -- that duet is awesome. What's also neat are the little sound clips placed strategically in between some of the songs. You'll think you're down in Brazil!

Getz, Gilberto, Jobim. The lion's share of this wonderful collection showcases the incredible talent, often in collaberation, of the 3 above names. Getz' work on Desafinado and Insensatez, Gilberto's playing and singing, and Jobim's writing and (odd but endearing) voice. But to a person accustomed to 'modern' pop music, its the melodies and rhythms that are such a breath of fresh air. Assymetrical - the guitar pulls the song in a different direction to the voice and the underlying rhythms. The results are songs with an edginess about them, and laden with hooks.

For me the highlight is Aguas De Marco, written by an older Jobim, but as bewitching as anything he ever wrote. Which sums up the entire compilation: bewitching.

This CD will draw you in to many musical styles, all equally addictive. It has barely left my CD platter in the last year.

I bought this cd because I liked to Stan Getzs and Gilberto's music. This one is by far the best I've ever bought...makes me feel relaxed....the low pitched sounds and the soft beats keep you awake but give you a feeling that you might nave never felt before. I find myself singing the words as I shop in the supermarket or browse through a book store. I definetly recommend it!!!

I love this CD. I bought it originally on a whim about 15 years ago, sort of by accident, and since then it's been one of my favorites of all time. When I fell for this CD, I thought maybe I'd love all Bossa Nova, and I do like a lot of it, but this CD in particular just flows beautifully and is really a great collection of individual songs. Recently I bought another copy for myself (my old one is scratched, I need to go digital!), and one for a friend who heard the music at my house and loved it. I don't know if this is the soundtrack of *my* life, but it definitely someone's life soundtrack.

I just picked up this CD from the library and I am in love with Bossa Nova. I haven't heard many of these hits before, yet they seem mysteriously familiar to me. I was born in 1965 so I wasn't around for the Bossa Nova movement, yet I feel as though I must have been a huge fan or lived in Brazil during my previous life.

Especialmente para a gente que morra fora do Brasil, da um gosto da alma da musica- "Bossa Nova." Quando coloco o CD, deito-me, e ouvo a primeiras notas de "Agua de Beber," o "Corcovado," sinto-me como fosse levado para o Brasil, embora da escola e trabalho que formam-se a minha existencia. Para mim, escutar este CD e fugir da realidade, para um mundo melhor. Se puder, va para o Brasil para que conheca "de primeira mao" a alma de bossa nova e a sociedade que deu origem a musica. Ma se a sua vida nao deixar tirar ferias quando quiser (e ir para o Brasil), compre a CD, e venha a conhecer o sonho sobre que estou falando.

If you have read my review for the album Bossa Nova for Lovers then you know that I've only just recently discovered that I've been in love with Bossa Nova for pretty much my entire life without ever knowing it. (And if you haven't read that review, I'd like to know why not! I mean, if you're not hanging on my every word I'm just going to stop nailing them up there. ; )

I purchased two Bossa Nova collections as soon as I realized that "Bossa Nova" was the name of the musical genre that my heart has been carrying around for the past 43 years. (I do catch on, but slowly.) I acquired the aforementioned set because I'm a real "lover" -- yeah, bring it on ladies! (But I'm a "fighter", too, so watch yer step, dude!) And I simultaneously bought "NOVA BOSSA: RED HOT ON VERVE", and danged if I can tell ya which one I like best; they're both Boss! I might prefer this collection overall, only by the slimmest margin, but "For Lovers" includes Astrud Gilberto's "The Shadow Of Your Smile", and lacking that song, my smile would be turned upside down. : (

I found JOHN CARLIN's liner notes included with this compact disc to be very informative, so I'm copying them below:

"Brazilian music is American music. It comes from the same multicultural fusion that spawned blues, jazz, salsa, reggae and rock. In Brazil it is called samba. Samba fused three sounds that thrived in Rio de Janeiro at the end of the 19th century: West African polyrhythms, Portuguese melodies, and Native American chants. [*By chants were you aware that I'm part Mohawk Indian? I want 40 acres and a jackazz! Oh wait, I'M the jackazz.*] This potent combination was turned into a classic myth by the poet Vinicius de Moraes, whose play "Black Orpheus" brought Afrocentric Brazilian culture and samba to international attention. In the well-known film version, Orpheus dies for love, but his artistic spirit lives on in a young boy who picks up Orpheus' guitar and plays his song to make the sun rise. The beauty of the music makes the film's heavy-handed theme credible. Orpheus' song, "A Felicidade", composed by a young Antonio Carlos Jobim, comes out of samba culture while effortlessly introducing something new and even more beautiful to the world. That sound later became known as bossa nova, the new wave. It was created by Jobim and de Moraes along with the great singer/guitarist Joao Gilberto. Inspired by samba, along with the sophistication of Debussy and Cole Porter, Jobim began writing simple, beautiful songs that suggested, but were never burdened by their eccentric harmonies, asymmetrical structures and abstract thoughts.

"Within a few years, American jazz musicians like Herbie Mann, Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz began to sample these new exotic songs. By 1962, Jobim's "The Girl From Ipanema" performed by Getz with Joao Gilberto and his wife Astrud, on the Verve label, became the biggest hit in the U.S., the year before the Beatles arrived. [*According to my Billboard book, it was '64.*] The success of the song and the bossa beat created a pop formula capitalized upon by Astrud, Sergio Mendes, Walter Wanderley and others throughout the mid-Sixties. At the same time, Jobim and Gilberto - as well as musicians like the Tamba Trio, Edu Lobo, Baden Powell and Marcos Valle - continued to refine bossa and samba into one of the finest means of expression in the world of pop music.

"By the late `60s, a new generation of artists began to emerge in Brazil from the Afrocentric northeastern state of Bahia. Led by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, they merged bossa with rock by adding more aggressive beats and avoiding romantic lyrics. This new movement, called tropicalismo, demonstrated the continued vitality of Brazilian music and that samba, like the blues, grew from the multicultural character of the Americas to become one of the great art forms of the 20th century."
~ John Carlin

I saw the movie "BLACK ORPHEUS" in the late `80s because I tremendously enjoyed Vince Guaraldi's song "Cast Your Fate To The Wind", which I knew had first appeared on his album titled, "Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus." I don't recall being much impressed with the movie back then, but seeing it a second time is suddenly a priority for me. ("NOVA BOSSA: RED HOT ON VERVE" begins with Jobim's "A Felicidade" taken directly from the 1959 "BLACK ORPHEUS" soundtrack. I feel it's spoiled a bit by the voices and various other audio portions of the film's soundtrack, but historically, it's still the perfect opening for a Bossa Nova set. And I can't tell you how cool I think it is that Bossa Nova was introduced to the world at large in the same year that I entered into it.)

The so-called "Interludes" on this set are merely 15-30 second snippets of drums, ocean and street sounds, etc. I'm not sure what their purpose is, and I could have done without them, thank you very much, but they don't diminish my listening pleasure because the tunes are simply Mmmm, Mmmm good! I swear, I love Bossa Nova. My only wish is that some of the tracks were extended: it seems that no sooner has a particular rhythm and melody enveloped me and begun carving grooves into my heart and soul than it comes to an end and we're off to the next delicious slice of Bossa Nova. Oh well, "Leave `em wanting more" is the old entertainment maxim.

I dig every song on "NOVA BOSSA: RED HOT ON VERVE", although Caetano Veloso's "Superbacana" is pretty goofy. Why do I see The Brady Bunch in my mind when that one plays? No, seriously, why? But this is a funky Fun Fiesta; less Saudade than the Bossa Nova for Lovers disc, which is perfectly fine with me because now I have a Bossa Nova concert for both moods. If you too have a heart for Bossa Nova, I can guarantee your satisfaction with this first-class set. And speaking of the heart, always remember what that great Brazilian pianist Yoey O'Dogherty once said to a group of budding Bossa Nova musicians in 1963: "Listen with your heart, speak with your fingers, and love with your-- Hey, who took my beer?"