Pais Tropical [Original recording remastered, Import]

Sergio Mendes, Sergio Mendes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 4, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Japanese Import
• ASIN: B00006BGYD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #774,671 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Pais Tropical

2. So Many People

3. Morro Velho

4. Zanzabar

5. Tonga

6. Gone Forever

7. Asa Branca

8. I Know You

9. After Midnight

10. Pais Tropical (Japanese Version) (Bonus Track)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese exclusive CD debut of 1971 album for A&M. Ten tracks including the bonus track 'Pais Tropical' (Japanese Version).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome and beautiful, February 12, 2007

By 

John W. Estes "5DFAN" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pais Tropical (Audio CD)

I am a huge fan of Brasil 66, but with this debut album by Brasil 77, there's just more of the greatness that is Sergio Mendes. My 2 favorite tracks on the CD are Morro Velho a song that is lead by Gracinha Leporace. Gracinha has such a powerful voice and was a great replacement for Lani Hall. The other song I like a lot is Zanzibar. This is a great jazz/fusion number featuring Mendes solo on keyboards. Zanzibar shows why Mendes is a phenomenal jazz musician.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New beginnings but with the same classic sound, December 30, 2005

By 

JMK (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pais Tropical (Audio CD)

"She's gone, she's gone, it'll take the Devil to replace her." Yeah, I know that was *Daryl* Hall, not Lani, but that's probably what Sergio was thinking after his longtime lead vocalist who gave him his signature vocal sound, left Brasil '66 to pursue her solo career and, ultimately, become Mrs. Herb Alpert. But the ever-alluring Karen Philipp, who had been singing with Mendes since 1968, was there to pick up the slack, and while she may not have had the power and intimacy of Lani Hall, she has her own distinctive vocal charms, which are abundantly on display on the two gorgeous Paul Williams selections, "Gone Forever" (one of the most beautiful ballads Mendes has ever recorded), and the somewhat slighter "So Many People" (which boasts a great, sadly uncredited, harmonica solo). Mrs. Mendes, Gracinha Leporace, handles the Brasilian material with her typical gusto, including the beautiful Milton Nascimento penned "Morro Velho." Other standouts on this album are the fantastic vocalese and acoustic piano solo of "Zanzibar" (though, strangely, the Japanese import CD omits the "guitar tune up" that was on the original LP release--maybe they thought it was an error, I personally always loved it as a little window into the recording session), and the gutsy sax of Tom Scott on the propulsive 7/4 reworking of "After Midnight." This was a promising start to a "second phase" of Mendes' career that did not reap the market dividends that Brasil '66 did, but that nonetheless has a multitude of aural pleasures of its own to bestow upon the willing listener.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone, July 15, 2004

By 

artanis65 (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pais Tropical (Audio CD)

This was Mendes' first album with Brazil '77, and the album draws on a mixture of sounds from the Brasil '66 group. There's the insanely catchy title song by Jorge Ben, almost as good as Ben's "Mais Que Nada" on the first Brasil '66 album. There's some straight ahead Brazilian jazz on "Zanzibar" with a sensational piano solo by Mendes, reminiscent of several tunes on the "Fool on the Hill" album. The excellent "Tonga" has the clean stripped down sound of "Equinox" and "Herb Alpert Presents." "After Midnight" is a slight song, but this is an exciting big band version of the Eric Clapton hit.

If you like mediocre pop songs, you'll appreciate "So Many People" and "Gone Forever" which are similar to the dross on some of the later Brasil '66 albums. They're easy on the ears but not all that interesting. If you're Sergio Mendes' mom, you might appreciate "I Know You" on which Mendes takes a solo turn, though the rest of us probably won't. As an interesting bonus, you get "Pais Tropical" in Japanese - this is a Japanese reissue after all. So that's three languages on one album.

This was the group's first album without Lani Hall, but the two lead singers are still wonderful. Highly recommended for Brasil '66 fans; but this shouldn't be your first Mendes album.