Customer Reviews

Passarim

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

 

 

This is Jobim the way HE wants it - with his family at the core of things and unabashedly romantic, as always. 'Passarim' is a cry for the environment and the forest that Jobim loves. Also Jobim plays with the lyrics as never before, interjecting Portugese into English and vice-versa (and a little French, too). In 'Chansong' Jobim pokes fun at the U.S. and the whole mood is one of satire regarding the way his music was boiled down, stripped of all subtlety, then regurgitated. For more of this band and one of my all time favorite recordings, see if you can locate "Antonio Brasileiro" which was released I think in 1993 or 1994, and which contains a version of "Insensatez (How Insensative) with Sting and Jobim singing and harmonizing on it. This was released in Brazil, but perhaps not in the U.S. Check the U.K. if not. If you have any reservations about lush vocal arrangements (which I emphatically do not) this is not the CD for you...

This is the last studio album that Jobim recorded, and it's a gem. The sound is a culmination of Jobim's style, topped off by the beautiful signature female chorus -- close your eyes and you're on Ipanema beach. There is enough pure bossa to keep the hardcore happy, including a great version of "Fascinatin' Rhythm" with Jobim's marvelous cigarette-coated voice. It's the arrangements that go beyond bossa that shine the most, though. The title track (portuguese version) is as beautiful a song as Jobim ever wrote (that's saying something), and others like "Anos Dourados" and "Luiza" became MPB standards. The icing on the cake is "Gabriella," a song instantly recognizable to most Brazilians: it was the theme for the television production of Jorge Amado's novel, with Sonia Braga in the title role.

Excellent throughout, even taking into account the duplication of two songs (in Portugese & English). Tremendous music, gorgeous harmonies (esp. from the female chorus). Jobim's heartfelt liner notes make the music and his loss that much more acute.

One of my favorites - although it doesn't make a great first impression, on further listening the obscure melodic complexity really grabbed me. The title track is a masterpiece......highly recommended.

I have enjoyed this Jobim album since it first came out in the late 1980s. The title track is another soulful Jobim melody and the arrangements of everything on the CD are first-rate. My favorite, though, is the Gershwin "Fascinatin' Rhythm" track which was a complete surprise to me, something which Jobim puts his own spin on--in a delightful way. This album belongs in every Jobim collection, definitely.

One of Jobim's more eclectic groupings of songs. Little bird, Passarim, is a cute song. We live in the woods, and whenever our cat gets closer to a little bird, my son and I sing the part of the song that says "Little bird - fly - or you're going to die!" (Yes, those words are in the song!)