Customer Reviews

Rose & Charcoal

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've always loved Marisa Monte's voice- it's warm, it's sexy. She was raised in Rio, in the middle of Portela, one of Rio's most traditional samba schools. She decided to study opera in Italy for a while, but decided to go back to her musical roots. This album is very Brazilian, and she intended it to be so. She has Northeastern rhythms, MPB-style songs (Musica Popular Brasileira-popular Brazilian music)and samba-choro, lots of it! My favorite track is the last one in the album which is a real gorgeous samba with guitar, drums...the works!-and so intensly melodic! Even if you don't know much about Brazilian music, you'll enjoy this album. And if you like Brazilian music already, you'll really enjoy Monte's beautiful voice. It's not as experimental as, say, Tom Ze or Carlinhos Brown- instead it's like good homemade food: familiar, but always a favorite.

I've got 300 CD's of Brazilian artists. This one is placed in first position on my CD-Rack. Voice, "ritmo", bahiana, axe, fado, rock, bossa, percussion, violao, tristeza, melancoly, orchestra, intimidade, americana, ..... absolutely everything in a single round disk. "Maria da Verdade" will get you crazy, a real carnival of voices."Danca Da Solidao" will take you to Salvador. "De mais ninguem" O Fado made in Brazil, you are going to break into tears ! Be careful, once you buy it,you won't stop buying Brazilian Music. It is pure addiction !!!.

Though I have owned this CD for years, I have been listening to it again lately. And again and again. The lilting beauty of Marisa's voice, the song selections, and the superb arrangements add up to something close to perfection. On a deserted island, this is the CD I would play to remind myself why life might still be worth living. Seriously--it's that wonderful.

I first heard this singer while visiting a friend in Recife, Brazil, and was immediately hooked. Although I don't speak a word of Portuguese, I was drawn to the sound of Marisa's voice, which is crystal clear and very haunting. The music combines jazz, pop and traditional Brazilian rhythms into a wonderful melange that downright forces you to sway. With each listening, this album grows more complex and more engaging. Highly recommended.

This CD is awesome all the way thru. The voice, the instrumentation, complex and subtle at the same time. This CD could not be done any better in my opinion. I've listened to this title over and over and over, have gone out and bought all other titles (all are fantastic, I like R&C and Mais the best). When she came to the USA I went to see her show. Highly recommend buying Rose and Charcoal.

I am a classical musician and was on tour of Brazil in the late 1970's, where I developed interest in the rhythms of traditional and pop music of Brazil.

Years later, I heard Marisa Monte's ROSE AND CHARCOAL and like most others who have written, was absolutely entranced. Her voice, her pronunciation, the arrangements. It is the best album of popular music I've ever heard. Unlike an other reviewer, I find the first song, Carlinhos Brown's "Maria de Verdades" to be hypnotic; the marriage of a beautiful soulful voice, lyrics, and instrumentation just doesn't get better than this.

This transcends music to the realm of dreamtime and Monte's voice is like a breeze.

This is a top rate,exquisite album,by one of Brazil's best vocalists.Haunting melodies,a voice that reaches into your soul,and lush ethnic instrumentation,I sat there weeping the first time I heard it,even though I never understood a word that was sung.It is just beautiful.If this album was a woman, I would be in love.Standout tracks for me include,Na Estrada,Pale Blue Eyes,Alta Noite,and most of all, Esta Melodia.This album is certainly among her best ,if not the best,that she has done.For those that are new to Marisa Monte,this is the place to start. Recomended listening.

i had the great fortune of seeing marisa monte live in la paz, bolivia. she was amazing then, but it was only when i heard this album that i understood how truly remarkable she is. this album is sublimely perfect in every way...the choice of songs, the orchestration, marisa's voice...all combine to make the perfect cd. marisa's cover of lou reeds 'pale blue eyes' is superb and her duet with laurie anderson on 'enquanto isso/meanwhile' is great. but it is the song 'ao meu redor', written by nando reis, that is perhaps the crowning achievement of the album.

One only needs to hear Ms. Monte's voice for about 15 seconds to realize it's rather amazing. After training in Europe to become an opera singer, she decided to go back to her Rio roots. Opera's loss is our gain! She combines traditional Brazilian instruments with contemporary, seductive rhythms and THAT VOICE to make a cd that is on my top 10 of all time list. Even my friends who aren't into Brazilian music love this cd.

I heard this in a restaurant in Cleveland. I was so knocked out that I made them pull the CD out of their +100 player so I could copy down the artist name and other relevant information. Since that time I've lost my copy twice to former ;) friends who would not return it after being loaned it from my library...