Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits

Sergio Mendes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: January 1, 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000002GCB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,102 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > Lounge
  • #3 in Music > World Music > Latin Music > Brazilian > Bossa Nova
  • #3 in Music > Jazz > Brazilian Jazz

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A bridge between bossa nova and 1960s pop, Sergio Mendes' music was easy listening, vaguely psychedelic pop, light jazz, and bossa nova all rolled into one. Mendes and Brasil '66 (which featured Mendes on keyboards and a revolving cast of two female vocalists, bass, guitar, drums and percussion) had a number of hits from the mid-'60s to the early-1970s that are included here. Getting his professional start playing and arranging for Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto, Mendes typically filled out his proper albums with updated versions of popular songs written by the Brazilian masters as well as some of his own tunes ­ his tunes "Look Around" and "So Many Stars" are included. But this collection really surveys his interpretations of pop tunes of the day, some of which were never hits for Mendes. The small combo's light touch and rich vocal harmonies make for pleasant if kitschy covers of hits like the Beatles' "Fool On The Hill" and "Day Tripper," Burt Bacharach's "The Look Of Love," and others. ­ --Tad Hendrickson

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Vocals
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 1-JUN-1985

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Brazil '66 Deserves Better Than This Inferior Collection, June 23, 2005

By 

Gavin B. (St. Louis MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

This 1983 reissue of the best selling 1970 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil'66-Greatest Hits", while being a perfectly a enjoyable compilation of Mendes and Brazil'66 is a marginal collection. It's not even an adequate snapshot of Brazil'66 music for a casual or novice fan.

A thorny issue with Mendes fans is a great deal of his music from his native Brazil is conspicuously absent from this album. "Greatest Hits" contains the sublime "Mais Que Nada" but excludes the rest of their tropicale repetoire that covered Brazilian composers like Jorge Ben, Joao Gilberto and Antonio Jobim. Since Sergio Mendes was largely responsible for making Americans aware of Brazilian songwriters, the omisson is bewildering.

The primary complaint is the 12 song, the less than 30 minute runtime of "Greatest Hits." It's an embarrasingly thin compilation of any artist, particularly since Mendes was prolific at the height of his career.

Apparently A&M producer and owner, Herb Alpert's miserly "chop shop" approach to packaging "selected hits" is a highly successful retail strategy. This "Greatest Hits" title is far and away the best selling title in the entire back catalog of Brazil'66 music. A&M continues to milk the licensing rights and have leased the music Brazil'66 to third parties for an additional 23 inferior Sergio Mendes collections. This marketing strategy maximizes profits but erodes the artistic value of an artist by flooding the market with less than flattering productions of his collected works. A&M has treated Brazil'66 legacy as a cash cow to be butchered into prime cuts and sold to the highest bidder. Mendes and Brazil'66 deserve better treatment.

Two other A&M Brazil'66 collections, "Four Sider" and "Classics Vol. 18" have more songs, and a better sampling of their Brazil tropicale music. "Four Sider" retails at the same price as "Greatest Hits" and has nearly twice as much music. Unfortunely, even these meatier collections of Brazil'66 fall short of being definitive. Surely Herb Alpert can afford to spring for 70 minute full content compact disc collection of Brazil'66. 30 minutes, by today's digital runtime standards,is less than a half an album.

The critical re-assesment of Mendes' significance as worldbeat innovator is long been overdue. His music is no longer marginalized by critics as frothy easy-listening lightweight fare. Sergio Mendes visionary fusion of popular music, Brazilian music and jazz, had anticipated the rise of worldbeat music by almost 20 years. Frist rate jazz musicians like guitarist John Pisano were in Brazil '66. It's gratifying to see that Mendes is finally becoming accepted on his own terms as a musical pioneer who played a pivotal role in bringing the joys of Brazilian music to the attention of people all over the world.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent musical blend of jazz, samba and rock., November 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

This CD provides a wonderful snapshot of a truly unique kind of music. Sergio Mendes captured the strange mood of a genuinely bizarre era in which musical experimentation flourished and no combination of sound was considered too outlandish. Mendes and his talented group managed to combine elements of jazz, rock, pop and samba, creating what can only be described as an exotic listening experience. It's a shame that all of their various albums aren't available on CD. Whenever I hear their music, I'm back in the '60s, when everything seemed possible and there were no limits on the creative mind.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Journey To A Warm, Sweet Place, May 29, 2004

By 

Dean Anderson (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

It's rare to find an album that can transport you through time and space, to be able to take you from where you are and drop you in the tropics decades ago, and make you delighted you arrived.

Sergio Mendes is a contemporary of Antonio Carlos Jobim, one of the greats from the Latin Jazz scene, Burt Bacharach, the legendary pop composer, and John Lennon and Paul McCartney, as well as singer/songwriter Paul Simon. Mendes was clever enough to use what he knew was good material (Cole Porter? Ok. That's not bad!) and got his group, headed by the beautiful voice of lead singer Lani Hall, and put the Brasil flavor on these familiar songs, completely reinventing them in a way that sounds fresh and exciting, even today!

Besides the group's signature song sung in Portuguese, "Mais Que Nada" (now very familiar to anyone who has seen the "Austin Powers" films), there are several songs written and co-written by Mendes, and the arrangements are top notch. They don't make records like this anymore.

I feel that the only notable imperfection in this album is the track order. When this collection first appeared on vinyl (!), the songs were stacked differently, and to my mind more correctly. But at least they're all here! Beatle fans, Bacharach fans, and Jazz fans will certainly embrace this disc. It is truly the easiest of "Easy Listening" music, and will make you think twice about that term being a pejorative!

Highly Recommended.