Customer Reviews

Stone Flower

5 star:		(4)
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This is Jobim's best work. It is inspired and inovative. The track of the classic "Brasil" by Ari Barroso is the most inspired version I've ever heard (this track alone is worth the price).

Yes, the musicianship is great. Both versions of "Brasil" are legendary, and the instrumentals blow you away everytime. But what about the most stunning piece of music in the album, the delicate yet powerful "Sabiá"? Jobim and Chico Buarque wrote that song in collaboration, that should be enough for you. But the delicate instrumentation combined with Jobim's trademark raspy voice turn the whole song into something very hard to forget.

Looking for the the holy grail of Downtempo ,lounge, neo-bossanova ? here it is! This absolutely timeless and fortunately saccarine free delight is all you need. Bossa-funk on the beach and intimate sexy whispers create an incedible sense of latin ennui longing, nostalgia and the pain of love. Ah, if only King Tubby had sat at the controls alongside Deodato! (see my praise for KT elsewhere in the AMAZON!).

This Jobim album was arranged by fellow Brazilian artist Deodato; the result is perhaps his best featured work (although my favorites are his collaborations with Sinatra and Getz/Gilberto). The combination of the two is brilliant, synergistic and wonderful; the selections are alive and are largely devoid of the "Muzak" quality of some of his other work. The Classic "Brazil" is recorded twice on the album. "Andorinha" evokes a sun-drenched beach. "God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun" is an epic gem. A great work which illuminates Jobim's genius.