Universo Ao Meu Redor

Marisa Monte | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: August 25, 2006
• Release Date: September 12, 2006
• Label: BLUE NOTE
• Copyright: (C) 2006 Monte Criação E Produção Ltda This Labelcopy information is the subject of Copyright Protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2006 EMI Music Brasil Ltda
• Total Length: 43:15
• Genres:
• ASIN: B000SX9LCC
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,749 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hyper-clever arrangements detract, July 5, 2006

By 

A. J. Sutter (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Universo Ao Meu Redor (Arg) (Audio CD)

Marisa Monte's voice and phrasing are as warm and beautiful here as you'd expect from her previous CDs. What makes this release cold and unsatisfying is its lack of any feeling of rapport between MM and anyone else on the album. It's not uncommon in the music industry for instruments to be recorded long after the vocal tracks, but this album really *sounds* that way.

Sadly, the arrangements are also way too self-conscious and arch. David Byrne didn't produce the album, but appears on its weakest track ("Statue of Liberty"), and seems to have inspired the producers to approach the material with inappropriate irony. Electronica sound effects and campy retro electronic keyboards clutter up too many of these simple and soaring melodies. The sensational "Perdoa meu amor" from the 1940s might have sounded great with a harp in one channel, but instead two competing harp tracks goop up the song with too much of a good thing. MM herself is credited as a producer, and must share the blame.

"Infinito particular", which MM released simultaneously with this album, is a marginally more musical choice, though it lacks any track where the musicians let loose and have fun -- a big contrast from her earlier CDs. Don't pay full price for either of these new releases. If you're new to her music, her album from 2000, "Memories, Chronicles and Declarations of Love", is a five-star alternative you won't regret.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars universo particular, September 8, 2006

By 

Pescador Escoces - See all my reviews

This review is from: Universo Ao Meu Redor (Arg) (Audio CD)

This CD is not similar to any of MM's previous albums because it consists solely of samba carioca. There are no emotionally charged or heart-wrenching MPB songs. But this is samba carioca and one shouldn't expect such an atmosphere. As is, it is a very well recorded and innovative samba album and is well-suited for dancing samba. This album has less commercial appeal than her concurrently released Infinito Particular. Overall it's a subtle and pleasant listen although becomes monotonous by the end of the album.
Also, please note that MM has sung plenty of samba carioca throughout her career to good effect. For example, see Para Ver As Meninas from her album Memorias, Cronicas, e Declaracoes de Amor, a lovely samba that would fit in very well on this album.
Recommended for those who enjoy samba carioca or are huge Marisa Monte fans.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Floating on a Cloud over Rio, December 30, 2006

By 

Dr. Debra Jan Bibel "World Music Explorer" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Universo Ao Meu Redor (Audio CD)

The editorial and the opinion of the Glasgow reviewer describe sufficiently this blissfully mellow yet varied CD, but as there is yet only one public review, I wish to concur that it would be a worthy purchase for anyone interested in contemporary Brazilian music firmly rooted in core samba. Bryne's thankfully brief and single incursion sticks out as a bump in the road, and contributes nothing but a distraction. Monte's voice is absolutely perfect for the gentle samba, and the arrangements, for added interest, are unusually complex in instrumentation, such as tuba, marimba, bell, ukulele, harp, theremin, and basson, while dispensing with the traditional heavy drum percussion. The inventiveness and sweetness endures through repeated listening (8 times already!). Great dinner and evening music. Buy it! 4 and 1/2 stars, actually, because of that Byrne blip.