Ye-Me-Le

Sergio Mendes, Sergio Mendes, Sergio Mendes & Brasil'66 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 1969
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000HEV832
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,790 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #29 in Music > World Music > Latin Music > Samba
  • #61 in Music > World Music > Latin Music > Brazilian > Bossa Nova
  • #66 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > Lounge

Editorial Reviews

Four months after Crystal Illusions came another charting LP for Mendes, this one featuring charming renditions of Norwegian Wood; Moanin'; What the World Needs Now ; a hit version of Wichita Lineman , and more!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We need more music like this!, September 29, 2004

By 

R. Johnson "imaScouter" (UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ye Me Le (Audio CD)

I gave this album a four-star rating because one or two of the songs aren't great, but overall, it's very good. Sergio had a way of taking hits and making them even better. Witchita Lineman and Norwegian Wood are a couple of examples. If you are a fan of his earlier work, you should be pleased with this.
By the way, why is it that it takes a Japanese company to produce many of these old A & M albums?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brasil'66 in 1969?, February 21, 2001

By 

Brandon Bergeron (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ye-Me-Le (Audio CD)

When Ye-Me-Le was released in 1969, the Bossa Nova sound was dwindling within the United States. Thus leaving Sergio Mendes with a decision: to either leave the Brasil'66 sound the same, or to create a new balance of the Bossa Nova with the popular music of that time. Sergio Mendes decided to move ahead into the current popular sound. Although, the Familiar Brasilian Sound is still found through out this CD. It was still the same Brasil'66 as the Brasil'66 featured on the very popular "Fool on the Hill" album. "Wichita Lineman" (b/w "Ye-Me-Le") was the first single from the album. It was an up tempo approach to this Jimmy Webb tune. It did not fair well in the Billboard charts. The second single The Beatle's "Norwegian Wood" (b/w "Masquerade") was even less successful. Personally, I think that all four of these songs are still very strong songs. It is not clear to me why they didn't succeed, but they didnt. This album contains beautifully arranged English versions of "Dia da Vitória" ("Look Who's Mine") and the very popular Brasilian tune: "De Onde Vens" ("Where Are You Coming From"). Also, this album has Bacharach and David's "What the World Needs Now", the classic tune from the musical "Hair": "Easy to Be Hard", and a soulful version of Bobby Timmons "Moanin'". Some Time Ago is a rare song in itself. It features both singers individually, Miss Hall doing the first part of the song, and Miss Philipp singing after the piano solo. Sergio allowed the singers, Lani Hall and Karen Philipp, complete freedom on this album. This allowed each singer to interoperate the song with her own personal emotion, understanding, and vitality. By far, this album, (along with "Stillness") is one of my favorite Brasil'66 albums. Ye-Me-Le's repertory is a good representation of the current music scene, in both Brasil and The United States. Sergio Mendes personal touch on each song through arrangement, keyboards, and the occasional voice, Where Are You Coming From, complete this album. This album is an overlooked classic, and can nicely fit into anyones CD collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite a 5 star album, but some beautiful moments, December 30, 2005

By 

JMK (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ye Me Le (Audio CD)

A lot of long-time Brasil '66 fans dismiss this album as the "beginning of the end" of the classic era for Sergio Mendes, but it's always been one of my favorites. True, the album only has one Brasilian tune (but it's a killer--"Ye Me Le", with an incredible flute solo by Hermeto Pascoal and guest vocals by the soon-to-be Mrs. Mendes, Gracinha Leporace), and tends to concentrate more on the American pop side of things ("Wichita Lineman," "Easy to Be Hard"), but there is still sufficient magic that any fan of the early Brasil '66 albums should find it more than sufficient. Sergio's reworking of "Norwegian Wood," with its changing tempi and beautiful Rhodes solo; Lani's playful reading of the jazz waltz "Some Time Ago"; Lani's heartfelt belting on the Marcos Valle penned "Look Who's Mine" (with one of those patented Alan & Marilyn Bergman lyrics); Lani and Karen Philipp tearing into Bobby Timmons' classic "Moanin'" with a great Dave Grusin big band arrangement (this is not your mother's Lambert, Hendricks and Ross interpretation); and the magnificent Dave Grusin orchestral wrapping of an almost McCoy Tyner-ish arrangement of "What the World Needs Now" are just some of the great things listeners have in store on this neglected gem. It may not be "Fool on the Hill," but I for one highly recommend it.