Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The perfect starter album for MPB, April 10, 2001
If you are curious about Brazilian music or already love it and want to get a friend hooked, this album is probably the best way to go. Essentially, it is the best-regarded and biggest artists who are represented here: Jorge Ben, Maria Bethania, Chico Buarque de Hollanda, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso. They form sort of the "canon" of good Brazilian pop/rock, though their roots vary a bit. The songs here are mostly from the 70s and early 80s, after Bossa Nova and Tropicalia (Brazilian psychedelia) and before the synthesizer-dominated musical void that was the mid-late 80s. You may recognize "Ponta da Lanca Africana" by Jorge Ben from a recent Intel commercial, which is notable since there aren't very many Brazilian songs that get any commercial exposure here in the US.The songs chosen for this album are all great, though what I want to emphasize is that what is represented here is really just the tip of the iceberg - there is so much more from all of these artists. So, buy it, hear it, love it, and then buy more. Unfortunately, their best material is not often readily available in the US, but feel free to contact me by email (ze_povinho@hotmail.com) for recommendations on particular artists since alot of the best albums are hard to find and I have several useful resources for things that Amazon won't or can't carry.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous introduction to Brazilian music, July 29, 2000
This CD is the "best of the best" from key artists of the Brazilian movement called MPB (roughly, popular music of Brazil), which flourished in the late 60's/early 70's; many of the key artists have never really slowed down and are still creating great art today. David Byrne (the Talking Heads) collected the best of these songs and put them together in a CD that can be enjoyed on three levels (1) A beautiful CD to listen to, if you want to just have some great Brazilian music playing, or (2) a jewel-box of MPB gems, or (3) a jumping off place to explore these great musicians. I highly recommend approach 3 -- buy this CD, listen to the tracks you like the most, and then explore each artist and creator on his or her own -- Jorge Ben Jor, Gilberto Gil, Chico Barque, Milton Nascimento -- you could fill a shelf with great CD's by these giants of Brazilian music. Highly recommended!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quintessential Collection of Brazilian Excellence!, May 31, 2002
Every track on this album is a killer! This was the first Brazilian CD I bought and although my collection of Latin music has grown substantially, I still turn to it when all else fails. It's a great introduction to the genre and by far the most comprehensive compilation of Brazilian Pop/Rock/folk music I've ever heard. Like many countries that have had to put up with hard-line political regimes, music has always been an outlet to vent social & political frustrations, document life and present hope even in the darkest hours. The lightness of much Brazilian pop is often confused for music without guts. It is hard to imagine the music presented here as being in any way dangerous, but the military regime that controlled Brazil during the late '60s and early '70s found it very subversive. So much so that the artists Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil were exiled and lived in London for several years. The sleeve notes document all of this extremely well and present the lyrics to each track in the original Portuguese as well as the English translation. There is also a list of the original albums this compilation was derived from, many of which are well worth seeking out (Milton Nascimento's "Clube Da Esquina" being a prime example). Most of the music on this CD is from the 70's. It's funk, acoustic, guitar, harmonic, vocal, melodic brilliance. Many of 'thee' Brazilian musical exponents are represented here (Jorge Ben, Maria Bethany, Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso etc.). There's even a track about football: Jorge Ben's "Umbabarauma" (which has been sampled by Fila Brazillia on the track "Pots and Pans"). It's obvious that this is just the tip of the Brazilian iceberg and it would be hard for a single CD to cover all the aspects & diversity present in Brazilian music. So if you want get started I'd buy this CD, I guarantee that after hearing it you will crave for MORE! (The good news is that Luaka Bop's releases are already in double figures.)...
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