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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Remarkable Journey To A Warm, Sweet Place, May 29, 2004
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.
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