Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Classics, Vol. 18
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Free Music Notes for Classics, Vol. 18
Free Music Review: STILL Looking For A Definitive Hits Collection
Hit: 4 Stars
When I saw this volume with its 17 tracks my initial thought was, maybe this is the one that will finally give us all their hits. Guess what? As with the A&M release not one from among these five are here: Constant Rain [Chove Chuva] - their second charter in early 1967 at # 71 Billboard Hot 100; For Me, # 16 Adult Contemporary (AC)/# 98 Hot 100 in April 1967); Night And Day (# 8 AC/# 82 Hot 100 in June 1967); (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay (# 12 AC/# 66 Hot 100 in July 1969); Wichita Lineman (# 34 AC/# 95 Hot 100 in December 1969).
They do include Like A Lover and So Many Stars, the uncharted flipsides of The Look Of Love and The Fool On The Hill, and the B-side of (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Song Of No Regrets - which also was uncharted. But why that last one and not the hit? Also included is Alibis, credited only to Sergio Mendes in 1984 and which reached # 5 AC/# 29 Hot 100 for his last charted hit with Joe Pizzulo doing the vocal.
What this AAD volume has going for it that the A&M issue lacks are some informative liner notes, three pages of them by Paul Grein [but no discography], and a few flipsides. I just wish they would put together one definitive 28-track CD containing all 10 of their Billboard Pop Hot 100 hits and their B-sides, together with some that scored only on the AC charts, such as Vhelsea Morning (# 21 in 1970), Real Life (# 17 in 1984) and Take This Love (# 14 in 1986).
Free Music Review: good listening's
Hit: 3 Stars
unable to type correctly because of paine. this music is nice to listen to when bed bound, but first you must hear it.Free Music Review: Sergio Mendes/Classics Vol.18
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the finest compilations by the Sergio Mendes/Brazil 66 group available. All excellent selections including but not limited to: So Many Stars, Pretty World, and the signature classic Mais Que Nada.
This is a must have.
Free Music Review: "Pretty World"
Hit: 5 Stars
Sergio Mendes 40th Anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl last Sunday, June 25, 2006 was a blast! To put a few words in a capsule that would describe that memorable evening, here goes . . .
Full-packed venue.
Tickets sold out.
Wonderful, alive and responsive audience.
Great performances of Sergio Mendes and his guests.
A night to remember.
It was a very memorable concert for I have met in person a musical legend while he was signing my CD booklets I brought with me. He's such an exceptional pianist, composer and a Bossa Nova icon as well. I've followed his musical career since Day One spanning four decades and have collected a good number of his most notable recordings of all-time. To me, the best part of the concert was the appearances of the equally talented husband and wife team of trumpeter, Herb Alpert, and the original Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 vocalist, Lani Hall. To the delight of the audience, they did a medley of my all-time favorites from this impressive collection "The Look of Love" (my friend and I as well as the audience were singing along) and "Fool On The Hill." Ditto with the performance by Joe Pizzulo of one of his hit songs "Never Gonna Let You Go." On this performance the audience started waving their cell phones (some with small flashlights) and you could see the lights illuminated from the phones - it was a beautiful sight - it's almost like seeing sparkling beads all over the place. The performances on "Mas Que Nada" and my very favorite song "Pretty World" were so nice, these are two of the seventeen tracks from this timeless and classic collection.
"Why don't we take a little piece of summer sky
Hang it on a tree
For that's the way to start to make a pretty world
For you and for me
And for the sun we'll take a lemon bright balloon
You can hold the string
Oh can't you see that little world of ours will be
The prettiest thing
We can gather rain enough for the stream
To hold our happy faces
When we want a breeze, I'll blow you a kiss or two
Take me in your arms and our little world
Will be the place of places
Nothing left to make but breakfast and love
We'll hang a little sign that says,
'Paradise: Population Two'
For that's the way to start to make a pretty world
For me and for you
For you, it's what I wanted to do, to do
To make a world..... with you."
Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 "Classics, Volume 18" is an absolute representation of typical Sergio Mendes music from the initial track "Mas Que Nada" to the final cut, "Alibis."
This is the kind of music you have enjoyed yesterday and will enjoy today, tomorrow and forever.
Timeless music.
Free Music Review: This 1987 retrospective is badly in need of a facelift.
Hit: 4 Stars
If you did not grow up in the 1960's you just might wonder why so many baby boomers continue to be fixated on the music of that decade. The Billboard charts were filled with so many new and exciting sounds. When one thinks of 60's music the British Invasion and Motown immediately come to mind. But there were a number of other sounds that made an impact in the 1960's as well. Sergio Mendes brought his unique blend of Brazilian, jazz and American pop styles to America for the first time in 1966. His music was an instant sensation.
Although Sergio Mendes himself did not sing, he was the pianist, arranger, producer and musical director of this unique group. Led by vocalist Lani Hall, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 would produce some of the most innovative sounds of the late 60's. "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66-86" features many of the highlights of the groups outstanding work during this period as well as a pair of hits from a later incarnation of the act in the mid 1980's.
To me "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66-`86" was always a very strange concoction. Issued as part of A&M Records 25th anniversary "Classics" series in 1987, I was never very pleased with the way this one was done. If you are looking for the great 60's hits like "The Look of Love", "Scarborough Fair" and "The Fool On The Hill" then you will find them all here. Also included is the groups amazing 1969 hit "Pretty World" which is perhaps my favorite Sergio Mendes tune from that era as well as the groups very first hit single in America "Mas Que Nada". While the group experienced a fair amount of success on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart during this period, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 were a fixture on adult contemporary radio stations throughout the late 60's and early 70's. The group also sold a ton of albums. In fact, their debut LP simply entitled "Sergio Mendes and Brasil `66" remained on Billboards album charts for an amazing 126 weeks! You will find a number of selections from these LP's on this disc including "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Like A Lover" and the lovely "So Many Stars". Also included are a couple of fine instrumentals.
In 1983, Sergio Mendes re-emerged on A & M records with a brand new cast of charactors. The soulful single "Never Gonna Let You Go" featuring the splendid lead vocals of Joe Pizzulo and Leza Miller was one of the surprise hits of that year. Slightly more than a year later the wonderful pop single "Alibis" peaked at #29 on the Billboard pop chart. Both of these later singles are included on "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66-'86" as well.
As I mentioned earlier I was never overly impressed with "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66-86". The sound quality is OK but nothing more. The liner notes which were written some 19 years ago are dated and the packaging is drab. Of the 17 tracks in this collection I would question why 3 or 4 of them were included in the first place. Yet for all of these flaws this disc is still the best available Sergio Mendes collection released in the U.S. And that is too bad. In 1997, A&M's British unit released an updated 2 CD collection of Sergio Mendes. I am not particularly wild about that one either. Hopefully, Universal Records, who now controls the A&M catalogue in the U.S. will see fit to release an updated anthology of this remarkable act in the near future.