Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits
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Free Music Notes for Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits
Free Music Review: A welcome blast from the past.
Hit: 4 Stars
Some of the cuts on "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66--Greatest Hits" sound as fresh as they did 40 years ago. Others sound dated, though charmingly so. The Brazilian originals fare best--"Mais Que Nada" is guaranteed to get your hips and your day swinging, and "Like a Lover" is incredibly sexy, soothing, and mellow. The pop standards are more a matter of taste, though "The Look of Love" is still one of the best recordings ever of any Bacharach-David song. Occasionally an otherwise impeccable cut will betray its vintage; the lovely bossa nova tune "So Many Stars" is marred by a brief harpsichord solo, reminding us all why the harpsichord craze of the '60s did not survive the decade. One thing that mars this CD is the lack of any songwriter credits--I guess A&M assumes everyone knows who wrote these songs, but it would still be nice to have the credits! I'm glad Mendes is having renewed success with his recent collaboration with rap artists, but I'm of a generation that will be happy sticking with this CD.Free Music Review: Lively beats and beautiful melodies
Hit: 4 Stars
Glad I found this blast from the past. While I've tired of hearing Beatles songs I don't get tired of their versions. And "Like a Lover" is one of my favorite lovesongs. Wish there
were more of their Brazilian language songs in the collection.
One, although one of their best, was not enough.
Free Music Review: SERGIO'S BRILLIANCE
Hit: 4 Stars
CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF HIS SOUNDS AND MUSIC. IT REALLY MOVES THE WHOLE OF YOUR BEING. LOVED IT.Free Music Review: Classic from an era that can't be repeated
Hit: 5 Stars
A fantastic sollection of Sergio Mendes' bossa nova covers under the famous group name of "Brasil 66". The much played Beatles and Bacharach & David numbers are all here, lending themselves surprisingly well to the gentle bossa nova sway that makes Brasil 66 tracks the most highly prized of all lounge music by retro heads today. There's no sense of embarrassment in hearing songs like "Fool on the Hill" or "Going Out of My Head" converted into sunny lounge music, because Sergio Mendes treats the material with respect and skilfully re-works them with his own musical style. Actually, the Brasil 66 version of "The Look of Love" is probably one of the best versions of that song, period. Not all the songs are covers though, and the original compositions like "Look Around" and "So Many Stars" are equally as good as those previously mentioned.
The smooth female vocals are by Lani Hall, and her performance plays a large part in the charm of the music. Lani has an easy, effortless singling style with no histrionics or heavy stylized interpretions of the lyrics, so the vocals simply lay down the words and let the music get on with the job. And along with the authentic latin percussion of the group, every arrangement is spot on perfect.
With this many good songs you are really spoiled for choice. I can't think of any that need skipping, and there's no doubt that the sparkling "Mas Que Nada" has gone down in history as the quintessetial Mendes anthem, and rightly so. My only gripe (I always have one!) is that this CD seems to be a near re-issue of an old CD collection called "The Very Best of Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66" with the same tracklisting but with four tracks missing - and my personal favourite, called "Watch What Happens" has not been featured, which annoyed me somewhat, as it is a gorgeous little number. But despite that omission, what you do get is a fantastic feast, heavily loaded up with musical delicacies to pick and choose from. Before the lounge movement became ripe for rediscovery (and parodied by groups like Mike Flowers Pops, and so on), this was the real deal, and it has stood the test of time, sounding as fresh today as it did in it's time of origin. I can see why.
Free Music Review: One of the best albums ever...
Hit: 5 Stars
It's hard to believe this music is over 40 years old. It there were a rating for six stars, this would surely get it. And the lesser known songs are probably the best cuts on the album. What I like best about this album and music from this era is that you get to hear actual and real musicians playing... no synthesizers, no big echo effects covering up bad singing... real drummers, real string players, real everything. The string arrangement on Like A Lover is wonderful. Highly, highly recommended. You won't find better at less than $8.