Bird of beauty: Portuguese translation by Sergio Mendes

[Aqua do Brasil]

Dear Forum Members,

On Stevie Wonder’s FULLFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE album from 1974, theres a quote from Stevie Wonder:

‘Thank you SERGIO MENDES for translating the words of my song BIRD OF BEAUTY to Portuguese to enable to speak to my people of Mozambique and the beautiful people of Brazil.’

BIRD OF BEAUTY, a witty rhythmic Latin flavoured song with Shirley Brewer, Lani Groves and Denise Williams as background singers sung in English with a Portuguese verse of 8 lines just after the bridge.

The FULLFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE album, Stevies fourth album under his own creative command, just before his groundbreaking SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE masterpiece hit album.

All the best,
Aqua do Brasil,

 

[Mike Blakesley]

This has been noted here before but I think it may have been in the old Forum days. It's a great song, too.

I actually think the FFF album is tighter and flows better than the SITKOL album. It was an excellent followup to INNERVISIONS and contains one of my all time favorite Stevie Wonder tunes, "You Haven't Done Nothin." But it was always critically drubbed. Never could figure that out.

Don't get me wrong...KEY OF LIFE is great, it is just too long. Would have made a fantastic single album with some editing (some of the songs are just filler, and others are just too dadburn long.)

 

[Aqua do Brasil]

This has been noted here before but I think it may have been in the old Forum days. It's a great song, too.

I actually think the FFF album is tighter and flows better than the SITKOL album. It was an excellent followup to INNERVISIONS and contains one of my all time favorite Stevie Wonder tunes, "You Haven't Done Nothin." But it was always critically drubbed. Never could figure that out.

Don't get me wrong...KEY OF LIFE is great, it is just too long. Would have made a fantastic single album with some editing (some of the songs are just filler, and others are just too dadburn long.)

Dear Mike,
I agree fully with you, Songs in the key of life is a great album, but too long. But its marks Stevie mature musicianship worldwide and a great risk to release it for Motown records due to high production costs and a new multi million dollar contract between Stevie and Motown but its works out fine commercialwise. Stevie never topped it afterwards but the 1979 album Secret Journey Through The Plants IMHO is an interesting masterpiece, BTW one of the first digitally recorded albums in the recording history.

Sergio Mendes performed and recorded several songs by Stevie during that period (1974-1977) and Stevies Wonderlove touring band guitarist Michael Sembello was a frequently collabrator on the albums Homecooking, The New Brasil 77, Brasil 88, Magic Lady and Sergio Mendes 1983. Other Wonderlove members, bassist Nathan Watts, drummer Raymond Pounds and Saxplayer Hank Redd played also on some of Sergio´s recordings.

One of Sergio Mendes highlights on a performance in 1980 was the song
I BELIEVE by Stevie in which Sergio played a magic interlude on Fender Rhodes electric Piano and Carol Rogers started this ballad as solo singer and later on the group joined in finished it as an uptempo song. Marvelous, what a great way to treated this song.

All the best,
Aqua do Brasil

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[Mike Blakesley]

I should have noted above, that Sergio is thanked (along with about one thousand other people) in the "special thanks" of the KEY OF LIFE album.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

And, let's not forget that Sergio's very own Marietta Waters collaborated with Stevie on the NEW BRASIL '77 album. She contributed to SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE as well...a very talented young lady!

One of my favorite parts of "The Real Thing" is when you hear Marietta say, "Step back now..." as if she and Stevie were dancing in the studio while recording the song.

Jon

 

[Aqua do Brasil]

One of my favorite parts of "The Real Thing" is when you hear Marietta say, "Step back now..." as if she and Stevie were dancing in the studio while recording the song.

Jon[/quote]


Dear Jon,

On the 23th of March 1977, I saw Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil 77 at a concert in The Hague,The Netherlands. It was the complete group (all twelve of them) including the Brazilian dancers/percussionists just as the album cover with Cruz Baca at the time.

Sergio announced a new song from the New album due to released two months later in May 1977, THE REAL THING my favourite from the album and Marietta sings with great power as always.

All the best,
Aqua do Brasil

 

[JMK]

I also saw Sergio & Co. do "Real Thing" shortly after the song had been released. This was actually a cool six month period, because I saw Sergio in SLC shortly before I graduated from college, then he just happened to be doing a free outdoor concert in Portland right after I moved here! The funny thing is, when they were doing their soundcheck, one of the sound guys yelled to Carol, "Do some of 'The Real Thing'!", and she started singing the *other* song with that name--"Ain't nothin' but the real thing, baby."

 

[JMK]

BTW, that outdoor concert is when Buzz Feiten played guitar with Sergio (there was a thread sometime ago about various guitarists who had played with Sergio).

 

[Brasil_Nut]

I remember the New Brasil '77 Tour, too. Sergio had Marietta, Gracinha, Carol and Cruz in the line-up. During "The Real Thing", all four girls would jump to the left or right, in unison, on the bridge -- it was great.

Jon