Below is a link to an amazing video of Brasil 77 performing in a live 1973 concert in Germany. The music is featured in their Primal Roots album. It opens with Laudir de Oliveira singing as he did on the album "Canto de Ubiratan." Then he and Paulinho da Costa show off their incredible percussion skills. It ends with Gracinha singing from "Jogo de Roda." A tour de force. An absolutely priceless video. What makes this especially memorable for me is that we see Mendes and his Brazilian sound in its prime, in its hey-day from the late 60s early 70s period. You can also see videos from the same concert of "Day Tripper," "Upa Neguinho," "Tristeza," "Pra Dizer Adeus," and "Mas Que Nada" (the title says 1978--that's a typo--its from 1973.) This is like a time capsule and probably the closest we will ever come to seeing a mini concert in their glory days.
A few words about the 1972 "Primal Roots" album...Of all the albums Sergio Mendes recorded, this one decades from now will have music critics reviewing it as an artistic accomplishment. It is a radical departure from his other popular efforts. Side 1 of the old album has folkloric gems. Side 2 with Edu Lobo's "Jogo de Roda" (The Circle Game), as arranged by Mendes, is a Brazilian/jazz masterpiece. So may shifting moods and different instrumentation with just the right amount of vocal counterpoint.
As I review Sergio's career starting with his A&M period, he began with four classic albums, hitting a slump with his next two albums, getting his groove back with the following two albums and then hitting the pinnacle of his career with "Primal Roots." After that for nearly 40 years his albums were hit and miss. Regretably he followed every popular musical trend be it the over-use of the synthesizer, disco or hip hop to no personal musical advantage. What a pity that this supremely talented man did not follow the non-commercial path of trying to make more albums like "Primal Roots."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HINcZKR4mc
A few words about the 1972 "Primal Roots" album...Of all the albums Sergio Mendes recorded, this one decades from now will have music critics reviewing it as an artistic accomplishment. It is a radical departure from his other popular efforts. Side 1 of the old album has folkloric gems. Side 2 with Edu Lobo's "Jogo de Roda" (The Circle Game), as arranged by Mendes, is a Brazilian/jazz masterpiece. So may shifting moods and different instrumentation with just the right amount of vocal counterpoint.
As I review Sergio's career starting with his A&M period, he began with four classic albums, hitting a slump with his next two albums, getting his groove back with the following two albums and then hitting the pinnacle of his career with "Primal Roots." After that for nearly 40 years his albums were hit and miss. Regretably he followed every popular musical trend be it the over-use of the synthesizer, disco or hip hop to no personal musical advantage. What a pity that this supremely talented man did not follow the non-commercial path of trying to make more albums like "Primal Roots."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HINcZKR4mc
