TulitaPepsi
Well-Known Member
Good news and bad news about ENCANTO.
Good news: It arrived from Japan today!
Bad news: My roommate is home sick all this weekend so I can't BLAST it all over the apartment the way I want to.
So, I gotta use my headphones. For now.
Let's take this track by track:
(IMHO, the weakest tracks are the first three. But the remainder is damn near flawless for these ears starved for classic 'new' Sergio for over a decade)
1 - The Look Of Love: Yeah, this is really bad with moronic new rap lyrics. Janis can rest easy. For all Fergie's heavings, Ms. Hanson sounds far sexier. If I had not heard the other track clips I'd be REALLY depressed.
2 - Funky Bahia: Cute Bahian bubblegum. Not great but inoffensive. It sounds like something Menudo would have recorded.
3 - Waters of March : Good. Nice funky arrangement not dissimilar to the one on BRASIL 88. It's almost too similar - Ledisi sounds like she's studied Carol and Marietta's vocals so intently that she sounds just like them. I'm dissapointed that, once again, the lyrics are sung entirely in English (except a snatch of Portugese at the very end).
4 - Odo-ya: ENCANTO's kickass tracks start here. Pulsating, Hot, fierce and funky, featuring Carlinos Brown with Gracinha prominently in the backup vocals.
5 - Somewhere in The Hills: Just gorgeous! Natalie sounds luscious, and the arrangement is classic A&M Sergio, highlighted by Till Bronner's flugelhorn.
6 - Lugar Comum: Here's a challenge. Listen to this, and try your damndest not to bop up and down and groove in your seat (that's all I can do this weekend!). You will fail, as this jam is irresistable and delightful. I'll need Jovanotti's version too.
7 - Dreamer: The years fall away like frost in spring, and you're hearing classic A&M. "Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66" indeed. You'll swoon. You'll be wearing the biggest widest grin you've had on your face since you can't remember. Your fingertips will tingle with pleasure. Herb, Lani and Sergio (adding Portugese lyrics). How about an entire album of this stuff, guys?
8 - Morning in Rio: Same challenge as track 6. You'll fail here too. Joyful samba - Pure musical sunshine, spiced by a great trombone solo by Steve Baxter.
(By now, you're thinking: "Holy Sh*t! This album KICKS ASS! This is Sergio's best in years!" And you're right. But wait, there's MORE!)
9 - E Vamos La: So, lush, smooth and hot. Gracinha and Sergio sing. And you've got that sh*t eating grin on your face again...
10 - Catavento: Gorgeous. And Gracinha is perfection. Aint it funny that the sexiest, hottest female vocals here belong to those old broads Lani & Gracinha? Listen and learn, Fergie & Ledisi!
11 - Acode: Vanessa da Matta really sounds like classic Gal Costa here, and the song - even to the arrangement -sounds like it could have come right off the 'Baby Gal" album. Great stuff!
12 - Agua de Beber : Will.I.Am. kicks back and offers a nice rap intro for more Sergio/Gracinha magic, Will offers another rap telling how he's been grooving to Brasil '66 since he was 16, then more Sergio/Gracinha. Perfection!
13 - Les Eaux des Mars: Proof anything sounds hotter in French. Or Italian. Or Spanish. And especially Portugese!
14 - Y Vamos Ya: Is Juane's version the one on the American ENCANTO release? I hope so - I can see this becoming a huge hit in the Latin market here.
Yeah. I do think this is Sergio's best since HORIZONTE ABERTO.
And I gotta salute Will.I.Am. If it weren't for his enthusiasm for all things Mendes, Sergio wouldn't have made this album. I'll even forgive him for Fergie's "Look of Love". Maybe.
[*Edited title to become the official thread, and added poll. - Moderator]
Good news: It arrived from Japan today!
Bad news: My roommate is home sick all this weekend so I can't BLAST it all over the apartment the way I want to.
So, I gotta use my headphones. For now.
Let's take this track by track:
(IMHO, the weakest tracks are the first three. But the remainder is damn near flawless for these ears starved for classic 'new' Sergio for over a decade)
1 - The Look Of Love: Yeah, this is really bad with moronic new rap lyrics. Janis can rest easy. For all Fergie's heavings, Ms. Hanson sounds far sexier. If I had not heard the other track clips I'd be REALLY depressed.
2 - Funky Bahia: Cute Bahian bubblegum. Not great but inoffensive. It sounds like something Menudo would have recorded.
3 - Waters of March : Good. Nice funky arrangement not dissimilar to the one on BRASIL 88. It's almost too similar - Ledisi sounds like she's studied Carol and Marietta's vocals so intently that she sounds just like them. I'm dissapointed that, once again, the lyrics are sung entirely in English (except a snatch of Portugese at the very end).
4 - Odo-ya: ENCANTO's kickass tracks start here. Pulsating, Hot, fierce and funky, featuring Carlinos Brown with Gracinha prominently in the backup vocals.
5 - Somewhere in The Hills: Just gorgeous! Natalie sounds luscious, and the arrangement is classic A&M Sergio, highlighted by Till Bronner's flugelhorn.
6 - Lugar Comum: Here's a challenge. Listen to this, and try your damndest not to bop up and down and groove in your seat (that's all I can do this weekend!). You will fail, as this jam is irresistable and delightful. I'll need Jovanotti's version too.
7 - Dreamer: The years fall away like frost in spring, and you're hearing classic A&M. "Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66" indeed. You'll swoon. You'll be wearing the biggest widest grin you've had on your face since you can't remember. Your fingertips will tingle with pleasure. Herb, Lani and Sergio (adding Portugese lyrics). How about an entire album of this stuff, guys?
8 - Morning in Rio: Same challenge as track 6. You'll fail here too. Joyful samba - Pure musical sunshine, spiced by a great trombone solo by Steve Baxter.
(By now, you're thinking: "Holy Sh*t! This album KICKS ASS! This is Sergio's best in years!" And you're right. But wait, there's MORE!)
9 - E Vamos La: So, lush, smooth and hot. Gracinha and Sergio sing. And you've got that sh*t eating grin on your face again...
10 - Catavento: Gorgeous. And Gracinha is perfection. Aint it funny that the sexiest, hottest female vocals here belong to those old broads Lani & Gracinha? Listen and learn, Fergie & Ledisi!
11 - Acode: Vanessa da Matta really sounds like classic Gal Costa here, and the song - even to the arrangement -sounds like it could have come right off the 'Baby Gal" album. Great stuff!
12 - Agua de Beber : Will.I.Am. kicks back and offers a nice rap intro for more Sergio/Gracinha magic, Will offers another rap telling how he's been grooving to Brasil '66 since he was 16, then more Sergio/Gracinha. Perfection!
13 - Les Eaux des Mars: Proof anything sounds hotter in French. Or Italian. Or Spanish. And especially Portugese!
14 - Y Vamos Ya: Is Juane's version the one on the American ENCANTO release? I hope so - I can see this becoming a huge hit in the Latin market here.
Yeah. I do think this is Sergio's best since HORIZONTE ABERTO.
And I gotta salute Will.I.Am. If it weren't for his enthusiasm for all things Mendes, Sergio wouldn't have made this album. I'll even forgive him for Fergie's "Look of Love". Maybe.
[*Edited title to become the official thread, and added poll. - Moderator]