Classic AOTW Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 CRYSTAL ILLUSIONS (SP 4197)

I've also had a lot of fun with various Portuguese teachers going through old "classics" that were Americanized and finding out what the originals really say, a la Viola Enluarada.

Gentlemen!

How wonderful to see your names once again and to read your replies! Does Jon Skinner (BrasilNut) stop by these days, or Bernie Medina? Mike, do you still operate the theatre? Harry, does the radio station still issue your paycheck?

Harry, I know what you mean about coming back to favorite artists. I guess that's why I've not pitched the Mendes, Alpert, and most certainly not Lani recordings. Was it here we once discussed how the music and artists you enjoyed as an adolescent is that to which you consistently return? Truth be told, none of these three artists were played from long before I moved to South Bend (4-1/2 years ago) until the past few months. I did pick up the new Mendes and Alpert/Hall releases (LOVE "Dreamer") and attended the Alpert/Hall show in East Lansing (my younger son is a Spartan alum, Neil). The older son (in Austin for the last 5 years - is Bill still around?) recently asked for an mp3 disc of Lani's latin material, with Brasil '66 filler. That was the first time the cds came off the shelves. This music was a large part of his adolescent musical memory.

Jeff, I am aware of the Valle set, which is reasonably priced compared to other box sets. I will not pursue this, as I have a number of the cds in the set and am not a Valle completist. This year many of the top MPB artists turn 70 (Jorge Ben, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Paulinho da Viola), and I expect new compilatons that could eat into my pocketbook. Your comment about "album" credits is spot-on. Young people today may never find that link between songs they enjoy. I certainly knew nothing about Edu Lobo or Dori Caymmi other thab thet wrote music I consistently enjoyed and when presented the opportunity, followed their work as well.

Enough blab. Good to "hear" from you all. Jeff, is the email link on your website current? I'd love to send you a note.

Hi again, Paula, yes the email contact on :

jeffreykauffman.net

is correct. Love to hear from you!

You fellas are super-fast with your responses! Thanks for the updates. I work at the University of Notre Dame (is there another employer in South Bend?) in the International Studies department. And yes, I work with the students headed to Brasil. The two programs involved (in Salvador da Bahia and São Paulo) are small, but we look to expand our offerings given the right "fit." I envy you the Florida weather, Harry. Neil, are you looking for a job this way?

Jeff, I'll get something out in the next day or two.

Paula
...thanking Harry for the welcome, online...

Mr. Bill! How wonderful to see your moniker once more! The welcome has been fabulous, but certainly is not warranted. Life became uber complicated; limiting time on the internet was imperative.

I learned you are away and are very limited in your free time. I sincerely hope that you are and will remain well and that your return will be safe and soon. Do you have an opportunity to listen to local music while abroad?

This site always felt like "home." Thank you all for keeping this a collegial space.

This album was definitely what began the "underdog" period for Sergio & his group... Brasil '66 fumbles on some of these tracks, but mostly precises itself in a fairly comfortable groove...

The rootish Brasilian stuff, is at least well-mastered & what they're mostly in touch with, making it appealing to American audiences... I chose "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" as my fav', though it hardly ranks w/ most of the earlier interpretations of American pop song, to the point where it's little wonder that this is the lone remake, amid the more authentic Brasilian gems that they felt more comfortable & confident delivering...

And then, more & more shifting towards in their later work--well, that is, until the Bell and Elektra records came about; then there were American pop songs galore, along w/ the sad awkwardness, despite the earnest effort they can still do...

As for "Crystal Illusions", while it works well for the cover concept, I think there's a bit of meandering there, before Sergio / Brasil '66 really get to the point, as far as the song is concerned... There is a dream-like trance to it, but not quite like the one Paul Desmond gives it (on From The Hot Afternoon)... I've heard Edu Lobo's version and that captures the true authenticity, whereas Sergio must have thought "well, let's see what we can do with it", maybe after a healthy dose of listening to "Mais Que Nada"...

In comparing the three versions I know of, which are all on A&M, Desmond comes out on top, Lobo's I could honestly give 2nd place to, if only in that there's a more sincere tone w/o it sounding like a rough draft, but Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 after getting it up to speed, just let it go too over the top flooding it w/ Dave Grusin's orchestrations, detracting way too much from the metronomic approach in the beginning...

This is a fairly good album, but unless you get a good idea of Mendes & Brasil '_ _ is about, (that is buying anything from Herb Alpert Presents, through Fool On The Hill, or maybe making something like his return to A&M as in "Never Gonna Let You Go" or maybe something like Arara), then this is really not "the place to start"...!

At best, though, it is a good way to warm up to this approach being carried much farther w/ Ye-Me-Le, or Pais Tropical... Or more likely, the more pleasant route taken on Primal Roots, before wading into where aside from a couple good interpretations, the attempt at creating more ambition, just became a contemporary pop music stew on Elektra or Bell...


-- Dave

I loved this album when it was new and I was 13. Now, it's not my favorite (I think I've settled on "Look Around"), but there are some nice moments.

"Pretty World" is impossible not to love. But I'll bet you if anyone other than Lani was singing it, I'd have blown it off as sticky-sweet pop and not have thought once about it in the past 43 years.

"Crystal Illusions" sticks with me because the first time I heard it was on KGIL in Los Angeles on a densely foggy Sunday morning riding in a car down a deserted La Brea with about five feet of visibility. I'd never heard anything like it and it was so right for what the town looked like through the windshield that day. But truth be told, I prefer the Edu Lobo version...and Paul Desmond's is one of my favorites, too.

My favorite, though...and I can't tell you why....is "Viola"...anybody know if that way off-key note near the end was intentional?