Sergio Mendes TIMELESS: Comments and poll

[Mike Blakesley]

With Sergio's new album now showing up in American stores and arriving in mailboxes around the country, it's time to start our A&M Corner poll. Vote for your favorite song on TIMELESS and be sure to give your reasons for your vote (and any other comments.)

 

[Dave]

In a world where music sounds more like it is being Sounded-Off by a Drill Sergeant more than being Sung by a Singer, it is nice to know that something "Organic", like "Berimbau/Consolacao (Beh-rim-bao/Con-soh-lah-soun)"--Featuring Stevie Wonder and Gracinha Leporace exists on this NEW set, making IT my Favorite, so far! It's a wonder that somewhere along the line that a worthy collaboration with Stevie wasn't long ago, done in the Sergio Mendes fold, but this track really does make-up for the wait, especially with Gracinha on board! I pray that among the most Rap/Hip-Hop-savvy listeners that this song gets the Most-Played and the CD Burner Junkies will make this their first consideration when "customizing" their own, personal-use copies, while leaving-off the Timberline track...

2nd Favorite: "Please, Baby, Don't"--John Legend's Classic, Old-School Soul-Stylings meets the Present-Day, as well as Vintage Brasilian, Bossa-Nova, Rio-Tropic Groove!...'Nuff Said!


Dave

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I heard Mais Que Nada twice yesterday...once in a store and then, on the drive home on XM. I was prepared to hate it...but I actually like it.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[Harry]

I don't know that I have a favorite yet, because at this point I can't rule out any of them. I gave another listen this morning and really, this album is just great.

If I have any negative comments it's that I'm sure that someday in the not too distant future, I'm going to be listening to "Slow Hot Wind" on a Brasil '66 disc and at the appropriate point, my subconscious mind will be drilling out "..that heat, that heat, that heat, that heat." It's infectious enough that it might "pollute" for me that great original recording.

My initial thoughts on favorites would be the ones that are the "most Sergio" and the "least rap", but I can't even say that. I'm really enjoying the whole thing right now.

Sergio fans out there should make an effort to go out there soon and grab a copy. Even if you hate rap, which I generally do, you might find something worthwhile here. And you can impress any young people in your life that YOU might just be as hip as they think THEY are!

Harry
NP: TIMELESS - Sergio Mendes/will.i.am

 

[Rudy]

No choice yet--needs more laser time here. Standouts for me so far are "Berimbau/Consolacao" which has some nice work from guest Stevie Wonder, "Mas Que Nada" and "The Frog" (where I really like the beat).

If I have any negative comments it's that I'm sure that someday in the not too distant future, I'm going to be listening to "Slow Hot Wind" on a Brasil '66 disc and at the appropriate point, my subconscious mind will be drilling out "..that heat, that heat, that heat, that heat." It's infectious enough that it might "pollute" for me that great original recording.

I've noticed this every so often when I play songs that have been sampled like this. Goes back to the Sugarhill Gang, "Rapper's Delight", where they don't sample but instead, perform the beat and bass line from Chic's "Good Times". I can't hear either Rick James' "Super Freak" and MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" without thinking of the other's song. Ditto Perez Prado and Lou Bega, who samples Prado heavily in his cover of "Mambo No. 5". (I've always wanted to do my own "mega mix" with both songs to make an extended version.) I can't even hear the screaming brass section of Prado's version without thinking the words, "A trumpet!" in the middle of it.

Even more bizarre: does anyone remember when someone took the instrumental arrangement from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" but sang the lyrics for Steely Dan's "Do It Again" to it? It actually worked!

 

[Rudy]

I heard Mais Que Nada twice yesterday...once in a store and then, on the drive home on XM. I was prepared to hate it...but I actually like it.

---Michael Hagerty

Which XM station is playing this one?

 

[Harry]

I managed to get to one record store today. It was a FYE in the mall. I looked all around for the new TIMELESS album - it wasn't in Rap, or World, or Latin, or Easy Listening, or Jazz, or Pop/Rock.

After just about giving up, I saw it on a rack of discs on the edge of a display angled inward to the store, so it wasn't really in plain sight as one walks in. A nice surprise for me was that on this rack of about fifteen different titles (all new releases) was also HOME by The Corrs, now available here in the US.

The TIMELESS package, at the quick glance I gave it, looked pretty much like the one from Japan - it's a digipak with the same logos and stuff on it. The store was selling it for $13.99.

We then wandered farther up the mall where there was a Starbucks. I wanted to see if they had it as well. There was a space for it, clearly labeled, but there were no discs around. Either they hadn't yet gotten the stock out, or they were sold out!

Harry

 

[Mr Bill]

I'm going home to listen to it now (a Valentine's present from Mrs Bill)... Will vote and post my comments later...

--Mr Bill

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I heard Mais Que Nada twice yesterday...once in a store and then, on the drive home on XM. I was prepared to hate it...but I actually like it.

---Michael Hagerty

Which XM station is playing this one?

Rudy: I heard it on "Hear Music", the Starbucks channel...followed by a plug for the CD "available at all Starbucks locations on (date)".

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Judging by the voting so far, Sergio should make either another Brasil '66-styled album, or collaborate with Stevie Wonder!

Mike B.
Surprised there aren't more posts in this thread

 

[Trevor]

I was thinking about posting a new poll about which song would be the biggest hit.

I think "Berimbau / Consolacao" is what I expected from a new Sergio album. Gracinha is like no other songstress. Her voice is like liquid gold.

The new "Mas Que Nada" and "The Frog" are just as infectious today as they were in the 60s. I am personally WAY MORE IMPRESSED with this remake of "Mas Que Nada" than the "Arara" remake. Also, it's nice to hear Gracinha sing a studio version of this song. I think either of these songs would make chart hitters.

"That Heat" is good, too. "One for the money..."

"Let Me" sounds okay. The singer sounds like one of the studio singers from a Walter Wanderly album. Yeah, it sounds like a Walter Wanderly remix more than a Sergio song!!!

"Timeless", "Loose Ends", and "Please Baby Don't" would all be good songs to release as singles. I like "the girls" backing up Justin in the chorus in the live version (via AOL) versus the studio version.


So Far, these are my thoughts on the album.

 

[Mr Bill]

I voted for "Berimbau / Consolacao." On first listen this is the one that just struck my fancy and had the groove I was enjoying while driving (my car system is presently the best I own).

I also like "Mas Que Nada" and "Let Me." The rest is still a little too heavy on the Rap for me. In fact, instead of listening to Rap artist who has heavily sampled Sergio, it comes across as a Sergio disc that has heavily sampled some Rap. There's one more track I'm finding myself humming here at work -- "Banana Tree" -- that really reminds me of "The Chicken Dance" with the female vocals that start it off...

SO cuts 3, 5 and 1 are my faves so far. I'd probably like Ma(i)s Que Nada more except I find the phrasing on the chorus VERY distracting: "Mas Que Na (l o n g pause) Da!"

--Mr Bill

 

[scott_c_jordan]

I love this album. Didn't think I would, but I do.

For me, "Samba Da Bencao" delivers best on the promise and premise of the project, and the result is an infectious blend of styles, including some of the best Sergio keywork we've heard in three decades. It also serves to remind us all of what a flawless accompanist Sergio is.

Don't get me wrong, Berimbau just tears up the place, and is probably my second-favorite version (next to the Sergio/Wanda Sah version by Brasil 65). But that "Samba Da Bencao" just does it for me.

Gotta say, I'm not too terribly fond of several of the more rappish tracks, including (sad to say) Mas Que Nada or That Heat. In those cases I find the vocals lacking intimacy, subtlety and anything approaching Lani's swing and phrasing. I wish Sergio had left those two songs alone. Then again, there's usually a song or three on every album that I could do without.

But the melding of new-century urban music with bossa nova can make a lot of sense, as "Samba Da Bencao" demonstrates. (Hip-hop-tinged versions of Upa, Neguihno and Pais Tropical are crying to be included in Sergio & Will.i.am's next project!)

I congratulate Sergio on a fantastic renaissance, and I thank Will.i.am for making it happen.

 

[Dr. Dave]

As I'm the type of guy that really doesn't want to hear about "third trimester" pregnancies or women's breasts or buttocks in the music I listen to, and as a musician with perfect pitch who lanquishes in creative harmonic progressions and melodies that match, this album is "useless" rather than "timeless". The addition of rap has poisoned the beauty of Mendes' music and short of "Lamento" with some great guitar work by the Maogani Quartet, I will probably never listen to this album again and would ask for a refund if possible. Too bad. They did Berimbau/Con in NY at the Blue Note a few months ago and it was sublime. I hope the Sergio and the group make a lot of money on this, come to their senses and get back to basics. We would have been better off with a good live recording of their Blue Note sets.

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

I was completely prepared to hate the whole project - but I actually like it....a lot. I decided at some point to approach it on its own terms; not a Quincy Jones approach to an all-star album, or a normal Sergio record, but this wild experiment in will.i.am's head. It's surprisingly successful in a lot of ways, and yes, kind of ridiculous at the same time. But it's fun in the same way that "If I Were A Rich Man" from 'Fiddler On The Roof' somehow ends up as Gwen Stefani singing about bling. Twisted, but entertaining. Even the weirdest moments (why the HELL does Erykah Badu lapse into baby talk during "That Heat"....) are kind of working for me at this point.

Will I listen to this for years to come? Probably not. I loved Lauryn Hill's big record a few years ago, which reminds me of this in many ways, yet I haven't heard it since then and have no plans to. I'm a bebopper, CTI fan, classical, Broadway, avant-garde - anything good, and all kinds of crazy stuff in-between. I always return to albums like "Look Around", and I'm sure I will again.

But I'd much rather have this than another "Oceano" (a weak attempt to recreate the brilliant "Brasiliero"). Different is good, at least as a diversion.....and so many more people know Sergio through all this. Thanks to Amazon, etc., all the old records - virtually ALL of them! - are at our fingertips. This is the upside of the music world right now. Interesting times....

 

[Captaindave]

I saw this product in a Starbuck's recently. I am glad I can read here and save myself some time and money.

Mention rap/hip-hop/electronia to me, and I'm gone...

For me, who doesn't care a farthing about being hip or tuned into the latest "thang," I'll happily play Brasil 66 as it was originally recorded in the sixties, and be thankful I heard that first.

I'm glad we're all entitled to our own opinions, and to each his own...

 

[TonyCurrie]

Well, I like this album a lot. Music has - since it was first invented - always been a progression. And as it progresses, styles sometimes merge. I have never been a huge fan of rap (although having said that, I just had a look on the self and there's a good few rap records sitting there...) but I think it melds beautifully with Sergio's accompaniments. It truly is that rare thing - a "crossover" record.

My colleagues at the BBC reckon the new "Ma Que Nada" has "HIT" written all over it. For my part, I've always loved "Berimbau" (Every heard Kenny Rankin's version?) and here is the bonus of Stevie Wonder doing what he does best. Brilliant!

Only one tiny quibble - far too many pages of rather pointless "thank yous" in the booklet. But then, he does say nice things about Lani there!

I'm now on my dozenth playing of the disc, and I keep discovering new things about it that I like.

However, it isn't going to unthrone "Re-Whipped" from the car CD player!! Not yet anyway.

 

[LPJim]

While driving around with kids in tow today I caught some signs Sergio may have a hit album on his hands.
Normally there's lots of chatter, or they put headphones to listen to their own stuff and tune out what I'm playing in the CD player.
Not today.
It was a quiet ride to and from lunch, errands at Walmart, etc.
They even listened to me explain who Sergio was and read the guest credits, several of whom were recognizable.
Haven't finished playing the whole thing yet but enjoy what I've heard thus far.
Now I'm waiting for one of them to borrow the disc; that will confirm my instincts.
JB

 

[Mr Bill]

I hear you, Jim! My daughter keeps begging to borrow it. Unfortunately for her it's living in my car CD deck for the time being.

I only hope ReWhipped has the same effect!

--Mr Bill

 

[Mike Blakesley]

You guys are going to open a can of worms....get your kids hooked on TIMELESS and they will then expect you to listen to "rap" music ALL the time!

 

[Mr Bill]

True, my daughter has tried the "here, listen to this... it's a lot like Sergio" line on me a couple times already....

--Mr Bill
who likes some rap but not most ogf what plays on the radio these days... Perhaps I'll start a "Rap for people who hate Rap" thread and list the listenable stuff (IMO) that's out there -- could be a good discussion topic for us "oldsters."

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Perhaps I'll start a "Rap for people who hate Rap" thread and list the listenable stuff (IMO) that's out there -- could be a good discussion topic for us "oldsters."

GREAT IDEA!

Mike B.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

According to Billboard this week, Sergio got half of his first-week sales on TIMELESS from Starbucks.

 

[Murray]

Sergio fans out there should make an effort to go out there soon and grab a copy. Even if you hate rap, which I generally do, you might find something worthwhile here. And you can impress any young people in your life that YOU might just be as hip as they think THEY are!

I don't think it would impress my niece and nephew at all. She's into Elvis and Josh Groban, and he's into Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. If either of them heard me playing this Sergio disc, they'd think I'd come unhinged!

Now to the album itself... I generally avoid rap like the plague, but I figured that since Sergio was involved, chances were good that it wouldn't be total crap , so I took a chance an bought a copy. I'm listening to the album for the first time as I'm writing this (I'm currently on track 6), and I'm enjoying it a LOT!

Edit: I've heard the whole album now, and my vote goes to "Please Baby Don't". Other favourites are "Mas Que Nada", "Berimbau Consolacao", "The Frog", and "Timeless".

 

[Morten Bjorgan]

I live in Norway. I have loved and bought Sergio Mendes' albums since 1971. I couldn't believe my ears when I one day heard "Fool on the hill", and I ran to the record shop. Since then I have been hooked. Sergio Mendes was one of my real heroes, along with Don Ellis, Gino Vannelli, Steely Dan, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Chick Corea, Hancock, Weather Report.
I have been pleasantly surprised by each new S.Mendes album, and I also loved it when he started making great popmusic albums, like "Brasil '86" and the other commercial pop-albums. I discovered the gigantic Joe Pizzulo by listening to Serigio's albums, I discovered Bruce Swedien, I was impressed by the production quality, the arrangements, the singers, the drummers and other marvellous musicians. I am a musician and songwriter, (drummer and guitarist), I have learnt a lot by listening to Sergio. I don't know how many times I have had great nights listening the wonderful ballads by Barry Mann, but also by listening to the sophisticated and perfect Brazil-pop of Oceano and Brasilio. His recordings of Ivan Lins songs.
Then came the day when there hadn't been a new album in years. Many years. All kinds of teenage popmusic was released, all kinds of ordinary, boring music was in the music stores or to be ordered at Amazon etc.
But no new Sergio Mendes album.
So, I wrote to a guy at the A&M Corner, and was told that Mendes had problems with his record company, and since I know the industry, that meant one thing. That he no longer could produce what he wanted.
Of course his productions were expensive, - music like his isn't made easily.

I dreamed and hoped that he would find motivation and inspiration, and make the most unbelievable album ever, with the best singers and musicians and sound engineers. I dreamed that there would be a record company with enough money and guts to release such an album.
Then I read in "the Corner", that "Timeless" was out. I ordered, with speed delivery, and it took three working days to have it delivered to me in my home town. Impressing.

Well, since I love what he has been doing,since I love good playing, good sound, good vocals, good compositions,
I was very disappointed.
I haven't played the whole album.
If I had programmed those lousy drum tracks, I wouldn't have let them put my name on it.
Where is the singing?
Is it really so, that this album is made to appeal to kids?
It is hard to believe, that the genius Sergio Mendes have joined with the mediocre rap artist with a funny name to make an album like this.
Is it so hard to write good songs? Is it so hard to produce that great sound again, with all its details and transparent sound?

I better find my old Sergio Mendes albums and play them loud and dream on, because they are among the finest albums in history.
And I will keep on hoping that a rich guy will show up, and make possible for Sergio Mendes to produce the ultimate album.

All the best.

morten