Sergio's Singing...

[Brasil6699]

It started with the "Wave" on the Equinox album, continued on Look Around with: "With A Little Help from My Friends", "Tristeza", and "Prá Dizer Adeus"...

But according to Brasilian TV show that helped promote the "Horizonte Aberto" album, he sings "Desenredo".

I think it's his best singing performance by far!

Just curious what other fans thoughts are on his singing over the years...

Should they have kept the microphone away from him? or let him sing!

Just think if "Sometimes in Winter" was only sung by Lani and Karen....

 

[seashorepiano]

I heard him and his '05 set at the Regattabar in Cambridge, Mass., on February 3 and I wasn't particularly impressed with his singing. He seemed to sing almost a half-step beneath the other notes that the rest of the vocalists were trying to carry. I understand that this 'desafinado' vocal style has its appropriate place, but it took away from numbers, such as "Ela e carioca," during the live set I saw. Singing off-key works well in Jobim albums, but Sergio didn't really carry it off in a pleasing way to me.

There is one instance of Sergio's recorded singing on an A&M release that others in the forum can verify. He sang a few bars on the Brasil '66 cover of "The Christmas Song" from the sampler Something Festive.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I'm not sure whether Sergio sang on any of his albums under the aegis of A&M Records.

Uhhhh, then who's that supposed to be doing all those featured lead vocals?

My personal favorite of his leads is the "Desenredo" mentioned above, but I really enjoy quite a few of his vocals on A&M as well, especially the ones on STILLNESS. The only ones I really despise are "When Summer Turns to Snow," "I Know You" and "Pradizer Adeus."

 

[Mike]

When I saw Sergio (and Brasil 2004) perform in Tokyo last year, his vocal contributions were minimal. His voice was deeper than I’d expected, and his occasional singing parts were not unpleasant to listen to. I saw his role on stage to be the leader of the band; the conductor, the arranger, the Man! – Not the singer. Heck, who would want to sing when you’ve got Jessica Taylor, Dawn Bishop, and (when I saw him) Gracinha Leporace to do the singing for you.

 

[seashorepiano]

Uhhhh, then who's that supposed to be doing all those featured lead vocals?

My personal favorite of his leads is the "Desenredo" mentioned above, but I really enjoy quite a few of his vocals on A&M as well, especially the ones on STILLNESS. The only ones I really despise are "When Summer Turns to Snow," "I Know You" and "Pradizer Adeus."

Up until this point, I hadn't known that Sergio had sung on any of his albums. I thought, until now, that I'd read somewhere that he hadn't, but that one of the other men in the group took care of the lead vocals. It seems like my ignorance of this fact has surprised some people here. Forgive me - the lack of credits on his A&M albums didn't really help me distinguish who sang and who didn't.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I guess it doesn't say WHO sings, but then the albums don't say which of the ladies sings on what songs either, so that's led to some good arguments here.

One of the other men deos sing on the PRIMAL ROOTS album. (Can't remember the name right now for the life of me. Laudier Oliveira?)

 

[Mr Bill]

No one would say he's a stellar singer, nor would he get far on American Idol (what tripe that show is), but his voice, like Herb Alpert's, works on certain songs. "Sometime In Winter" is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Great song, great vocal by Sergio. If a "power singer" like a Manilow, Vandross or even Springstone (sp) tried it the song would suffer IMHO.

--Mr Bill
fan of fragile vocals when appropriate to the tune

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I remember the first time I heard "Sometimes in Winter" on Sergio's live album....I was dreading the vocals but they sounded just great.

 

[Harry]

I'm in agreement with those who've mentioned "Sometimes In Winter" and "Desenredo" among Sergio's best vocal turns. I'd add "Iemanja" from PRIMAL ROOTS to that list.

Weren't the male vocals on the earliest album handled by Jose Soares or Bob Matthews?

Harry

 

[Brasil6699]

Crystal Illusions is a great Sergio and Lani song.

 

[Dave]

Well, I guess there are reasons why Sergio hired singers--and female, at that...

None the less, I'd say Sergio "uses his voice as an instrument" at appropriate times... I'm fairly neutral about what Sergio sings and how he sings...

I have other LP's where instrumentalists belt out a fey attempt of adding a voice: Gabor Szabo, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, and even Herb... Not expecting more than just an "extension" of their talents, I'd say "...well, they SING, too..", just as an "addition", as opposed to an "expectation" to base their careers on...

Funny how a session-drummer Grady Tate actually made albums where he SINGS and only on his newest ones, does he also play drums... Guess it depends on how highly one thinks of ones' "extra abilities"...

Dave

...who in school, did "extra-credit" work, but always kept up with my regular assignments...

 

[seashorepiano]

Weren't the male vocals on the earliest album handled by Jose Soares or Bob Matthews?

Those are the exact people I'm thinking of, Harry. I knew there were two fellows, but the names just weren't coming to mind. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I guess the best proof we have that it's actually Sergio on lead vocals is that you can hear the same voice on "Pra Dizer Adeus" as you hear on other Mendes tunes right up through "Sometimes in Winter" -- and the only people who played on both albums are Sergio and Lani!

 

[Chris Martin]

Awwww, gosh, I always thought (in a spirit of redemption) that it was Sergio singing the hot lead on the call-and-response Pombo Gira on P. Roots! If it wasn't the great man, who was it?

 

[JMK]

It's definitely (at least) Sergio on the first 3 albums, though maybe the others joined in on the ensemble, but you can hear his accent, especially on the "Together" part of "Wave." And, yes, Laudir is the only one besides Sergio credited with vocals on Primal, so it's probably him on Pomba Gira, unless there's an uncredited singer.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

To me the only thing Sergio should do with a microphone is introduce the real singers in the band!


Capt. Bacardi

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

It's such a common thing for Brazilian players to chime in on vocals at some point in some way...I think it's a nice effect, and it seems Sergio generally knows the right amount to sing and how to leave the heavy vocal lifting to others..........

JTCW

 

[Cortnee]

Up until this point, I hadn't known that Sergio had sung on any of his albums. I thought, until now, that I'd read somewhere that he hadn't, but that one of the other men in the group took care of the lead vocals. It seems like my ignorance of this fact has surprised some people here. Forgive me - the lack of credits on his A&M albums didn't really help me distinguish who sang and who didn't.

Sergio sings on Where Are You Coming From. Don't you have the YE-ME-LE album? His singing isn't the greatest, but I can't picture him not singing the song. His singing did improve with the Horizonte album. I can't bear his singing on Stillness.

Edited for personal attacks...
I'm sorry you guys, but this post has been misunderstood by whomever edited it. My apologies to those who were somehow offended.I meant no harm whatsoever.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I can't bear his singing on Stillness.

Cortnee, come on now. Are you seriously suggesting that "Where Are You Coming From" is more listenable than "Cancao Do Nosso Amor" or "Sometimes in Winter"?

WAYCF is just a bad song, no matter who sings it. It's one of the Terrible Three songs sung by Sergio -- the other two being "When Summer Turns To Snow" and "I Know You." All three of them bring their respective albums to a grinding halt when they come up.

I agree he's much better on HORIZONTE, and on PRIMAL ROOTS too. He found his range on those two albums.

 

[Cortnee]

Mike, I'm sorry BUT YES I do think that WAYCF is a great song, my favorite part of the song is Dave Grusin's orchestral interlude. When Summer Turns To Snow would sound better if Sergio wasn't singing. I Know You, well I never paid attention to that song anyway. Primal Roots is an album that I haven't listened to in over 10 years. Could I also bring to your attention his IMPROVED singing on Arara, Brasiliero, and Oceano. Sergio's certainly sounds better than he ever did . Sergio will never measure up to Joe, but he's better sounding than his days with B66.

 

[JMK]

Well I'm probably a minority of one, but I actually like Sergio's singing. I guess I'm just used to the non-American Idol technique of most Brasilian singers, male and female: very little vibrato and a tendency to sing on the soft side. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I think When Summer Turns to Snow is a masterpiece, about as close as anyone came to recreating an Art Song (capital letters) in the late 60s. And I think Sergio's soft, rueful interpretation is right on. Where Are You Coming From? is not quite up to that level, but I always liked the arrangement, too. You might find it interesting to hear a completely different (actually up-tempo) arrangement of this by Cynara and Cybele (two-fourths of Quarteto em Cy), on their s/t album (the song is under its original Brasilian name, De onde vens). I do agree that I Know You is pretty lame--Paul Williams, as much as I love his stuff, is simply not the compositional genius that Dave Grusin and Dori Caymmi are.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Cortnee - You won't get any argument from me that his singing has improved a lot. One of my favorite vocals of his Desenredo (I may have spelled it wrong but you get my drift) on the HORIZONTE ABERTO album. I think he just started singing in a bit higher range, probably a bit more of a challenge for him but sounds much better.

 

[Cortnee]

Vocally, Sergio's at his best on Horizonte Aberto, with Milagre being my favorite. Desenredo is great too as many of you have said. On Oceano, Sergio sings a duet with the great Brazilian songtress Simone on Anjo de Mim ( written by Ivan Lins), another song that Sergio sounds good on.

Sometimes In Winter is one of my favorites from Stillness, Sergio sounds okay but of course it's Lani that makes the song exciting in addition to Tom Scott's orchestration and Sergio's piano playing.

Pradizer Adues( To Say Goodbye) , I have mixed feelings about Sergio's singing. I actually enjoy listening to him sing it on The Live At Expo 70,but he's singing too low. His Look Around version is horrible.

Cancao de Nossa Amor, I need an aspirin cause Sergio gives me a migraine headache when he sings that particualr song. My dog leaves the room when I play it.

 

[Mike]

I wonder what Sergio’s reaction would be if he found this thread dedicated to his singing abilities? Perhaps amusement… or, amazement; I bet he doesn’t give his own singing talent much thought at all; probably considers it to be just part of the total package – take it or leave it.

 

[Cortnee]

Brandon, I thank you for starting a thread about Sergio's singing, it's interesting to read about how we feel about it. I personally have mixed feelings while some don't mind his singing at all, and a couple of people may dread his singing. I guess it depends on what song he's singing and what time period he's singing.
Mike, if Sergio were to read this thread, I truly believe that he would be amazed and amused. I feel that we all appreciate Sergio's singing to a certain extent, some more than others. Sergio must enjoy singing, otherwise he wouldn't be singing at all.