Waters of March
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Similar in content, different in rhythm and sound. The Vintage '74 version was, I'm sure, influenced by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The whistling, upbeat rhythm was later replaced with a synthesized, driving sound. Gracinha and Bonnie gave the song a sweet sound. Marietta Waters and Carol Rogers give it a little more harmony, Marietta being the lead vocalist on the track.
In other words, the version on Vintage '74 is fast and sweet-more in line with Tom Jobim's original arrangement. Brasil '88 presents us with a more sophisticated reading of the song. And, as with Vintage '74, the lyrics are sung in English.
Interesting sidenote: During the Vintage '74 tour, Gracinha and Bonnie sung The Waters Of March in English. In '78, Marietta and Carol sung both Portuguese and English, going back and forth between the two.
Brasil Nut
In other words, the version on Vintage '74 is fast and sweet-more in line with Tom Jobim's original arrangement. Brasil '88 presents us with a more sophisticated reading of the song. And, as with Vintage '74, the lyrics are sung in English.
Interesting sidenote: During the Vintage '74 tour, Gracinha and Bonnie sung The Waters Of March in English. In '78, Marietta and Carol sung both Portuguese and English, going back and forth between the two.
Brasil Nut
The major difference to me is the orchestration. Grusin's original (on Vintage '74) is "vintage" Mendes--lots of clustered flutes and clarinets, with dashes of percussive color, the sound perfected on such FOTH tracks as "Scarborough Fair." Re: Bonnie & Gracinha singing, one of my favorite funny memories of Sergio is the night they did this song on the Tonight Show and Bonnie went COMPLETELY up on the lyric--it was kind of like Madeleine Kahn's lounge singer in "High Anxiety" who can never remember "La Vie en Rose" and just keeps "la-la-la-ing" through it. Bonnie's frozen smile is forever etched on my memory. There ARE one heck of a lot of words to that tune--I've had singers absolutely refuse to perform it without a lyric sheet in front of them for that very reason.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I never have understood the perennial appeal of this song. To me it's repetitious, and well, kinda boring. I thought Sergio's crew did a fine job on it in '74, and never could understand why he recorded it AGAIN. Diff-rent strokes, I guess. 
I've found that two Jobim songs--"Waters of March" and "Sabia"--tend to split people into either "it's repetitious and stupid" or "it's incredibly profound and sublime" camps. It's of course in the ear of the beholder. Jobim did write the tune for "Waters" as a "dummy" (i.e., temporary "holding" tune) to help craft the lyric, but ended up liking it so much, he kept it. One of the most famous "dummy" tunes of all time is "Tea for Two."
I like "Waters Of March"...first heard it on a 70's-era Getz/Gilberto album Best Of Two Worlds. But it's like any song. There are versions I like, and others I can't stand, like that version with Jobim and Elis Regina, whose adolescent growling turns me off every time.
"Sabia" I only recently discovered via Sinatra's version, and don't really care for the melody line of it. But I'm told it's better on Stone Flower, which I still have yet to purchase.
Whenever I think of a set of Jobim tunes I don't care for, I always gravitate back to the Tide album. The title track is a noodly version of "Wave", and the rest of this short album just seems uninspired and/or unfinished. "Tema Jazz" was what sold me on the album, but unfortunately is the only track I really like from it.
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"Sabia" I only recently discovered via Sinatra's version, and don't really care for the melody line of it. But I'm told it's better on Stone Flower, which I still have yet to purchase.
Whenever I think of a set of Jobim tunes I don't care for, I always gravitate back to the Tide album. The title track is a noodly version of "Wave", and the rest of this short album just seems uninspired and/or unfinished. "Tema Jazz" was what sold me on the album, but unfortunately is the only track I really like from it.
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I haven't heard all that much Jobim, but I love the version of "Stone Flower" that's on Santana's CARAVANSERAI album.
Some of A.C. Jobim's songs are an acquired taste. In my case, easily acquired. In addition to his being one of the greatest contemporary composers, he's had a share of his own albums out there. His own recordings often lean toward the lush side. Witness the Warner Composer Series CD under his name, which is heavy with strings. He has an album on Verve that I'm also fond of, which is another one with a "Classic Verve" sound to it, with some instrumental accompaniment with it. Some of the A&M/CTi tracks have more of a lean sound to them...still with strings, but not overbearing as on those ghastly Wes Montgomery CTi "fake baroque" tracks.
I haven't listened to much Jobim beyond the 60's, though. I had a later CD called Passarim that really didn't do much for me.
He's also good when paired up with others. The Sinatra sides were a highlight of both performers' careers. Even though I felt Sinatra, in his Reprise years, was too overbearing and "Vegas-ey", his renditions of songs on the Jobim tracks show a lot of thoughtful restraint...this is one that even non-Sinatra fans would like. There's another duet album, Edu & Tom (with Edu Lobo) that I'm fond of. Jobim was also fond of Michael Franks, and I know they'd written a few tunes together. (One of these, I believe, appears on Franks' Abandoned Garden CD from a few years ago.)
In short, I like his music. As a composer, for some of the most memorable music of the 60's and beyond. And it's even a treat to hear O Maestro doing his own music.
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In addition to his being one of the greatest contemporary composers, he's had a share of his own albums out there. His own recordings often lean toward the lush side. Witness the Warner Composer Series CD under his name, which is heavy with strings. He has an album on Verve that I'm also fond of, which is another one with a "Classic Verve" sound to it, with some instrumental accompaniment with it. Some of the A&M/CTi tracks have more of a lean sound to them...still with strings, but not overbearing as on those ghastly Wes Montgomery CTi "fake baroque" tracks.I haven't listened to much Jobim beyond the 60's, though. I had a later CD called Passarim that really didn't do much for me.
He's also good when paired up with others. The Sinatra sides were a highlight of both performers' careers. Even though I felt Sinatra, in his Reprise years, was too overbearing and "Vegas-ey", his renditions of songs on the Jobim tracks show a lot of thoughtful restraint...this is one that even non-Sinatra fans would like. There's another duet album, Edu & Tom (with Edu Lobo) that I'm fond of. Jobim was also fond of Michael Franks, and I know they'd written a few tunes together. (One of these, I believe, appears on Franks' Abandoned Garden CD from a few years ago.)
In short, I like his music. As a composer, for some of the most memorable music of the 60's and beyond. And it's even a treat to hear O Maestro doing his own music.
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Take another listen to Passarim if you still have it. This is a noteable recording for several reasons--it's the last commercially released recording he did before his death (Antonio Brasileiro was released posthumously), and it features not only several members of his extended family, but the Caymmi's as well. Danilo (Dori's brother) is represented with a really haunting version of "Brasil Nativo," which Lani of course covered and named her album after several years later. "Passarim" (the song) is another one of those that may seem trivial without listening deeply, especially to the lyric--and if you understand Portuguese, the original version gives greater insight into what Jobim was attempting with that song. I have all of Jobim's recordings, including the ones only released in Brasil, and I can honestly say there's something to cherish about every one of them.
jvorzimmer
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The first time I ever heard the song was on Art Garfunkel's Breakway album and fell in love with it. Later, when I heard Jobim's original I fell in love with it all over again.
Another great version of it is sung by Al Jarreau on the tribute album A Twist of Jobim.
Another great version of it is sung by Al Jarreau on the tribute album A Twist of Jobim.
Mike Blakesley said:Maybe I'm missing something, but I never have understood the perennial appeal of this song. To me it's repetitious, and well, kinda boring. I thought Sergio's crew did a fine job on it in '74, and never could understand why he recorded it AGAIN. Diff-rent strokes, I guess.
This song has grown on me over the years. I can understand why some might see it as boring... musically it's was really very basic in its original form (Jobim first recorded it as a single on a record referred to as the "Disco de Bolso", or "pocket record"). Of course it was the lyric that was most important on this piece, a poem about the renewal of life with the coming of Spring. Still, as with many of Jobim's works, he added new colors and new voices to his arrangements of it as time passed. By the time he recorded it with his "Nova Banda" of the late 80's (which included the voice of Paula Morelenbaum, and her husband Jacques on cello), it had taken on a whole new depth and character. I guess this is the sort of tune that needs to be "understood", and really benefits from being "fleshed out"... not unlike One Note Samba.
The first time I heard it was on the Best Of Two Worlds album by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. The instrumentation is so spare on that track, the lyrics are about all that you can pay attention to. I'd always thought they were interesting by themselves, very visual.
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I agree about the imagery of those lyrics, Rudy. For those who may not be aware of it, there are both portuguese and english versions on Jobim's album "Matita Pere" (simply titled "Jobim" on Verve's U.S. release) from '72.
BTW, I meant to say in my previous post that I find it interesting that you don't care for the version on "Elis & Tom"... I think that may be my all-time favorite version. To me, Elis' "growling" is pure fun, as she is doing that to keep herself from busting out laughing (as she was wont to do on many occasions). You can hear her singing through a grin even before she reaches the point where she "grits her teeth" and keeps herself breathing through the moment. Maybe it comes across to some as unprofessional, but to me it's just a sheer demonstration of joy, a spontaneous "outtake that was too charming to take out". There was something about performing that song with Jobim that activated her laugh reflex. I've seen a videotape of the two of them performing the song for Brazilian TV, and she had to hold herself together on that occasion as well.
BTW, I meant to say in my previous post that I find it interesting that you don't care for the version on "Elis & Tom"... I think that may be my all-time favorite version.
To me, Elis' "growling" is pure fun, as she is doing that to keep herself from busting out laughing (as she was wont to do on many occasions). You can hear her singing through a grin even before she reaches the point where she "grits her teeth" and keeps herself breathing through the moment. Maybe it comes across to some as unprofessional, but to me it's just a sheer demonstration of joy, a spontaneous "outtake that was too charming to take out". There was something about performing that song with Jobim that activated her laugh reflex. I've seen a videotape of the two of them performing the song for Brazilian TV, and she had to hold herself together on that occasion as well.snapcrotch
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I agree with Jim R. completely. Elis and Tom's recording is so disarming. The laughter that Elis can barely suppress conveys the 'joie de vivre' of the moment shared by these two legends.
I feel sorry for those who insist on nothing less than a clean, unfettered take. I'll take this 'moment' any day.
I feel sorry for those who insist on nothing less than a clean, unfettered take. I'll take this 'moment' any day.
TulitaPepsi
Well-Known Member
I find the Elis/Jobin version annoying and distracting, myself - to my ears the air of "Oh, we're having such a fun time recording this silly little song!" is completely forced and tiresome.
Even though I like the song a lot, I'm amazed how many of the versions seem to 'miss' - I find the Jobim solo original quite the best, with his almost monotone singing voice combined with the steady rhythm to be very soothing and almost hypnotic in its gentle power. Other versions (Billy Stritch, Lani and the Brasil '88 one) tend towards a lumpy literalism with over-enunciation of the words that break up the rhythm (though it doesn't help that these versions are all sung in English rather than the more mellifluous Portugese). One of the finest versions IMHO is Basias' which though sung in English, gets the rhythm and special 'flow' of the song just right.
Even though I like the song a lot, I'm amazed how many of the versions seem to 'miss' - I find the Jobim solo original quite the best, with his almost monotone singing voice combined with the steady rhythm to be very soothing and almost hypnotic in its gentle power. Other versions (Billy Stritch, Lani and the Brasil '88 one) tend towards a lumpy literalism with over-enunciation of the words that break up the rhythm (though it doesn't help that these versions are all sung in English rather than the more mellifluous Portugese). One of the finest versions IMHO is Basias' which though sung in English, gets the rhythm and special 'flow' of the song just right.
MasterLcZ said:
It was like fingernails on a blackboard the first time I heard it. Tiresome, indeed--I get tired of lunging for the "skip" button on the CD player.
Even the musical arrangement, to me, is too cutesy-pie in the middle.MasterLcZ said:
"Flow" was a good word to describe it--this is more like a stream of thoughts that lead to another. Which, of course, alludes back to the idea of, "And the riverbank talks of the waters of March...". Works on a more subtle level for me, especially with minimal instrumentation.
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