🎵 AotW AOTW: Gato Barbieri - TROPICO (SP-4710)

[Captain Bacardi]

Gato Barbieri
TROPICO
A&M SP-4710

Released 1978
Peaked at #6 on the Jazz Album chart and #96 on the Pop Album chart (1978)

Format: Vinyl/8-Track/Cassette/CD

Produced by David Rubinson & Friends, Inc.
Associate Producer: Michelle Barbieri

Songs:

• 1. Poinciana (Song Of The Tree) (Nat Simon/Buddy Bernier) - 7:48
  2. Latin Lady (Gato Barbieri) - 8:25
  3. Odara (Caetano Veloso) - 7:30
  4. She Is Michelle (Gato Barbieri) - 6:13
  5. Where Is The Love (Ralph MacDonald/William Salter) - 4:53
  6. Evil Eyes (Gato Barbieri) - 4:15
  7. Bolero (Ravel) - 7:26
  
  Arranged by Gato Barbieri except (1, 7) arranged by David Rubinson and (5) arranged by Gato Barbieri and David Rubinson.
  English Translation of "Odara": Michelle Barbieri

Musicians:
Gato Barbieri - Tenor Sax
Eddie Watkins - Bass
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler - Drums
Eddie Martinez - Keyboards
John Barnes - Keyboards
Greg Porée - Guitar
Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson - Guitar
Bill Summers - Percussion & Congas
Armando Peraza - Bongos
José "Chepito" Areas - Timbales
Carlos Santana - Guitar (2)
Lani Hall - Vocals (3)
"The Waters" (Oren Waters, Luther Waters, Julia Tillman and Maxine Willard) - Background Vocals

Recorded and Mastered at The Automatt, San Francisco, May, 1978
Engineered by Fred Catero and David Rubinson
Assistant Engineers: Chris Minto and Cheryl Ward
Mastering Engineer: Phil Brown

Orchestra Arranged and Conducted by Dale O. Warren, PhD.
Brass Arranged and Conducted by Eddie Martinez
Copyist - Tony Kaye: Vicki Gray, KVG Enterprises

Cover Design conceived by Michelle Barbieri
Photography - Bill King
Art Direction - Roland Young
Album Design - Chuck Beeson

Special Thanks to Carlos Santana for playing such magic on "Latin Lady".
Thank You Lani Hall for singing on "Odara".

"Tropico" is where dreams live. It is the light that explodes within me, fills me with tenderness, warmth and sensuality. It is the sweet rhythm of the imagination, where I turn my fantasies into poetry and poetry into music. Thanks to all our friends, the true ones, the forever ones.
Gato



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Harry]

This was my first sampling of Gato Barbieri - done so because of Lani Hall's contribution. When learning of her vocal turn on "Odara" sometime in the mid-to-late '90s, I searched the bins in the used-record stores, and turned up a fairly good copy for a buck or three or four, and proudly added it to my collection. I enjoyed Lani's effort - not her best, but enjoyable nonetheless - probably because it had been over a decade since I'd heard anything "new" from her.

Later I picked up the CD version that A&M released, and was surprised at two things. One, the cover was a little different, adding the word TROPICO in a large font across the top of the cover. Also the track listing was modified to split up the former "Odara" into two tracks: "Adoro" and "Odara", with the former credited to Gato Barbieri and the latter by Caetano Veloso (though misspelled with an "a" on the end of his last name). The two tracks sonically ran together just like the album, but were separated, I suppose, to give credit to Gato for composing the opening 1:24 of the former marathon single track of 7:30.

Harry

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Nauseating.

That's the first thing that pops into my mind when I put this album on. Apparently, producer David Rubinson's strategy for Gato was to make his music disco-friendly for the most part, and it's a miserable effort. Just listening to the vocals on "Poinciana" - which is actually a well-written tune and performed admirably by Ahmed Jamal on his album - makes me want to get barfin'. I mean, c'mon - "Do it, do it, do it, do it"??? This is how low Gato sank back then. There are other songs almost as bad, such as "Where Is The Love" and the trivial version of Ravel's "Bolero" (obviously trying to capitalize on the movie "10" at the time).

There are a couple of album-saving songs, such as "Latin Lady" featuring Carlos Santana, and "Odara" with Lani Hall. Both of these songs get Gato a bit back into the Latin grooves that he is more accustomed to being in. But the rest of the album is pure fluff. 2 stars.





Capt. Bacardi

 

[Dave]

Interesting for the Lani Hall appearance and fine for the Carlos Santana "guest appearance" collectors, but, true this seems to be an unfair shift into Muzak territory, enough to pigeonhole Gato Barbieri into being too light when he heretofore on record has always been a much more heavier player... Perhaps he and producer David Rubinson were trying (too HARD?) for a more romantic vein...

It is a good mood music piece, but the compositions and arrangements seem woefully out of character, especially the over-use of the Waters family backing vocals and despite Wah-Wah Watson's wah-wah guitar work... --Yes, others preferred...

THREE-Stars, as I admit there are times an album like this, complete with the Champagne, Incense and Candles, really sets the mood...



Dave

 

[toeknee4bz]

Nauseating.

That's the first thing that pops into my mind when I put this album on. Apparently, producer David Rubinson's strategy for Gato was to make his music disco-friendly for the most part, and it's a miserable effort. Just listening to the vocals on "Poinciana" - which is actually a well-written tune and performed admirably by Ahmed Jamal on his album - makes me want to get barfin'. I mean, c'mon - "Do it, do it, do it, do it"??? This is how low Gato sank back then.


Capt. Bacardi

I couldn't have said it better myself. I first bought Gato's EUPHORIA LP (which is a rare find in ANY format), then CALIENTE! (an even better album) and RUBY, RUBY (which was also respectable).
However, when I got hold of TROPICO, I thought that A&M put the wrong vinyl in the sleeve. I won't repeat the question that ran through my head, but I am sure you could probably imagine...

At one point, I must admit that I was trying to like something about the album (in the mid '80s I was a bit less critical than I am today). I took an old-style (spring-activated) cassette recorder and recorded "Poinciana", sans the whole "We love makin' you dance to it" line over and over, and essentially created my own edit of the song. Actually I think I did a pretty slick job, but it got lost in the shuffle of moving around,etc. Now, some 20+ years later, I just don't even bother. It's a forgettable album in my view, and probably the worst of Gato's A&M albums. I think I enjoyed CONFLUENCE (on Arista Records) more than TROPICO. At least you can laugh at CONFLUENCE!

EUPHORIA, however, is one I'd definitely like to hear on CD, although at this point it's probably another Herb Alpert: BEYOND situation.

Tony

 

[Captain Bacardi]

"Euphoria", however, is one I'd definitely like to hear on CD,

Ewww. I thought Euphoria was far worse than Tropico. I stopped listening to Gato for a couple of years after that stinker. I think by that time I had tired of the way some jazz artists were made to put out pop-dance albums. Maynard Ferguson, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Mann, Crusaders, Billy Cobham and on and on...



Capt. Bacardi

 

[seashorepiano]

I got Gato's Finest Hour CD on Verve, and I'm hard pressed for a reason to get any more of his recordings.

 

[toeknee4bz]

EUPHORIA, however, is one I'd definitely like to hear on CD,

Ewww. I thought Euphoria was far worse than Tropico. I stopped listening to Gato for a couple of years after that stinker.



Capt. Bacardi

As the saying goes, "To each his own..."

I was first introduced to Gato through Jacksonville TV News using the fanfare of "Theme From Firepower", arguably Gato's second most popular track (seecond only to "Europa" from CALIENTE). A year or so later I was listening to a soon-to-be defunct jazz station who announced the title, and the rest is history for me. I then went out of my way to explore Gato's music, esp. the A&M years. Keep in mind, too, that even though you may not care for EUPHORIA, you must admit that the absence of cheesy vocals (a-la TROPICO's "Poinciana") are a welcome departure stylistically.

Had it not been for EUPHORIA, I might not have heard of Gato Barbieri until some time in 1996, when his Columbia comeback album QUE PASA was released.

Tony