AOTW: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77 HOME COOKING

[Harry]

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77
HOME COOKING
Elektra 7E-1055

Available on RCA CD from Brazil and Collectables CD from the US.

Tracks:

Side One:
[1] SUNNY DAY (Michael Sembello and Hank Redd) 3:09
[2] HEY PEOPLE, HEY (Gilberto Gil) 3:24
[3] IT'S SO OBVIOUS THAT I LOVE YOU (Carlos and Kathy Lyra) 3:17
[4] EMORIO (Gilberto Gil/J.Donato) 3:11
[5] SHAKARA (Louis Johnson) 2:48

Side Two:
[1] WHERE TO NOW ST. PETER (Bernie Taupin and Elton John) 4:16
[2] CUT THAT OUT (Gilberto Gil) 3:04
[3] TELL ME IN A WHISPER (Edgar Winter and Dan Hartman) 3:17
[4] IT'S UP TO YOU (Michael Sembello) 3:40
[5] HOME COOKING (Sergio Mendes, Chuck Rainey and Kathy Lyra) 4:17

Produced & Arranged by: SERGIO MENDES for Serrich Productions
Assistant Producer: Oscar Castro Neves

Vocalists: Bonnie Bowden Amaro, Marietta Waters, Lise Miller
Uncredited Vocalist: Gracinha Leporace on "Emorio"
Musicians: Oscar Castro Neves, guitar; Gilberto Gil, guitar; Paulinho da Costa, percussion; Claudio Slon, percussion; Hermeto Pascoal, flute, Hammond organ; Raul de Souza. trombone; Don Menza, tenor sax; Frank Rosolino, trombone; Oscar Brashear, trumpet; Ray Maldonado, trumpet; Louis Johnson, bass; Chuck Rainey, bass; Micael Sembello, guitar; Dennis Budimir, guitar; Hank Redd, alto sax; Harvey Mason, Sr., drums; Dave Grusin, piano on "Shakara"; Sergio Mendes, synthesizers, acoustic piano, keyboards and percussion.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

This one marked the return of a few things: The Brasil '77 name, which had been missing on his previous album; Gracinha Leporace, who didn't appear on the last album; Brazilian music, which isn't exactly in the majority here but at least makes an appearance; and the notation "produced and arranged by Sergio Mendes for Serrich Productions," which marked the first time since he left A&M that he didn't have some outside hired-guns helping with the producing and arranging.

In my opinion the Elektra and Bell albums are the ones where Sergio's music sounds the most "dated." I blame the proliferation of synthesizers; he pushed the acoustic piano to the background and let synths rule the day on a lot of the tracks here.

The other weakness here is the lyrics on the original songs. Comparing the lyrics of any of the Brasil '66 originals to the ones here is like comparing night and day.

Having said all that, there are some great hooks to be found here. My favorite songs are "Sunny Day" and "Homecooking" which are both insanely catchy. "Where To Now St. Peter" is kind of a surprising inclusion -- but lots of people were covering Elton John's tunes around this time (including Lani Hall who did a few of his songs on the SUN DOWN LADY album).

"Shakara" is a nice instrumental, and "Emorio" sounds like something from the YE-ME-LE era.

Overall, while it's vastly better than the preceding (self-titled) Elektra album, HOMECOOKING is definitely not one of my "go-to" albums from Sergio but it has its high points.

 

[JMK]

This was a breath of fresh air for me when I bought it. I of course bought every Sergio album as it came out, but it had been a bit of a slog through the Bell albums and the first Elektra album. I remember sitting listening to that opening of "Sunny Day" and thinking the magic was back. Sergio just seemed happier and it came through loud and clear in the music (I don't think it's any coincidence he chose the lyric in Hey, People, Hey--"too long it took you to be happy again"). This is probably my all around fave album from the Elektra years.

I posted this before, but a few years ago when I was gigging with some jazz heavyweights for a jazz series here, a Berklee grad heard me listening to the CD and said this was a much played album at Berklee in 1976. Evidently everyone loved the horn arrangements.

 

[richard_sloat]

(I don't think it's any coincidence he chose the lyric in Hey, People, Hey--"too long it took you to be happy again").

I was curious and searched this song by Gilberto Gil, his original lyrics translate into quite closely that, perhaps it is more appropriate to say that Mr. Mendes chose the song instead of the lyrics?

 

[Dave]

The Sergio Mendes magical musical making machine comes back to life, but these are strange choices of songs (aside from what "original" compositions this contains)...

The Elton John cover ("Where To Now, St. Peter") is at least an OK one, (it could have made it to the first Elektra effort, or had been left-over from one of the sessions for Bell) this is one of the few groups to ever do a remake of a Brothers Johnson song ("Shakara") and Edgar Winter Group ("Tell Me In A Whisper")...

The real hooks on this "period piece" are "Sunny Day" and "Home Cooking" (of which I'm relieved that it WAS "Homecooking" I voted for), otherwise, there is a general search for direction, seeking new techniques and grasping onto better compositions and how to arrange & carry them out, that appears to be more confident and self-assured than the other recent efforts have proven...

Still, with the little input by Sergio, which gives the impression of minor involvement, and getting the band to carry out the effort, the album is projected in a much more direct and sincere manner... Owed mostly to Mendes finally credited as producer, and self-produced as in finally more Brasilian and truer to its roots, enough that this album evokes the more authenticity of the older works, though still trapped in a '70's-setting and having to overcome what obstacles are needed to communicate to their audience, much like them still rooted in their golden decade in the '60's, hence buried a never-ending search to update their signature sound...


Dave

 

[Harry]

I just added credits for the album, having been unable to find them in the original LP I have. My LP seems to have writing on the outer cover, and there are no liner notes. Perhaps there were originally liner notes on the innersleeve? My innersleeve is plain white.

This must have been an album I picked up used, although I have no real recollection of the event at all. My only memory of this album from original times is that I'd grabbed a couple of singles from the radio station ("Emorio" and "Sunny Day" I think), but I didn't own the album until years later.

As such, it's not a favorite for me as I've never warmed up to it and have no memories or nostalgia for it. Nevertheless, I seem to own both the Brazilian RCA issue and the Collectors Choice issue on CD. Did we ever do a shootout to determine if these CDs sound the same or one better than the other?

Harry

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Harry - the original album cover was a nice gatefold. The song titles were "hand written" on the back cover and the inside had full lyrics and credits also "hand written." The LP you have sounds like a single-fold jacket, eh?

The LP credits have a list of all the various keyboards and synths played by Sergio on the album, which is what led to my comment above about the "proliferation" of various keyboards.

 

[Harry]

Stupid me. No, the LP I have is indeed a gatefold, and I mistook the liner notes for more lyrics. I guess I just never looked at it all that closely.

I know I must have bought it used, perhaps even on eBay, from Dusty Groove or from a local used vinyl shop. This LP has the word "brey" or "frey" written on the door of the right red cabinet.

Harry

The hand-printed font makes it less inviting to read, too.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I thought maybe you had a later "bargain-priced" pressing where they did away with the gatefold.

I have 3 copies of Elton John's GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD album: One with the full 3-panel gatefold (like the Carpenters NOW & THEN album), one where they just chopped off the third panel (and a third of the lyrics in the process), and one single-sleeve version with the two records crammed into it.