JOv2
Well-Known Member
Equinox – Critique and Discussion.
Given the attainment of unique notoriety – courtesy of Mas, Que Nada! – a career-affirming decision had to be made regarding group direction. Herb had the similar fork-in-the-road choice following his Lonely Bull 45: “How to convince the record-buying public that I am not a one-hit novelty act”. Of course, Herb had the built-in advantage in that his “novelty” was exempt from the virtues of the foreign language death-knell stamp. Simply put: establishing a career as a foreign-language act is not recommended for sustained pop market success. Therefore, Sergio and Herb had to design a follow-up LP that, while consistent with the attractive virtues of the debute, had to distance itself from the “ethnic” element – thus vehemently demonstrating that Brasil ’66 was not a foreign language “novelty” act.
Herb, being a successful veteran of such a situation, was the timely and choice ally. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Equinox, released in early ’67, was designed to appeal to a larger pool of pop listeners. Not that the LP is Tijuana Brass-, or Baja Marimba Band-influenced – far from it; yet, the presence of John Pisano’s guitar and the reduction of overt Portuguese verbiage brings the LP into a more conventional Ameri-pop mode. In fact, Equinox comes off as the tamer first cousin to the rousing debute. Where Joao’s unique fiery tom-tom fills characterized the first LP, there’s nary a drum kit explosion on the follow-up. Other distinctions abound as well: the first LP sounds as if it was recorded in one session (indeed, it would make one hell of a night club set), while Equinox is a slightly more produced work. The LP was more likely recorded over a few days or weeks. To my ears, Pisano is definitely sitting in with the group – I’m sure Mendes would veto any Herb decision to overdub his parts for the sake of quality control issues. On the other hand, obvious overdubs include an organ part and a drop-in trombone solo. The vocals are much smoother than on the first LP, suggesting most vocals were separately recorded. Am still not sure how Janis figures into the group. It’s clear that Lani is the lead voice on every song – the unison singing she does is clearly double tracked. As with the first LP, there are no female harmony vocals present. Is then, Janis, the female voice in the ensemble passages?
There are only two “real” Portuguese offerings on the LP – half the amount of the debute. Material selection and arrangement is consistent with the A-1 quality of the debute – however, a couple of tunes approach “throwaway” status if only for their obvious quick assemblage. (Not that “throwaway” is necessarily a bad thing: it’s just that, “time” and “quality” generally enjoy a proportional relationship.) The normal assumption here is that none of the Brazilian songs were debuted on this LP – though all may be US debuts. To date, no songwriting group member or consignment writer has been established.
One thing I have to say – they are a very good looking group… and get my vote for the best looking band of the ‘60s. The two women are (expectantly) attractive; however, Bob, Joao, and Jose are all strikingly handsome – appearing as though they could be doubling as models at Austins’ of London: Joao’s 1965/66 mod Beatlesque hairstyle must have made him quite distinct as a Brazilian in America, while Bob looks as though he could be a screen actor ready for any assortment of trendy ‘60s spy flicks; and Jose…well, he has “latin lover” written all over.
Constant Rain. Keeping with the spirit of the first LP, a Jorge Ben offering kicks off this session – albeit in English this time, and lacking the obvious Mas, Que Nada! inferno. Perhaps as a slight pandering to US audiences, we get a clip/clop back beat – arguably the song’s percussive hook. (One would expect such an embellishment to be easily propelled by the tiniest of then-hip and trendsetting transistor AM radios.) That’s a sitar “string” being played along site a harpsichord; notable, too, is the alternating phrasing – between 8th notes and quarter note triplets – during the constant is the rain | endless is the pain fragments. As with the first LP, Bob Matthews drops in all sorts of wonderful subtle transitions that propel the song through its many twists and turns.
Cinnamon And Clove. Joao’s 8/8 ride gives this Bergman-Bergman piece a nice flight – which is only heightened by the unison/octave singing – kinda becoming a group trademark at this time. The piece is notable for its attractive ascending-descending lines; well positioned into the all-important the side 1 / #2 slot.
Watch What Happens. With this song, it’s becoming apparent that Lani’s voice IS the voice of Brasil ‘66. Throughout Equinox she’s mixed a bit more up relative to the debute LP; and Watch What Happens is clearly her vocal vehicle. This was a popular song at the time – I’m not sure who made it a hit, but this arrangement is the most memorable I can recall. Dig those piano triplets during Lani’s last solo lines prior to the group riding the song out. Notice, too, the arrangement alteration at the fade (– thus incorporating the fade into the arrangement…a seldom-used technique).
For Me. Little can be written about Edu Lobo’s beautiful song or Sergio’s exquisite arrangement. Like Berimbau, this is music at its finest hour. (Rewards like this make it all worth while.) A+
Bim-Bom. Back in the LP days, the side 1 closer and side 2 opener positions were major considerations for LP sequencing. This cute little ditty is underwhelming for sure; however, to be fair, anything would be a comedown after For Me.
Night And Day. Herb may have suggested this to Sergio. Personally, I don’t like it much – too MOR. I mean, it’s cool to do something like this, I suppose, but if this LP was wall-to-walled like this, I’d not own it.
Triste. The decision to push the English content on the follow-up resulted in having to wait until the 7th of 10 songs to get something in Portuguese! Of course, it was worth the wait. It’s interesting that the male voices dominate – if only during the group passages. Sergio treats us to another scored fade out.
Gente. Yea! More Portuguese! I guess the adage “leave ‘em wantin’ more” was what Sergio was after.
Wave. This may be the debute of Tom Jobim’s soon-to-be famous song. (Jobim himself would cut it MAY-JUN67.) Sergio gives us his first vocal solo. Truly a wonderful song – but I’ll take the writer’s version.
So Danco Samba. A letdown, this throwaway is pleasant enough – but with side 2 clocking in at under 12 minutes one would have expected heightened quality.
The problem with gaining notoriety via singing in a “different” language is obvious – the novelty factor. It’s doubtful any pop artist is going to build a continuous hit-charting US-pop career by issuing records in foreign languages. Topically speaking, a quick survey of A&M releases – SP-4112 [late ‘65] to SP-4124 [mid-67] – suggests an international flair as the nearly two-year span resulted in every LP containing one of the following “ethnic” words: Tijuana, Baja, Montez, Longet, Guantanamara, or Brasil. As quick as Mas, Que Nada! propelled the group into the spotlight, they had to strategically distance themselves from being a “foreign act”; thus walking a tightrope between US/English and Brazilian/Portuguese worlds. In one way, success is somewhat guaranteed in that the formula is obvious; on the other hand, if the formula doesn’t sell – it’s back to Rio (and Chicago). Under Herb’s wise guidance, Equinox was a more English-friendly and tame LP relative to its predecessor. Although the LP was solid, the absence of knock-your-socks-off material and arrangements – largely on side 2 – may have left a few critical listeners on an indecisive note.
Given the attainment of unique notoriety – courtesy of Mas, Que Nada! – a career-affirming decision had to be made regarding group direction. Herb had the similar fork-in-the-road choice following his Lonely Bull 45: “How to convince the record-buying public that I am not a one-hit novelty act”. Of course, Herb had the built-in advantage in that his “novelty” was exempt from the virtues of the foreign language death-knell stamp. Simply put: establishing a career as a foreign-language act is not recommended for sustained pop market success. Therefore, Sergio and Herb had to design a follow-up LP that, while consistent with the attractive virtues of the debute, had to distance itself from the “ethnic” element – thus vehemently demonstrating that Brasil ’66 was not a foreign language “novelty” act.
Herb, being a successful veteran of such a situation, was the timely and choice ally. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Equinox, released in early ’67, was designed to appeal to a larger pool of pop listeners. Not that the LP is Tijuana Brass-, or Baja Marimba Band-influenced – far from it; yet, the presence of John Pisano’s guitar and the reduction of overt Portuguese verbiage brings the LP into a more conventional Ameri-pop mode. In fact, Equinox comes off as the tamer first cousin to the rousing debute. Where Joao’s unique fiery tom-tom fills characterized the first LP, there’s nary a drum kit explosion on the follow-up. Other distinctions abound as well: the first LP sounds as if it was recorded in one session (indeed, it would make one hell of a night club set), while Equinox is a slightly more produced work. The LP was more likely recorded over a few days or weeks. To my ears, Pisano is definitely sitting in with the group – I’m sure Mendes would veto any Herb decision to overdub his parts for the sake of quality control issues. On the other hand, obvious overdubs include an organ part and a drop-in trombone solo. The vocals are much smoother than on the first LP, suggesting most vocals were separately recorded. Am still not sure how Janis figures into the group. It’s clear that Lani is the lead voice on every song – the unison singing she does is clearly double tracked. As with the first LP, there are no female harmony vocals present. Is then, Janis, the female voice in the ensemble passages?
There are only two “real” Portuguese offerings on the LP – half the amount of the debute. Material selection and arrangement is consistent with the A-1 quality of the debute – however, a couple of tunes approach “throwaway” status if only for their obvious quick assemblage. (Not that “throwaway” is necessarily a bad thing: it’s just that, “time” and “quality” generally enjoy a proportional relationship.) The normal assumption here is that none of the Brazilian songs were debuted on this LP – though all may be US debuts. To date, no songwriting group member or consignment writer has been established.
One thing I have to say – they are a very good looking group… and get my vote for the best looking band of the ‘60s. The two women are (expectantly) attractive; however, Bob, Joao, and Jose are all strikingly handsome – appearing as though they could be doubling as models at Austins’ of London: Joao’s 1965/66 mod Beatlesque hairstyle must have made him quite distinct as a Brazilian in America, while Bob looks as though he could be a screen actor ready for any assortment of trendy ‘60s spy flicks; and Jose…well, he has “latin lover” written all over.
Constant Rain. Keeping with the spirit of the first LP, a Jorge Ben offering kicks off this session – albeit in English this time, and lacking the obvious Mas, Que Nada! inferno. Perhaps as a slight pandering to US audiences, we get a clip/clop back beat – arguably the song’s percussive hook. (One would expect such an embellishment to be easily propelled by the tiniest of then-hip and trendsetting transistor AM radios.) That’s a sitar “string” being played along site a harpsichord; notable, too, is the alternating phrasing – between 8th notes and quarter note triplets – during the constant is the rain | endless is the pain fragments. As with the first LP, Bob Matthews drops in all sorts of wonderful subtle transitions that propel the song through its many twists and turns.
Cinnamon And Clove. Joao’s 8/8 ride gives this Bergman-Bergman piece a nice flight – which is only heightened by the unison/octave singing – kinda becoming a group trademark at this time. The piece is notable for its attractive ascending-descending lines; well positioned into the all-important the side 1 / #2 slot.
Watch What Happens. With this song, it’s becoming apparent that Lani’s voice IS the voice of Brasil ‘66. Throughout Equinox she’s mixed a bit more up relative to the debute LP; and Watch What Happens is clearly her vocal vehicle. This was a popular song at the time – I’m not sure who made it a hit, but this arrangement is the most memorable I can recall. Dig those piano triplets during Lani’s last solo lines prior to the group riding the song out. Notice, too, the arrangement alteration at the fade (– thus incorporating the fade into the arrangement…a seldom-used technique).
For Me. Little can be written about Edu Lobo’s beautiful song or Sergio’s exquisite arrangement. Like Berimbau, this is music at its finest hour. (Rewards like this make it all worth while.) A+
Bim-Bom. Back in the LP days, the side 1 closer and side 2 opener positions were major considerations for LP sequencing. This cute little ditty is underwhelming for sure; however, to be fair, anything would be a comedown after For Me.
Night And Day. Herb may have suggested this to Sergio. Personally, I don’t like it much – too MOR. I mean, it’s cool to do something like this, I suppose, but if this LP was wall-to-walled like this, I’d not own it.
Triste. The decision to push the English content on the follow-up resulted in having to wait until the 7th of 10 songs to get something in Portuguese! Of course, it was worth the wait. It’s interesting that the male voices dominate – if only during the group passages. Sergio treats us to another scored fade out.
Gente. Yea! More Portuguese! I guess the adage “leave ‘em wantin’ more” was what Sergio was after.
Wave. This may be the debute of Tom Jobim’s soon-to-be famous song. (Jobim himself would cut it MAY-JUN67.) Sergio gives us his first vocal solo. Truly a wonderful song – but I’ll take the writer’s version.
So Danco Samba. A letdown, this throwaway is pleasant enough – but with side 2 clocking in at under 12 minutes one would have expected heightened quality.
The problem with gaining notoriety via singing in a “different” language is obvious – the novelty factor. It’s doubtful any pop artist is going to build a continuous hit-charting US-pop career by issuing records in foreign languages. Topically speaking, a quick survey of A&M releases – SP-4112 [late ‘65] to SP-4124 [mid-67] – suggests an international flair as the nearly two-year span resulted in every LP containing one of the following “ethnic” words: Tijuana, Baja, Montez, Longet, Guantanamara, or Brasil. As quick as Mas, Que Nada! propelled the group into the spotlight, they had to strategically distance themselves from being a “foreign act”; thus walking a tightrope between US/English and Brazilian/Portuguese worlds. In one way, success is somewhat guaranteed in that the formula is obvious; on the other hand, if the formula doesn’t sell – it’s back to Rio (and Chicago). Under Herb’s wise guidance, Equinox was a more English-friendly and tame LP relative to its predecessor. Although the LP was solid, the absence of knock-your-socks-off material and arrangements – largely on side 2 – may have left a few critical listeners on an indecisive note.
...)
