JOv2
Well-Known Member
Fool On The Hill Critique and Discussion
Then suddenly before you could say Neto, Bassini,& Romao everyone was gone well, except for Sergio, of course er, well, and apparently Lani ( and, for what its worth, Dave Grusin). Janis was replaced by another American female singer (Karen Philipp...who coincidentally just happened to be hot, tall, hot, slender, hot, cool and probably a bunch of other stuff, too) and Joao, Jose, and Bob were replaced as well by a select group of Brazilian musicians who, collectively, offered a distinctive visual alternative relative to the fashionable and very handsome former Brasil 66 placeholders.
Why at what appeared to be the brink of major success would a group leader comprehensively re-organize?
As one version of the story has now been revealed via a recent Janis Hansen interview Sergio apparently fired the group, en masse, in one hot-blooded Latinesque swoop...perhaps following a confrontational episode in which "Brasil 66" apparently accused its leader (Sergio) of hoggin the dough Not knowing the monetary details, the claim certainly has merit as by winter/68 the band was becoming very popular. The supposition is that Sergio owned the name (and, later, its variants -- Brasil '77, Brasil '88, Brasil 99, Brasil 666 you get the idea...) and could just fill the group with whomever he desired.
He did just that.
I suppose Cristo Redentor was smiling down on Sergio and NewCrew by subsequently and immediately blessing the re-grouped group with what would be their greatest hit of all, Fool On The Hill, issued later in '68.
(The fired members all being excellent musicians immediately went about forming a new group: Carnival, it was called. Unfortunately, they hooked up with Bones thats OK, Ill have my session men record the tracks Howe whose wrecking crew preference was a point-blank insult to the admirable artistic and technical skills of both Matthews and Palma. The whole episode is even more disdainful given Bones' idea to mold Carnival into a Brazilian 5th Dimension. Its beyond farcical to believe LAs wrecking crew was more suitable for Brazilian music than Matthews and Palma. No wonder Bob and Joao took a hasty exit from Carnival (Bonez pulled the same crap with the Association, too: hiring the usual LA wrecking dudes to play music the band was more than competent to play. Dont get me started.)
As for the re-organized group, the rhythms are notably more aggressive likely owing to having Bassini permanent planted in front of a pair of congas in place of Joses simple percussive embellishments, as well as the more punchy feel of Netos electric bass guitar supplanting Bobs bulkier standup acoustic. More aggressive, too, are the orchestrations, which, following a 50% entitlement to Look Around, are so abundant on Fool On The Hill, that the LP is nearly under the Grusin spell in toto: Indeed, Fool On The Hill crosses that international threshold from a Brazilian/Ameri-pop record supplemented with American orchestral accoutrements, to an American pop-orchestral record with Brazilian/Ameri-pop accoutrement. If that makes any sense.
The formula introduced on Look Around is in solid form on the new LP: 2 contemporary songs (by Pauls McCartney and Simon) are Brazilianified for AM airplay; 2 lengthy, nearly dour ballads are readied for Lani; and a couple up-beat, festive pieces. New twists for this outing include: an instrumental, Grusins assuming the post of orchestra arranger ( he even writes a melody for Bergman-Bergman), Sergios introduction of electric piano, and his attainment as a full-fledged lead-vocalist (I dont believe the new male members sing, so Sergio is most likely handling all male vocal parts).
Then theres the goofy album art business. (Theres a reason why theres no spine information on the outer gatefold ) Fool On The Hill might not have been the choice title given Sergios somewhat perched position in the group shot (of course, there are hills observed in the distance; then again, I suppose hes really seated on a waistline). Similarly, the colour photos within the gatefold exhibit most of the band seaside enjoying a nice casual walk in the sand inexplicably dressed in slacks replete with dress shoes and socks! Aside from Amish colony visitors, its doubtful anyone else on Gods semi-green earth would normally negotiate the sandy beach in such attire much less a group of Brazilians working on an LP photo shoot. The semi-keen eye even detects the same background for virtually every shot suggesting a clear lack of originality, creativity, and quality time. Hey, at least they cleaned the beach of four pieces of litter!
Fool On The Hill. All things considered, the Beatles are probably my favourite of the modern (i.e., post-1963) pop groups. Given the unstoppably likeable tunesmithery particularly at the hands of Paul McCartney the covers of their music during the day were about as common as changing plugs and points on a 64 Ford Falcon. Sergios and Daves take on Pauls piece is, nevertheless, altogether uncommon and fascinating particularly so in reworking the simple 4/4 into 6/4 and adding extensions; and their introductory melody is now taken as standard with the original piece. The performance does well to introduce the new Brasil 66 with its continually driving percussion and electric bass guitar. Another nice slice of SoCal sunshine pop albeit with orchestra in full tow. Lani and Karen fully embrace the lyrical content with a skillful use of dynamics [His head in the clouds, the man of a-thousand voices talking perfectly loud! But nobody ever hears him or the sounds he appears to make...] as does Dave Grusins fine scoring by adding ever-increasing intensity to the ending fragments [...and the eyes in his head see the world...]. Im sure Paul liked what Sergio and Dave cooked up although the undersold ending short-changed an otherwise sociable arrangement. Definitely not my fave, but credit is assigned where its due. A+
Festa. With its stops and starts, Portuguese and English, Festa is an attractive listen. I like the song fine, but Grusins employment of countless harp glissandi gets quite annoying after one VAAAAAAARRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOP.
Casa Forte. Finally. Its been a 4-LP wait and here its with a different band yet, we finally get to witness Brasil 66 chops center stage. Their first instrumental is a bundle of excitement, only heightened by strategic use of time changes, and a very tasty Sergio solo. This selection, devoid of the Grusin touch, does well to illustrate the new Brasil 66 instrumental lay: Whereas the original group employed continuous trap set augmented by usually one percussion instrument; here, Romao, though perched on the drummers throne, is only using his feet (kick drum and high-hat), while playing hand-percussion; Bassini, on congas fuels the proceedings as does Netos nice electric bass guitar work. Its clear the three new members are quite comfortable in their new home. A+
Canto Triste. The arrangement and performance of Lobos piece was no doubt wholly influenced by the amazing Lani/Grusin performance of So Many Stars. Unfortunately, Lanis vocal isnt as comparatively compelling; a difficult melody to sing for sure and surely not one that would suddenly kick into the average listeners head while shopping for sneakers at Woolworths. Unlike So Many Stars, the song doesnt really offer traditional tension and release points for Grusin. Indeed, Lobos melody is a slow trek through a mountainous region. Striking, for sure. A tip of the cap to Sergio for trying something this enterprising.
Upa, Neguinho. Another unique Lobo piece with Lani and Sergio sharing the vocal chair. A competent cover but Ill take the writers debute version which is a faster, lighter offering un-weighted by orchestration.
Lapinha. Though no one knew it at the time, this closely approximates the Stillness / Pais Tropical [66/77] band. The proceedings bounce nicely along and do well to continue the festive vibe that closed Side 1. I particularly like the added percussion and acoustic guitar the latter of which, although very much identifiable with Brazilian music, is essentially absent on all Brasil 66 records.
Scarborough Fair. The decision to sing only one verse of a lyrically-compelling piece was an eccentric decision. Seriously, the first time I heard this, I thought it was some sort of musical joke Reducing Simons mesmerizing 9/8 + 6/8 Anglo folk composition into some sort of silly pseudo-hip urban groove, resulted in the least impressive Brasil 66 piece to date. Even the electric piano solo is overcome by Grusins suffocating magic. Adding to the black magic disappointment is the vocal delivery: whereas on Fool On The Hill the singers truly vocalize the lyrical content, here they merely sing words over and over and over and over and over. Im confident Paul Simon wasnt impressed. (The song is credited to Garfunkel-Simon; actually, Scarborough Fair/Canticle is the only Simon & Garfunkel song that Artie co-wrote penning the Canticle section which, of course, was omitted in this absurd one-verse arrangement.) More than any other piece on Fool On The Hill, Scarborough Fair is a signpost of things to come.
When Summer Turns to Snow. Like Canto Triste, this new Bergman-Bergman piece is a Lani-solo vehicle; its definitely more successful in its performance than the former. With Grusin basically on good behaviour, theres at least some room for even Sergios plaintive voice to make a quality statement. Heard, too, is harpsichord an uncommon keyboard instrument featured on every Brasil 66 LP to date. Nice job.
Laia Ladaia. Taking its cue from the title cut of Look Around, this Lobo song is very American in its style. While it doesnt exhibit the carefree Pacific Coast Highway flow of its model, its an enjoyable listen nonetheless notwithstanding the messy trombone throw-up splats that open the arrangement.
Fool On The Hill introduces the re-vamped Brasil 66 lineup. The LP is very much influenced by the program offered on Look Around; and although not as artistically successful, overall its a pleasant listen. The LP is heavily orchestrated; though for the most part, Grusins orchestrations dont battle for center stage yet, their continuous presence does dilute the new driving percussion sounds; and to this pair of ears they serve no overt artistic purpose to the majority of the performances. For those of us who are not always receptive to continuous orchestrations, an LP filled with music consistent with Casa Forte and Lapinha would have been preferred and perhaps somewhere in the A&M archives lives the clean version of this LP. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of the Grusinization of Brasil 66.
Then suddenly before you could say Neto, Bassini,& Romao everyone was gone well, except for Sergio, of course er, well, and apparently Lani ( and, for what its worth, Dave Grusin). Janis was replaced by another American female singer (Karen Philipp...who coincidentally just happened to be hot, tall, hot, slender, hot, cool and probably a bunch of other stuff, too) and Joao, Jose, and Bob were replaced as well by a select group of Brazilian musicians who, collectively, offered a distinctive visual alternative relative to the fashionable and very handsome former Brasil 66 placeholders.
Why at what appeared to be the brink of major success would a group leader comprehensively re-organize?
As one version of the story has now been revealed via a recent Janis Hansen interview Sergio apparently fired the group, en masse, in one hot-blooded Latinesque swoop...perhaps following a confrontational episode in which "Brasil 66" apparently accused its leader (Sergio) of hoggin the dough Not knowing the monetary details, the claim certainly has merit as by winter/68 the band was becoming very popular. The supposition is that Sergio owned the name (and, later, its variants -- Brasil '77, Brasil '88, Brasil 99, Brasil 666 you get the idea...) and could just fill the group with whomever he desired.
He did just that.
I suppose Cristo Redentor was smiling down on Sergio and NewCrew by subsequently and immediately blessing the re-grouped group with what would be their greatest hit of all, Fool On The Hill, issued later in '68.
(The fired members all being excellent musicians immediately went about forming a new group: Carnival, it was called. Unfortunately, they hooked up with Bones thats OK, Ill have my session men record the tracks Howe whose wrecking crew preference was a point-blank insult to the admirable artistic and technical skills of both Matthews and Palma. The whole episode is even more disdainful given Bones' idea to mold Carnival into a Brazilian 5th Dimension. Its beyond farcical to believe LAs wrecking crew was more suitable for Brazilian music than Matthews and Palma. No wonder Bob and Joao took a hasty exit from Carnival (Bonez pulled the same crap with the Association, too: hiring the usual LA wrecking dudes to play music the band was more than competent to play. Dont get me started.)
As for the re-organized group, the rhythms are notably more aggressive likely owing to having Bassini permanent planted in front of a pair of congas in place of Joses simple percussive embellishments, as well as the more punchy feel of Netos electric bass guitar supplanting Bobs bulkier standup acoustic. More aggressive, too, are the orchestrations, which, following a 50% entitlement to Look Around, are so abundant on Fool On The Hill, that the LP is nearly under the Grusin spell in toto: Indeed, Fool On The Hill crosses that international threshold from a Brazilian/Ameri-pop record supplemented with American orchestral accoutrements, to an American pop-orchestral record with Brazilian/Ameri-pop accoutrement. If that makes any sense.
The formula introduced on Look Around is in solid form on the new LP: 2 contemporary songs (by Pauls McCartney and Simon) are Brazilianified for AM airplay; 2 lengthy, nearly dour ballads are readied for Lani; and a couple up-beat, festive pieces. New twists for this outing include: an instrumental, Grusins assuming the post of orchestra arranger ( he even writes a melody for Bergman-Bergman), Sergios introduction of electric piano, and his attainment as a full-fledged lead-vocalist (I dont believe the new male members sing, so Sergio is most likely handling all male vocal parts).
Then theres the goofy album art business. (Theres a reason why theres no spine information on the outer gatefold ) Fool On The Hill might not have been the choice title given Sergios somewhat perched position in the group shot (of course, there are hills observed in the distance; then again, I suppose hes really seated on a waistline). Similarly, the colour photos within the gatefold exhibit most of the band seaside enjoying a nice casual walk in the sand inexplicably dressed in slacks replete with dress shoes and socks! Aside from Amish colony visitors, its doubtful anyone else on Gods semi-green earth would normally negotiate the sandy beach in such attire much less a group of Brazilians working on an LP photo shoot. The semi-keen eye even detects the same background for virtually every shot suggesting a clear lack of originality, creativity, and quality time. Hey, at least they cleaned the beach of four pieces of litter!
Fool On The Hill. All things considered, the Beatles are probably my favourite of the modern (i.e., post-1963) pop groups. Given the unstoppably likeable tunesmithery particularly at the hands of Paul McCartney the covers of their music during the day were about as common as changing plugs and points on a 64 Ford Falcon. Sergios and Daves take on Pauls piece is, nevertheless, altogether uncommon and fascinating particularly so in reworking the simple 4/4 into 6/4 and adding extensions; and their introductory melody is now taken as standard with the original piece. The performance does well to introduce the new Brasil 66 with its continually driving percussion and electric bass guitar. Another nice slice of SoCal sunshine pop albeit with orchestra in full tow. Lani and Karen fully embrace the lyrical content with a skillful use of dynamics [His head in the clouds, the man of a-thousand voices talking perfectly loud! But nobody ever hears him or the sounds he appears to make...] as does Dave Grusins fine scoring by adding ever-increasing intensity to the ending fragments [...and the eyes in his head see the world...]. Im sure Paul liked what Sergio and Dave cooked up although the undersold ending short-changed an otherwise sociable arrangement. Definitely not my fave, but credit is assigned where its due. A+
Festa. With its stops and starts, Portuguese and English, Festa is an attractive listen. I like the song fine, but Grusins employment of countless harp glissandi gets quite annoying after one VAAAAAAARRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOP.
Casa Forte. Finally. Its been a 4-LP wait and here its with a different band yet, we finally get to witness Brasil 66 chops center stage. Their first instrumental is a bundle of excitement, only heightened by strategic use of time changes, and a very tasty Sergio solo. This selection, devoid of the Grusin touch, does well to illustrate the new Brasil 66 instrumental lay: Whereas the original group employed continuous trap set augmented by usually one percussion instrument; here, Romao, though perched on the drummers throne, is only using his feet (kick drum and high-hat), while playing hand-percussion; Bassini, on congas fuels the proceedings as does Netos nice electric bass guitar work. Its clear the three new members are quite comfortable in their new home. A+
Canto Triste. The arrangement and performance of Lobos piece was no doubt wholly influenced by the amazing Lani/Grusin performance of So Many Stars. Unfortunately, Lanis vocal isnt as comparatively compelling; a difficult melody to sing for sure and surely not one that would suddenly kick into the average listeners head while shopping for sneakers at Woolworths. Unlike So Many Stars, the song doesnt really offer traditional tension and release points for Grusin. Indeed, Lobos melody is a slow trek through a mountainous region. Striking, for sure. A tip of the cap to Sergio for trying something this enterprising.
Upa, Neguinho. Another unique Lobo piece with Lani and Sergio sharing the vocal chair. A competent cover but Ill take the writers debute version which is a faster, lighter offering un-weighted by orchestration.
Lapinha. Though no one knew it at the time, this closely approximates the Stillness / Pais Tropical [66/77] band. The proceedings bounce nicely along and do well to continue the festive vibe that closed Side 1. I particularly like the added percussion and acoustic guitar the latter of which, although very much identifiable with Brazilian music, is essentially absent on all Brasil 66 records.
Scarborough Fair. The decision to sing only one verse of a lyrically-compelling piece was an eccentric decision. Seriously, the first time I heard this, I thought it was some sort of musical joke Reducing Simons mesmerizing 9/8 + 6/8 Anglo folk composition into some sort of silly pseudo-hip urban groove, resulted in the least impressive Brasil 66 piece to date. Even the electric piano solo is overcome by Grusins suffocating magic. Adding to the black magic disappointment is the vocal delivery: whereas on Fool On The Hill the singers truly vocalize the lyrical content, here they merely sing words over and over and over and over and over. Im confident Paul Simon wasnt impressed. (The song is credited to Garfunkel-Simon; actually, Scarborough Fair/Canticle is the only Simon & Garfunkel song that Artie co-wrote penning the Canticle section which, of course, was omitted in this absurd one-verse arrangement.) More than any other piece on Fool On The Hill, Scarborough Fair is a signpost of things to come.
When Summer Turns to Snow. Like Canto Triste, this new Bergman-Bergman piece is a Lani-solo vehicle; its definitely more successful in its performance than the former. With Grusin basically on good behaviour, theres at least some room for even Sergios plaintive voice to make a quality statement. Heard, too, is harpsichord an uncommon keyboard instrument featured on every Brasil 66 LP to date. Nice job.
Laia Ladaia. Taking its cue from the title cut of Look Around, this Lobo song is very American in its style. While it doesnt exhibit the carefree Pacific Coast Highway flow of its model, its an enjoyable listen nonetheless notwithstanding the messy trombone throw-up splats that open the arrangement.
Fool On The Hill introduces the re-vamped Brasil 66 lineup. The LP is very much influenced by the program offered on Look Around; and although not as artistically successful, overall its a pleasant listen. The LP is heavily orchestrated; though for the most part, Grusins orchestrations dont battle for center stage yet, their continuous presence does dilute the new driving percussion sounds; and to this pair of ears they serve no overt artistic purpose to the majority of the performances. For those of us who are not always receptive to continuous orchestrations, an LP filled with music consistent with Casa Forte and Lapinha would have been preferred and perhaps somewhere in the A&M archives lives the clean version of this LP. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of the Grusinization of Brasil 66.