Homecooking

[Brasil_Nut]

Not an A&M release, I know, but I notice that the majority of Sergio's Elektra albums are in print, save for Homecooking. It used to be available through i-tunes, Amazon, etc. Now it's disappeared.

Many of my Sergio CDs ended up in storage when I moved across country. Thought I'd download and burn a copy. Apparently not.

Any ideas why it was taken out of print? Homecooking gone and Magic Lady still available. Really?

Jon...the "Brasil Nut"

 

[Harry]

I see a 2012 version listed at http://www.amazon.com/Home-Cooking-Sergio-Brasil-Mendes/dp/B0067J78KI with "Collectables" as the label.

I've got two others in my CD collection, one a 2007 edition from Collectors' Choice, and the second is a 2002 edition from RCA-BMG Brazil. If memory serves me correctly, there was discussion about how poorly the RCA/BMG version sounded and that the Collectables was much better, which, I believe prompted me to grab that second version.

Harry

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

Homecooking is a good album, quirky but very musical.....deserves to be in print (much more than Magic Lady!!).

 

[Rudy]

I can't recall the tracks on the album, but I bought a used vinyl copy because the local jazz radio station used to play one or two tracks from it. I'll need to dig that out and give it a spin.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Homecooking is a good album, quirky but very musical.....deserves to be in print (much more than Magic Lady!!).

It was the debut of Marietta Waters (billed as Marietta Araiza "I thought 'Araiza' sounded exotic...that didn't last long.") and Leza Miller. Both two of Sergio's best singers. There's a lot of good material here. And I agree...it should be in print. Not Magic Lady!

Jon...the "Brasil Nut"

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Homecooking is a good album, quirky but very musical.....deserves to be in print (much more than Magic Lady!!)

Agreed. I don't think the album has aged as well as some of Sergio's efforts - the synths, in particular, date the album. But, the title tune and "Sunny Day" are among my non-Brasil '66 favorites. This was the album where I first heard "Where To Now St. Peter" -- I didn't hear the Elton John version until years later.

This record also has one of my favorite Sergio album covers!

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Agreed. I don't think the album has aged as well as some of Sergio's efforts - the synths, in particular, date the album. But, the title tune and "Sunny Day" are among my non-Brasil '66 favorites. This was the album where I first heard "Where To Now St. Peter" -- I didn't hear the Elton John version until years later.

This record also has one of my favorite Sergio album covers!

Granted, the album is definitely '70s funk, but with songs like "Cut That Out" and "It's Up To You" -- it's fun. "Sunny Day" is a great opener. "Emorio" is different in a funky Brasilian way. For me, the clincher is "Tell Me In A Whisper" -- such a beautiful arrangement -- and Leza is perfect for it.

When I was younger, anytime I made a cassette copy of the album, I would delete "Where To Now St. Peter" -- but all things change with time. I came to appreciate the song, arrangement, lyric and vocals as an adult. It really is very well done.

Jon...the "Brasil Nut"

 

[TulitaPepsi]

Very curious why this one disappeared from iTunes as well. Of the non-A&M B'77 albums I think only "New Brasil '77" is available.

 

[JMK]

This is probably my favorite of Sergio's Elektra releases and one that I still play quite a bit. I think I posted here a few years ago that I was gigging with a Berklee grad who came over to my house when I was playing it and he said the album was actually featured in a class on arranging there and was a big favorite with a lot of students there. "Where to Now, St. Peter" is yet another of those "should've been a hit for Sergio" tunes.

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

As far as I know "...St. Peter" is Sergio's only song about suicide... (at least that's what the lyrics always suggested to me)....and yet, the message of all the rest of the songs is incredibly upbeat. Guess it was just one bad morning in Encino and then he got it out of his system!

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

And GREAT cover art. Really fun.

There's something very mid-1970s 'post-hippie' about this whole album, what with the grooves, the wicky-wacky synth sounds and the use of the guitar, not to mention all that tie-dye in the band photo....but on its own terms, it's a fun listen...

 

[JMK]

Where to Now, St. Peter is evidently about a Vietnam soldier who has met his fate (Bernie has talked about the lyric quite a lot). There's a nice double entendre with "bad report" (as in rifle shot).

 

[Harry]

In an old thread from seven years ago when HOMECOOKING was new from Collectors Choice, it was generally agreed on that it sounded better than the 2002 mastering in Brazil. Looking at it now with tools I didn't have back then, I can see that the 2002 RCA/BMG version is indeed louder, with a fair amount of compression from the maximizing of the loudness. The 2007 version is just the opposite, with volume levels way down. It actually could stand to have been made louder without clipping anything.

It also sounds to me like the louder 2002 version has a bit more in the highs, but that could be just the volume difference fooling me.

Covers of the two versions:



Harry

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

Where to Now, St. Peter is evidently about a Vietnam soldier who has met his fate (Bernie has talked about the lyric quite a lot). There's a nice double entendre with "bad report" (as in rifle shot).

Aha. Makes sense......

 

[Rudy]

That photo is proof that Gracinha never lets Sergio in the kitchen anymore.

 

[Murray]

Not an A&M release, I know, but I notice that the majority of Sergio's Elektra albums are in print, save for Homecooking. It used to be available through i-tunes, Amazon, etc. Now it's disappeared.

Many of my Sergio CDs ended up in storage when I moved across country. Thought I'd download and burn a copy. Apparently not.

I found the whole album on YouTube. This is the first time I've ever heard it, and I've got to say it's quite an enjoyable listen - very 70's sounding, but that's a good thing! If I can find the CD for a reasonable price, I'll snap it up!

 

[Brasil_Nut]

It's dated in a funky way, but it's a lot of fun. The combination of Marietta Waters (Araiza) and Leza Miller was close to perfection.

Jon...the "Brasil Nut"

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Very curious why this one disappeared from iTunes as well. Of the non-A&M B'77 albums I think only "New Brasil '77" is available.

I notice the self-titled Sergio Mendes (1974) is still available, along with Sergio Mendes & The New Brasil '77, Brasil '88, Magic Lady and the post-return-to-A&M-back-to-Electra Brasileiro. So where's Homecooking?

Indeed!

Jon...the "Brasil Nut"