Lani Hall Sings "O Samba Da Minha Terra"

[lj]

I love this song. This happy song makes me feel good inside. Lani sounds fantastic--as good as in her Brasil 66 days. I got the song's album "A Brazileira" in 2017 via Discogs. It was a long wait, but after several months it arrived as a Brazilian import. The album is a good as this song.

A few words about the song's composer, Dorival Caymmi. He and Ary Barroso (composer of "Brazil" and "Bahia") were Brazil's preeminent popular composers before the arrival of Bossa Nova. Dorival may be best known in the USA for his beautiful composition of "And Roses and Roses of Love." His children--Dori, Nana, and Danilo-- were extremely musically gifted as well.

 

[Harry]

A BRAZILEIRA is truly a masterpiece. Why it remains virtually hidden after all these years is a mystery. Lani sings some of these songs in her concerts with Herb, yet the album remains unreleased in the US, and yet it could be her finest album.

 

[lj]

Right you are Harry--the album is a classic. There was an amazing constellation of persons associated with the album included the legendary producer Aloysio de Oliveira, Oscar Castro Neves as arranger and Laudir Oliveira as percussionist. Lani was made to perform Brazilian music, it's her forte. With the exception of her duets with Herb, her solo English language albums never did much for me. They had a lot of introspection a la Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins, but were not my cup of tea. I guess I'm not the only one who felt that way, as her solo albums never sold very well even with the mighty A&M Records behind her. But she sure could sing the Latin songs. I love her Spanish language album, "Lani." from 1982. It even has a Brasil 66 medley. Fantastic.

I bought "A Brazileira" for slightly over $50 in 2017. Now Discogs has it for sale for $115 and $147. In life, good luck and good timing is everything.

 

[Harry]

I bought one in the earlier years of eBay. Our member-friend Paula had gotten hold of a copy and sent some of us audio copies, first on tape, then on CD-R. I remember she paid someone to do a restoration on the noisy parts and that restorer swore that the recording was mono. But even from her taped version, I could hear the slight stereo in the recordings.

Sometime after that, I spotted a copy on eBay - an auction, back in the days when everything was an auction. Another of the members here spied the same auction and was actually bidding against me, sending the auction price ever higher. I still prevailed but paid well of $100 for the album. I don't regret it at all, as there's something magical about having your own copy of this rare album.

Another member-friend here offered to do his own clean-up work back in those days when I wasn't capable of doing my own audio work, and he did a superb job. As you may know, the Brazilian pressing of that album was largely defective with little bumps and pits in the vinyl making it very noisy. I've never encountered anyone with the other pressing (from the Phillipines) to find out whether or not it was better vinyl.

 

[lj]

Back in 2017, I had the option of buying a copy of A Brazileira via Brazil or via the Phillipines. I chose the one from Brazil as it was closer to the USA and I thought it would arrive faster. Well it took a long time to arrive, but the condition of the one from Brazil was OK. For a vinyl album that old I didn't expect a pristine copy. But when I turned the album into the light it looked real clean--like brand new. Most important for me there were no skips, pops or major noise during playback. I guess I really got lucky. And you know, this album is so important in my Brazilian collection that I would gladly pay between 100 and 200 bucks for it today!

In Brazil there have been many hugely important and popular female interpreters of Brazilian music, such as Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Maria Bethania, Sylvia Telles, Astrud Gilberto, Nara Leao, Clara Nunez etc., but Lani Hall is Number One for me.

 

[Harry]

Click to see larger sizes:
Front cover scan:


Rear cover scan:

 

[lj]

What's really neat is the backside of album cover, which has Lani's handwritten notes as she delves into her interpretation of the lyrics to "O Samba Da Minha Terra." Truly indicative of a great musical artist.

 

[Rudy]

I missed the opportunity to get one of these for well under $100 last year. I'm patient enough that I can wait.

 

[lj]

On the album's liner notes Lani wrote "The music of Brasil has entered my heart and sings through my soul." Her words are well taken. I personally know that the music of Brazil in its great variety has deeply enriched my life.