Lani or Janis...

Cannon

Member
New here ..Thanks for the ad!...Rediscovered B66 a few years ago and in love with their music.I saw this on a closed thread ..I am a musician and pretty good ear and unless it is being done in the studio I think I can hear the difference in their styles...I also saw some one quote Sergio as saying there was a mixture of both on Equinox. This is what I think and I am sure this has been discussed alot. This is just my subjective opinion.

Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Lead vocal ?

CONSTANT RAIN: Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Janis
CINNAMON AND CLOVE: Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Both
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS:Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Both [Lani first verse Janis second as in the Video]
FOR ME:Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Mostly Janis
BIM-BOM:Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Mostly Lani
NIGHT AND DAY:Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Lani Janis backing
TRISTE:Lani Hall or Janis Hansen lead in Janis
WAVE:Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Both
SO DANCO SAMBA:Lani Hall or Janis Hansen Lani Janis backing [LaLalas]
 
Welcome to the A&M Corner Forum. EQUINOX is a delight no matter who's singing what! If you get an opportunity, check out the minor differences in the mono mix of the album. "For Me" has the trailing vocals fade early giving more emphasis to Sergio and the band as it fades. "Constant Rain" is a different edit of the vocals.
 
There is something about the Equinox album that makes me play it over and over. Perhaps it is the seamless flow of the album. There is no letdown--every song is equally beautiful and performed beautifully with that Bossa Nova vibe. It is certainly the most relaxing and soothing record in my collection--a certain desert island pick for me.

At the heart of album is the brilliant vocal duo of Lani and Janis. Their voices compliment one another perfectly with Lani singing at a slightly lower vocal register and Janis singing slightly higher.

Lani has a most unique vocal sound and was a perfect match for the Brazilian sound. Perhaps that is attributed to her upbringing along the Great Lakes area in Chicago. I should know, as I too was born along the Great Lakes in Cleveland. People in this area speak differently than they do in other parts of the country (although nowadays local speech patterns in the USA are starting to homogenize into one pattern due to modern communications.) Perhaps this "Great Lakes" spoken dialect, which was very prominent when Lani and I were growing up in the 1950s, transferred over in a subtle way into her beautiful vocals.

Janis had the most sensual voice of all the singers of the various Sergio Mendes group iterations, be it Brasil 66, 77, 88, etc. Her sensuality was epitomized by her lead vocal on the "Look of Love." Her fetching come hither vocal will always be a part of my musical memory. Wow! In 1969, her voice continued to flower with the group The Carnival. In 1971, I bought their only album. In the spring of 1971, the group's last single written by Bacharach and David "Where There's a Heatache" was released and had regular airplay on MOR radio stations in So Cal such as KBIG AM, but much to my dismay it was not to be found in record stores, perhaps because the group was to disband later that year. This was Janis last recorded vocal and her sensuality beautifully shined through as it did with Brasil 66. As the summer waned I had given up hope in getting this record. Then by a fluke in a dime store called Kress (like the now defunct Woolworths) I was rummaging through a rack of miscellaneous 45s, and there it was-- the record, which became a prized record in my collection. That weekend I went up to Glendora to visit relatives. The hospitality was fabulous, the Miller High Life beer flowed freely by the poolside, and all along I kept thinking how blessed I was to have gotten this record. Sweet memories last forever. Rest in peace Janis.
 
I will add my name to those who love the Equinox album I was fortunate to get a good clean mono LP122 vinyl copy I couldn't track a stereo copy until I got the verve 2002 CD reissue and it was even better in digital stereo the flow and structure of the songs and musicians including Lani And Janis singing in perfect harmony and form I was 17 when I first heard it and I still enjoy it even more so today it's one of those albums that keeps me feeling young
 
Got some good head phones and Lani and Janis have 2 distinctive voice patterns. I stand by my opinions... "Watch what Happens" is a great example..Also contrary to many saying all Lani ...Brasil Nut Quoted Sergio " As for Equinox, he said that it is a mix of Janis and Lani, as is Look Around. He didn't say whether Janis was the lead vocalist on "Look Of Love."

I think I saw on here that Janis herself said that she was lead on Look..I believe that to be the case.
 
Yes, it's been well-established here that Janis sang lead on "The Look of Love." When she passed away recently, a family member recounted for us that she was really touched that there was an internet group that knew she sang the song.

As for "Look Around" (the song), it has always sounded like Lani to me but one never knows, I guess. Their voices are really a lot alike, but despite having heard it hundreds of times, I haven't made a study of their voice inflections.
 
I think the song "For Me" is another good example.....I love both of their voices ...can really hear the difference in the way each ends a verse...I think he meant the Album rather than the song ...I think that is Lani for sure on the Song.
 
Also saw where some thought Janis might have done lead on Agua de Beber.....I am only hearing Lani.
 
I can't listen to anything past B 66..... B 77 like watching a tribute band....just did not have the magic.
B 77 as well as 88 were simply Sergio and the band constantly evolving into various musical directions while they didn't have quite the big impact of Brazil 66 all of them as well as those under Sergio's own name without the aggregations are all wonderful and should be appreciated on their own merits expecting Sergio to keep the Brazil 66 moniker permanently would be almost like expecting Herb Alpert To keep the TJB permanently. both have long past moved on very nicely and on occasions revisit their old music with great results
 
After really listening with the earbuds Constant Rain mostly Janis Cinnamon mostly Lani Watch mostly Janis For Me mostly Janis Night and Day Mostly Lani
 
B 77 like watching a tribute band....just did not have the magic.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that... I thought Primal Roots was one of his most intriguing albums and one that I never get tired of listening to. Pais Tropical was more uneven (and includes "I Know You," one of my least fave songs) but still has plenty of what made Sergio great. The title tune, "Zanzibar," "Asa Branca," "Tonga," and English songs like "Gone Forever" are my personal favorites and they all hark back to certain Brasil '66 moments.

The later post-Brasil albums....some are really good, some less so, but most of them have at least a song or two that ranks up with Sergio's best stuff, in my book. (The only exception being Magic Lady.... I don't that one. At all.)
 
I recently saw during a PBS pledge drive a terrific special about the career of crooner Perry Como. On the show were two beautiful color video clips showing Lani and Janis together with Perry and Sergio at the piano. Lani and Janis glowed with gorgeous smiles. These video clips which I vividly recall seeing on NBC TV was from their guest appearance on "The Perry Como Holiday Special" from November 1967. Lani and Janis sang "Oh Marie" in Portuguese and Perry sang in Italian. It was simply fantastic to see and hear and it wasn't lip synced either. A priceless memory. In addition to Brasil 66, guests were Rowan and Martin, Bobbie Gentry, and the Jefferson Airplane. A rather eclectic guest lineup indeed.

A few words about Perry Como...no male vocalist had more hits between the 1940s through the 1970s than Como. It included Burt Bacharach's first major composition "Magic Moments" and right into the 1970s with "It's Impossible" and Don Mc Lean's "And I Love You So." Nobody was better with a smooth ballad. He was a musical favorite of Richard Carpenter.
 
Cannon--Over the years every so often I check YouTube to see if the segment with Lani, Janis and Perry is there, but unfortunately it never got posted. The clip seen on the PBS Perry Como special only showed video without audio. It would be awesome to see on YouTube the complete Brasil 66 guest shot, which also included a performance of "The Frog" and if I recall "So Danco Samba."
 
Janis: The Look of Love and For Me...I'd bet on it: lead vocals.

Jon...the "Brasil Nut"
 
A musical expert told me that the hardest thing for a female vocalist to do is to sustain singing high notes very softly. Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and opera singer Rosa Ponselle were masters at this technique. Janis in the pop music field succeeded quite nicely. For example, listen to her vocal on "For Me" starting with the words "somewhere there is someone else..."

 
"For Me" is a good one because you can hear the distinctive styles ...the other one I am sure about is "Constant Rain"...just not Lani's voice...Lani probably has a superior voice but Janis has that haunting soul to it..another good example is "Watch What Happens" def Janis on second verse.
 
I have a huge crush on Janis...even though I dated a girl that looked a lot like Karen...I hope some day somebody does a movie about B66. .....3 American girls singing Portuguese
 
Cannon--I'm also a HUGE fan of Janis Hansen. Janis sings equally well on "The Carnival" album. I got the album on vinyl in 1971 and later the CD in 2004 on the REV-OLA label. You have to buy a copy. Amazon and Discogs sells it. Janis shares the vocals with Terry Fisher of "Popsicles Icicles" fame. Janis and Terry sound magnificent. The group, Carnival, has been compared to Brasil 66 crossed with the 5th Dimension. You can't get better than that! I never tire of playing this album. I like the way Jose Soares shouts out encouragement to the band on the song Canto de Carnival--just like he used to do with Brasil 66.
 
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