Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 Play The Hits

[Michael Hagerty]

It's a pretty good list, except for "What the World Needs Now". Who was smokin' what to approve that symphonic finish?

I doubt anyone even listened to it. I can't find a track listing for the Jimmy Smith. entry in this series, but the Wes Montgomery and Grover Washington, Jr. discs are all covers of other artists' hits.

Despite the "Great Songs, Great Performances" tagline, I'm betting this was purely driven by hit titles.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

I guess for non purists, and the low price, it's a pretty good deal....especially if these tracks are fully remastered.

 

[Harry]

As a token addition to my purchase of the big two-disc collections of Celebration - A Musical Journey and The Collection, I decided to throw in this little single-disc thingy just to fill out my collection of Sergio Mendes discs, in a "while-I-was-at-it" mode.


Click image to order from Amazon.com

1. Night and Day
2. The Look of Love
3. For What It's Worth
4. Scarborough Fair
5. What the World Needs Now is Love
6. (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay
7. The Fool On the Hill
8. With a Little Help From My Friends

Obviously this isn't a very "deep" compilation, with only 8 tracks, but being an optimist, I'm forced to look for the positives.

1. This disc actually sounds really good, much like the 20th Century Masters cheapy disc. (Why do these little nothing compilations seem to often sound pretty good?)

2. There are some credits: Compliation: DANA SMART | Mastered by REUBEN COHEN at Lurssen Mastering, Hollywood, CA | Art Direction: Vartan | Design: SACHICO ASANO | Production Manager: UTE FRIESLEBEN | Legal Clearances: TERESA TSUZAKI | Product Manager: ROB JACOBS

3. There's an actual A&M Records logo along with the Verve logo on both the disc and back cover.

Of course among the negatives are the fact that I've listened to the entire disc while composing this post! There are no flyers or blurbs promoting any other discs, so the whole reason for this is a bit of a mystery. There are no pictures of any kind. The insert is just a single page with the track listing on the back of it.

Harry

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

An odd list, but it's all about the titles - recognizable song names....

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Another plus is that "Night and Day" is a terrific opening tune.

 

[Rudy]

As identifiable as "Mas Que Nada" is with B66, it is surpring for it not to be included.

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

I looked it up - Verve has a budget series called "Great Songs/Great Performances". Sergio's seems to be the only one with the title "Plays The Hits", as most of them have the title "Standards". They all have the same cover design, and there's a lot of artists - Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Stan Getz and others.

 

[Mr Bill]

I think the series over-title (Plays the Hits) indicates it's about covers of "hits" (by others) as opposed to a group's own hits. Therefore, "Mas Que Nada" would be on a SMB66 GH poackage since it is arguably most closely identified with them. But since they didn't record it first it could qualify as a "cover" even though it was not technically a BIG "hit" (in the US anyway) for anyone else prior to them. Just my thought.

 

[Harry]

The disc:


Harry

 

[Rudy]

I think the series over-title (Plays the Hits) indicates it's about covers of "hits" (by others) as opposed to a group's own hits. Therefore, "Mas Que Nada" would be on a SMB66 GH poackage since it is arguably most closely identified with them. But since they didn't record it first it could qualify as a "cover" even though it was not technically a BIG "hit" (in the US anyway) for anyone else prior to them. Just my thought.

That could be. They are all cover songs.

Although in Brasil, Tamba Trio had their biggest hit with "Mas Que Nada." It flew under the radar for most of the U.S., however.