Sergio Mendes RENDEZ-VOUS review

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TulitaPepsi

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Well, it's no ENCANO or BON TEMPO.
Lush production values. Ten tracks. Two are outstanding, Three are just OK, Five are meh-to-ugh.

No coincidence that the top five have backing from Gracinha & Sergio.

BEST:
Última Batucada (Yoshie Nakano). A delicious treat from HORIZONTE ABERTO with lyrics in Portuguese and Japanese. Unlike Sergio's other recent re-dos, the arrangement is a near carbon-copy of the original. Makes me yearn for a re-mastered re-release of HORIZONTE. Does Sergio even own the rights to it?

Shimbalaiê (Julia Oki). A recent (2011) song by Maria Gadú. A mellow yet bouncy fisherman's prayer to Iemanjá, lightly sprinkled with chimes. Just beautiful.

Just OK:
O amor é pra se amar. A lovely song by Tonino Horta, who also arranged this. For my tastes, the arrangement is too busy and overdone and the vocalist Rimi Natsukawa has an annoying metallic tone to her voice. The best vocals are by Sergio.

Summer Champion (Gille) Bet you never Sergio would revist MAGIC LADY, didja? The rare B'88 Japanese single of "Summer Dream" is fairly accurately reproduced, minus Sergio's piano riffing.

Real in Rio (Marcia) A poppier and less evocative version of one of Sergio's contributions to the RIO soundtrack in Portuguese and Japanese.

Meh-to-ugh:
Wispy little vocals make dull versions of Manha de Carnaval and Sukiyaki. Sumire's Tasogare No Begin barely sounds like Sergio had anything to do with it. Hoshi No Love Letter is rattling and forgettable. Killing Me Softly With His Song (its inclusion probably due to the fact that LOVE MUSIC was a hit album in Asia) is the worst - the weak vocals of Karen Mok makes LaToya Jackson sound like Mahalia Jackson by comparison.

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Got my copy a couple of days ago. Sergio still is able to craft wonderful little moments even in less than stellar material. The reharmonizations on Mahna de Carnaval are great.
 
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