🎵 AotW Sergio Mendes - SERGIO MENDES (SP-4937)

[LPJim]

Sergio Mendes
SERGIO MENDES
A&M SP-4937

TRACKS:

Voodoo 3:55/ Never Gonna Let You Go (#4) 3:55/ My Summer Love 4:00/ Carnaval 3:50

Rainbow's End 4:03/ Love is Waiting 3:47/ Dream Hunter 3:02/ Life in the Movies 3:52/ Si Senor 3:46

Recorded by Geoff Gillette ... Mixed by Bruce Swedien at Kendun Recorders ... Mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Recording Studios ... Recorded at Kendun Recorders .. Bob Winard, Benny Faccone and Tim Dennen, assistant engineers ...

... Special thanks to Herb Alpert who believed again and everybody at A&M Records, all the wonderful writers, singers and musicians who participated in this project ... Ruben and Louise Romero, Roland and Kat Young, Richard Rosenberg and Bruce Swedien for the additional magic ...

Ernie Watts appears courtesy of Qwest Records. John Robinson and Michael Sembello courtesy of Warner Brothers Records ...

Chuck Beeson, art direction; Melanie Hanson, design; Otto Stupakoff, photography

Entered the Billboard Top 200 on May 7, 1983 ... reached # 27 and charted for 27 weeks
Also released as CD 4937

JB

 

[Harry]

This is one I "rescued" from the record library at work. There were several copies, and I'd just had my interest in Sergio Mendes renewed after logging in to A&M Corner. My collection had languished at not much beyond VINTAGE '74, so I had a lot of catching up to do. This album, SERGIO MENDES, was an early find (and not having to pay for it was a bonus!).

I remember taking it home and giving it a spin on the turntable and being quite surprised at both how much Sergio's music had changed - and how much I liked it. The opener "Voodoo" was a fairly dance-oriented song. It was way different than the "Fool On The Hill" days, that's for sure. The next song was of course familiar from endless plays on radio and even appeared on compilations I'd gotten.

"My Summer Love" was the song that hooked me for this album. Hearing Gracinha rooted the album firmly in the Sergio Mendes music camp, and the groove continued with "Carnaval".

Side Two was a mixed bag, but still fun, and I decided that the album was a keeper.

The first four tracks to the SERGIO MENDES (1983) return to A&M were also released in Spanish on the AyM 30004 version (titled PICARDIA).
They are:

Brujo (Voodoo)
Nunca Mas Diras Adios (Never Gonna Let You Go)
Un Loco Dia (My Summer Love)
Carnaval

The tracks were originally recorded by a variety of vocalists. Gracinha does more heavy-duty lifting on these Spanish tracks. Joe Pizzulo does his thing in Spanish, making for a refreshing change from the oft-heard hit version.

Harry

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

Love "Rainbow's End".....

 

[jfiedler17]

Most professional music critics have tended to really pick this album apart, but I myself have always really liked this album. Yeah, it's definitely less Latin than most of Sergio's albums, but the playing is still really first-rate and there's a lot of really quality songwriting here, too. "Never Gonna Let You Go" may not be typical Sergio material, but it remains one of the better adult-contemporary ballads of the early '80s (and it's hard to go wrong, honestly, with anything Barry Mann and/or Cynthia Weil write; those two have an absolutely amazing body of work). "My Summer Love" is a wonderful piece of songwriting to begin with, but the performance and production of it just takes it to a whole new level - there's a certain atmosphere and ambience to it that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it - definitely one of his most underrated recordings. (Gracinha's vocal on it is really excellent, too.) And "Carnival" is just sheer fun; it's hard not to get lured in! I agree that Side Two's a bit more of a mixed bag, but I'm actually quite fond of the first two tracks: the production may date them a little, but the songwriting behind "Rainbow's End" (shoulda been a bigger hit) and "Love Is Waiting" is some of David Batteau's best and catchiest work. (Underrated songwriter, that guy. Seriously, check out the guy's resume sometime. You'd be surprised just how many songs he's written you would be familiar with. Never been a household name, but I must own at least two dozen different albums that have songs of his on them, and by a wildly eclectic grab bag of artists, too, i.e. Manhattan Transfer, Bonnie Raitt, Jeffrey Osborne, Seals & Crofts, Rufus, Wilson Phillips, El Chicano, The Temptations)
Of course, if you're judging this album by how Latin-oriented it is, I guess you could consider it a disappointment, but I don't think the reviews this album got would have been nearly as harsh if it hadn't been billed to Sergio. Judged purely as an adult-contemporary record, it's actually quite wonderful. I actually, believe it or not, bought this album at a Camelot with my allowance when I was about eight or nine, and I've held on to it all this time, which tells you how much I enjoyed it!

 

[Dave]

I'm unfortunately one of the ones who did not care much for this album... Too much Pop Song Commerciality! Just about every one at this time had to have an outside-songwriter-written jingle to burn up the Charts (George Benson, Quincy Jones--and now our beloved Sergio!) to the point where you longed for one of the girls (Karen Phillip--Lani Hall!) to have fronted something like this even more...

The Brasilian ouever of Sergio's catalog and on what could have been a much more credible return to A&M--that label representing his successful career since its own recognizable birth--just seems to be too jettisoned in favor of banal MOR Top 40 and flacid AOR fluff...

So sadly, there was too much stumblin' & lumberin' such as this to find or at least return to the right path of Mendes's more recognizable & better liked part of his career...

(Though whatever the case, this song surely does get sung out well by who ever is handy at his concerts, if that is the one place to give some credit, anyway...)

-- Dave

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I pretty much despise this album. It had nothing of value for me. "Never Gonna Let You Go" makes me cringe anytime I hear it. When I saw Sergio a year or two ago and he did that tune it just seemed so out of place from everything else he did (except for that [c]rap thing he had with him). Pass....




Capt. Bacardi

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

If you like Quincy's albums from the 80s and 90s, you like Sergio's 80s albums as well....I honestly think that's exactly the idea he was going for, for better or worse....

 

[Rudy]

If you like Quincy's albums from the 80s and 90s, you like Sergio's 80s albums as well....I honestly think that's exactly the idea he was going for, for better or worse....

I didn't warm to this particular album as much, but I practically played a hole through my CD of Brasil '86. The big hit, though, was a welcome breath of fresh air on the radio at the time (that opening keyboard vamp is unmistakably Sergio's), until radio overplayed it. I can certainly hear some of the similarities between "Never Gonna Let You Go" and a couple of assorted James Ingram songs (which were produced by Quincy Jones). It fit in well with what was on AC radio at the time.

Interesting how I finally got this on CD, after it was long out of print, hard to find, and expensive. It is actually a "rescue" CD. An acquaintance of mine in California is a garbage hauler. "Dirty Larry", we call him. Quite frequently, daily in fact, he finds items of value in perfectly good condition that people throw away. His audio system, in fact, probably featured a receiver that he'd found sitting on top of someone's garbage can! He's made extra money selling most of the good stuff he finds. It still astounds him, the amount of waste he sees out there.

Anyway, out of the blue I get a message..."You like Sergio Mendes? Shoot me your address." That's it. No clue. A few weeks later, this CD shows up. Hence, my "rescue" CD.

 

[jfiedler17]

Great story, Rudy!

I can see the Quincy Jones comparison. And I do like Quincy's albums from the '80s (my dad and I both have worn out multiple copies of The Dude; I love that album!) , so it makes sense that I would like this one, too. Thing is, though, I really like most of Sergio's more Brazilian-flavored albums, too. Irregardless what style he dabbles in, the guy just surrounds himself with excellent musicians and songwriters. If I had to pick a favorite album of his, I'd similarly have to look back to his "classic" work from the '60s and I'd probably have to go with Look Around. (Which is a big family favorite in my family, too. There's few songs that you can put on and get my whole family singing along the way that "Like a Lover" or "Look Around" does.) But at the end of the day - and maybe this is just because I'm an amateur songwriter myself and have a whole lot of admiration of the craft for that reason - I ultimately just like albums based on the quality of the songwriting, I guess, irregardless of its genre or intended audience, which is why I gravitate both towards Sergio's more Latin-tinged material and his purely-pop outings of the '80s like this one or Confetti, which is a little less uneven than this disc but has a couple gems of its own like "Alibis" and "Real Life." Nothing remotely Brazilian about either of those songs, of course, but as adult-contemporary records?, I love 'em!

 

[Rudy]

I'd say my favorite Sergio mode is the Bossa Nova/jazz concept he had on earlier albums like Dance Moderno, Quiet Nights, Brasil '65 (aka In The Brazilian Bag, and other titles it's gone by). And of course, those purer Brazilian-themed albums rank up there as well. Those tracks on Fool On The Hill ("Festa", "Casa Forte", "Lapinha") hinted at what was to come in that department, especially making more use of songwriting by the likes of Edu Lobo and his contemporaries, which we only had a hint of on Look Around ("Pra Dizer Adeus").

 

[toeknee4bz]

I didn't warm to this particular album as much, but I practically played a hole through my CD of Brasil '86. The big hit, though, was a welcome breath of fresh air on the radio at the time (that opening keyboard vamp is unmistakably Sergio's), until radio overplayed it. I can certainly hear some of the similarities between "Never Gonna Let You Go" and a couple of assorted James Ingram songs (which were produced by Quincy Jones). It fit in well with what was on AC radio at the time.

Bingo! It was Sergio's attempt at a comeback in the 1980s, and it had to be drastically different from Brasil '66. If you compare the two, it's apples and oranges by contrast. (Full disclosure: I never really cared for Brasil '66... too many syruppy arrangements of '60s pop hits enveloped in wimpy mixed chorus, despite the fact that Lani was singing lead).

But I digress... I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and [naturally] I was more open to the sounds of the day than what I suspect most on the Corner were. To each his own, I suppose. When I originally bought this album, I was buying it because I truly enjoyed "Rainbow's End" and "Never Gonna Let You Go". I knew it was going to be vastly different from the Sergio Mendes of old, and that was fine by me. And since it didn't have any 'Brasil' moniker on it, there really was no comparison. I think if more people just listened to this album for what it is, and not compare it to Brasil '66, they just might enjoy it a little more.

I was just wondering: Did anybody notice the two instrumental tracks on this album? I don't know about anyone else, but "Dream Hunter" and especially "Si, Senor", along with the aforementioned vocal "Carnaval", all sounded pretty Latin to me. Not that it's a prerequisite. Just sayin'.

I will say this much: If you don't care for this album, you probably aren't likely to care for CONFETTI either. And for that matter, BRASIL '86 is also a bit misleading by it's title. Several of the songs on that album ("Nonstop" and "Daylight", for example) are quite funky and synthesized, and definitely don't fit the 'Brasil' category either. It's like comparing Herb Alpert's BULLISH to THE LONELY BULL. You'll be disappointed every time.

 

[Rudy]

I liked Brasil '86 quite a bit, but...well, I wasn't as broad in my interests in the 70s, but by the 80s I was pretty much into everything, and some of his albums from the 70s and 80s just didn't play well to me. The Brasil '86 had moments that really touched on the sounds of Brasil during that time period, as I was listening to some current recordings by Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Dori Caymmi, Ivan Lins, etc. and the album was a perfect fit alongside those (despite the more pop-oriented songs, which were good if a bit derivative of others on the pop charts during that era). Siedah Garrett, in fact, was on other albums I owned, so hers was not an unfamiliar voice.

The only syrupy thing for me was Dave Grusin's strings all over some of those Brasil '66 albums. Sweetening is one thing; bludgeoning them is another. For me, that slips the album right out of the Brasilian music bin straight into Muzak. But those first three albums are IMHO the best of that era (Look Around only had sweetening on a few of the tracks, and tasteful at that), and I could cherry pick some great Brasil '66 tracks from Fool onward (ones which for the most part don't feature any strings at all--"Casa Forte" and "Lapinha" from Fool are IMHO some of the best they've ever done). Also, even with strings, there are two great tracks on Crystal Illusions: "Song of No Regrets" and "Salt Sea."

For me, with Sergio, I'm on board to hear the Brasilian tunes. The rest? Meh.

 

[Mr Bill]

Like Bill Cantos, my favorite cut is "Rainbow's End." And it indeed has the feel of the Quincy Jones albums of that era, with Sergio clearly being a "musician's producer. IMHO, this was his best album since he'd left A&M more than a decade earlier...

 

[Harry]

After I had obtained the SERGIO MENDES (1983) LP from the old record library, I was fairly content, but still, I was nagged by the fact that I'd actually held all of these '80s Mendes discs in my had as CDs, but balked at spending the hefty prices CDs were going for back then when I didn't recognize a single song on any of them. At that time (just before 2000), there were a scant few online places that handled obscure CDs like Thoughtscape Sounds and another one - can't recall its name, but it had massive listings of anything that was *ever* in print, You'd order from them and then *maybe* in six months or so, you might get your disc.

As I recall, they were able to easily obtain SERGIO MENDES (1983) on CD and they found me a Japanese issue from 1996 (POCM-1978). BRASIL '86 however took much longer, but they actually found a US issue (CD 5135) brand new. My CONFETTI copy came from the same Japanese series as the 83 album (POCM-1978). ARARA was one I actually found myself in a used CD shop.

Harry

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I also had my interest in Sergio "reawakened" by A&M Corner, but unlike Harry I had been buying all the albums. I was happily surprised that he returned to A&M and I did like the album, but I admit I was hoping for more of a Brazilian connection. My favorite tracks are "My Summer Love" and "Life in the Movies." I didn't like "Never Gonna Let You Go" too much at all -- I mean, it was a good pop ballad but it didn't sound at all like a Sergio Mendes record; it sounded like something any other singer of the era could have done.

The next album Confetti was similar to this one, with Gracinha featured a little more prominently. Her tracks were excellent, but I thought one track on the album, "Real Life," was an absolute killer. To this day I love that tune. Why that song wasn't a smash hit is a complete mystery to me. It should have followed the same hit-single path as the Doobie Brothers' "What A Fool Believes."

I also liked Brasil '86 but my favorite songs on it were the ones sung by Gracinha and Lani -- the funky "American" sounding cuts were a little too generic for me.

 

[toeknee4bz]

I also liked Brasil '86 but my favorite songs on it were the ones sung by Gracinha and Lani -- the funky "American" sounding cuts were a little too generic for me.

That was the problem I had with BRASIL '86. "Daylight", "Take This Love", "Nonstop" and "What Do We Mean To Each Other" were fine for another type of album... but I kept wondering "Where's the 'Brasil'?"

 

[Dave]

My very reason why Sergio's stuff from the '80's was avoided by yours truly... However, give me something like Arara and he'll be pretty on-point!

Though I've never really had the mosaic cover album, (Brasil '86) so I probably there, otherwise don't know what I'm missing... But I could never go for Sergio listening to the two radios on the cover of Brasil '88, so I avoided that one to this day!



-- Dave

 

[Mike Blakesley]

That one (Brasil 88) has one terrific tune, "Tiro Cruzado." You should try to find that on a download or something. The rest of the album is pretty dated but that song really kicks it. If you liked "Asa Branca" from Pais Tropical you would probably like it.

As for the Brasil '86 album, the tunes sung by Gracinha are the ones that have dated the best. There's also the reunion with Lani Hall, "No Place To Hide." So the album is about half great, half forgettable.

 

[JMK]

Oh, I think Brasil '88 has more than just one great tune. "Misturada" is brilliant, with some Return to Forever-esque interplay between Sergio and Oscar. And even the disco-fied material like "One More Lie" and "That's Enough for Me" has great grooves and delicious vocals by Carol. And I think "Midnight Lovers" is one of Sergio's most gorgeous arrangements from this era. I frankly never really cottoned to Lani's version.

 

[jfiedler17]

The next album Confetti was similar to this one, with Gracinha featured a little more prominently. Her tracks were excellent, but I thought one track on the album, "Real Life," was an absolute killer. To this day I love that tune. Why that song wasn't a smash hit is a complete mystery to me. It should have followed the same hit-single path as the Doobie Brothers' "What A Fool Believes."

Totally have to agree with you about "Real Life." I will never understand why that one wasn't a huge hit. Fortunately for Sergio, "Alibis" did go Top 40, but I personally think "Real Life" is the more impressive piece of songwriting. The melody of that one never fails to give me goosebumps. (The intro alone, with the ghostly synthesizer sound, can really give you chills, too.) Just a gorgeous, incredible song. Easily one of the best mainstream pop singles of the '80s to never reach the Top 40, in my opinion.

 

[toeknee4bz]

Totally have to agree with you about "Real Life." I will never understand why that one wasn't a huge hit. Fortunately for Sergio, "Alibis" did go Top 40, but I personally think "Real Life" is the more impressive piece of songwriting. The melody of that one never fails to give me goosebumps. (The intro alone, with the ghostly synthesizer sound, can really give you chills, too.) Just a gorgeous, incredible song. Easily one of the best mainstream pop singles of the '80s to never reach the Top 40, in my opinion.

Another 'woulda'-'shoulda'-'coulda' been a hit from that era was "Olympia". For that matter, most of the Joe Pizzulo vocal tracks blended perfectly into the pop musical canvas of the 1980s.

 

[toeknee4bz]

The opener "Voodoo" was a fairly dance-oriented song. It was way different than the "Fool On The Hill" days, that's for sure. The next song was of course familiar from endless plays on radio and even appeared on compilations I'd gotten.

"My Summer Love" was the song that hooked me for this album. Hearing Gracinha rooted the album firmly in the Sergio Mendes music camp, and the groove continued with "Carnaval".

The first four tracks to the SERGIO MENDES (1983) return to A&M were also released in Spanish on the AyM 30004 version (titled PICARDIA).
They are:

Brujo (Voodoo)
Nunca Mas Diras Adios (Never Gonna Let You Go)
Un Loco Dia (My Summer Love)
Carnaval

The tracks were originally recorded by a variety of vocalists. Gracinha does more heavy-duty lifting on these Spanish tracks. Joe Pizzulo does his thing in Spanish, making for a refreshing change from the oft-heard hit version.

Harry

I don't know about anyone else, but I always thought "Voodoo" sounded better in Spanish (as "Brujo"). The Spanish lyrics just blend better rhythmically. Same goes for "Carnaval" (I always cringed at the English part of the verse "you'll like it , you'll love it" or some such jingly nonsense... sounds like a tv ad or something). Yep. Much better in Spanish. As for the others, asi asi.

 

[Rudy]

One thing I took away from a recent Sergio Mendes interview was that he recorded the sounds he liked to hear. So in the 80s, he was more into recording music himself that was based on what was popular at the time. And we could even say the same about Timeless. Sort of following his own path and if something became a hit? That's just icing on the cake.

I guess for someone who's been recording for over 50 years now, he's pretty much heard (and tried!) it all.

 

[Harry]

I don't know about anyone else, but I always thought "Voodoo" sounded better in Spanish (as "Brujo"). The Spanish lyrics just blend better rhythmically. Same goes for "Carnaval" (I always cringed at the English part of the verse "you'll like it , you'll love it" or some such jingly nonsense... sounds like a tv ad or something). Yep. Much better in Spanish. As for the others, asi asi.

The one thing about "Brujo" that makes it better IMHO than "VooDoo" is that the vocals are done by Gracinha, making it sound more like a Sergio Mendes record.

Harry

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

Just listened to "Brujo" - I prefer it to the English too....I always hated the lyric about 'your spooky voodoo' and not having it in English takes it to a cooler place, imho....wow, I forgot just how "Ai No Corrida"-ish this track was! Fun, though...