They're at it again on eBay.

[Harry]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=879119793

Back in April, a cassette of Sergio Mendes' CONFETTI sold for $300. Now it appears that the losing bidder of that one will stop at nothing to get the vinyl version.

Once again, a last track of "Olympia" is listed, and once again, this auction originates in Canada. Putting the pieces together, it would appear that the Canadian release of CONFETTI contained an extra track. The cassette version listed it as an instrumental, whereas this vinyl auction lists it as just "Olympia."

Fascinating.

Are these some crazed Lani Hall fans? (She's in the backing chorus.) Are they crazed James Ingraham fans? (He also appears.) Is the instrumental track of "Olympia" THAT good?

Harry
...inquiring minds want to know, online...

 

[Rudy]

Disposable income lives!!!

Lost a Merry-Go-Round album yesterday. Wondering if I should have kicked up the bid a bit...bidder's regret (at not having bid more!).

-= N =-
http://www.mamselle.ca/error.html

 

[JMK]

Frankly, this is my least favorite of the "second-time-around" A&M years--I only listened to the LP a few times when it first came out, and I only got the CD version because I found it used for $5.00 years ago. What's kind of funny to look at on these is the bid history--the top bidder looks like he bid, but not enough, thought about it for a half hour or so, got frustrated, came back, still not enough, etc., etc., until he finally came out on top. eBay is a fascinating study in social anthropology, if you ask me.

 

[Harry]

^^Agreed. I skipped over all of the 80s Mendes stuff, mostly because I wasn't all that crazy about the pop direction they went in. Once I began my quest to complete the collection, I found, in order, SERGIO MENDES (1983), ARARA, BRASIL 86, and finally CONFETTI. Before eBay became popular, CONFETTI was tough to come by for me in any form. I ended up getting an expensive Japanese import, and was less than thrilled when I finally heard it. I've listened to the title track a few times, but can't recall anything special about the rest of it. I like the other three 80s A&Ms much better, particularly BRASIL 86 and ARARA.

Harry
NP: radio at work

 

[Rudy]

Having grown up on the early Mendes, I never even cared for anything past Crystal Illusions (although I'd never heard Ye-Me-Le other than on a 45).

Funny...Confetti, at least on LP, was one of those titles that constantly resided in every used record store's "Sergio Mendez" bin...they couldn't even give 'em away. I didn't really warm to anything until I got ahold of Brasil '86. Had a couple of others, but still find I like all the early recordings (even pre-A&M) the best.

Must be karma or something--I was just thinking of a poll for favorite B66 albums on the way home from the doctor.

-= N =-

 

[Harry]

The final price for that Mendes Canadian CONFETTI was US$131.82. Amazing, but still not as high as the cassette!

Harry
NP: BEST OF THE CORRS

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned the song "Real Life." I always figured it for a hit....it sounds like a natural followup to "Never Gonna Let You Go" (even though it's a Pizzulo solo vocal). A nice catchy pop song with a hummable chorus. Good song, but of course nothing like early Sergio.

I agree with the general concensus that BRASIL 86 and ARARA were the best of the 2nd A&M era, although I have to say that parts of both albums have not aged nearly as well as the early era albums.

 

[TulitaPepsi]

Mike, I had pegged Love is Waiting as the perfect follow-up to Never Gonna Let You Go, but the follow-up single was (if I remember) Rainbow's End, which went nowhere.

I think the main reason so many of us find the second-period A&M Sergio so unsatisfying is the randomnesss of his sidemen and singers. In the 'core' A&M Brasil '66 (Lani, Karen, Dom, Sebastiao, and Rubens) and even in the Gracinha/Bonnie/Carol Rogers/Marietta incarnation of Brasil '77, Sergio used the same people for many years - you got the feeling that this was a unified combo. With the second A&M period, Sergio was seemingly only consistant with Joe Pizzulo, Gracinha and Kevyn Lettau. People come and go with each album ("Hi Lani, nice to see you again! Bye, Lani, nice having you!") There were no core Brasilian musicians and the unique Sergio 'sound' got watered down into something pretty indistinct. Ironically, the most 'Sergesque' album of this period was the Japanese-produced 'LA TRANSIT' by De Novo (1986) which was virtually a Brasil '77 album - without Sergio!

 

[Mr Bill]

Hmmm. I think you've hit the nail on the head on that analogy! I always compared Sergio's "second A&M era" with Quincy Jones. In other words Sergio bacame more a "producer" and "creative force" in his recordings, in some cases not even playing on some tunes. Of his "Second A&M Era" I like the first two and 'Brasil '86 best (well, I guess Arara is good because of a few tunes but the misses counterbalance the good tunes). And I, for one, much prefer "Rainbow's End" to "Never Gonna Let You Go"

--Mr B
wishing "Olympia" had been the hit it deserved to be as well...

 

[Rudy]

Looking back, Arara never got much play around here after I bought it. The remake of "Mas Que Nada" was more a novelty than anything else (and it didn't take long for even that song to "wear out" since it's now my least favorite of anyone's version)...beyond that, I can't remember any other song from it. I guess it's a "forgettable" album in my book, then...?

Brasil '86 at least had some good Brazilian tunes on it. I usually skip the "pop" songs, though--the singers just grate on my nerves, and to me it's too large of a contrast to hear these pop wailers against the softer, gentler voices of Dori Caymmi and Lani Hall. Spoils the mood for me.

Common thread: even back in the Brasil '66 days, I prefer Brazil (or jazz, like his pre-'66 recordings) over pop when played by Sergio.

-= N =-