You stepped out of a dream

Status
Not open for further replies.

Aqua do Brasil

Well-Known Member
Dear Mendes fans,

Although some of the forum members are not too pleased with the Dave Grusin arreangements on the Mendes recordings i will analyzing the following wonderful song for you;

You stepped out of a dream, from the album Crystal Illussions is a remarkable showcase of Brazilian/American cooperation:

A nice interlude by Sergio's voce with lush (but background sweeping strings) underneath his voice followed by the trademarkBrasil 66 rythm, (Sebastiao Neto, Rubens Bassini, Dom Um Romao and Oscar Castro Neves) and unisonic texture of Lani and Karens voices and a wonderful typical Sergio acoustic piano solo as bridge all surrounded by the lush, but not overwhleming orchestrations of Grusin (in my humble opinion a masterful arranger for Brasil 66).

Songwise; a strong choose of repertoire and till now the
oldest song with Sergio Mendes ever recorded.
Written in 1942 by Sammy Cahn and Herb Nacio brown and first appearded in the moving picture The Ziegfield Follies.

A wonderful recording and, amongst othes one of my favourites from Brasil 66.

all the best,
Aqua do Brasil
 
I also like "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" -- always have. Good description, Aqua!! It's a bright spot on the album, although I've always enjoyed Crystal Illusions -- to me an extension of Fool On The Hill. I've always said the two could have been released as a double album.

Jon
 
Now that you mention it- it was a great cover of that song. Could have been a big hit. I consider Crystal Illusions the last of the "Brasil 66" era.
 
You're not alone. When it comes to Crystal Illusions, a lot of people "stop" in reference to Brasil '66. Personally, I like both Ye-Me-Le and Stillness very much. There's three different versions of Brasil '66, each broken up according to artists and personnel. You have:

Version #1
Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
Equinox
Look Around


Version #2
Fool On The Hill
Crystal Illusions
Ye-Me-Le
Live At The Expo '70


Version #3
Stillness

I see each as a step in the evolution of Brasil '66 -- something of which I've always been fascinated.

Jon
 
"You Stepped Out Of A Dream" was always one of my favorites from Crystal Illusions. It occurs in the middle of Side Two, just after two of my other faves, "Pretty World" and "Dois Dias", and just before the album's slam-bang finish, the title track "Crystal Illusions." I too am fond of the Dave Grusin orchestrations, regardless of the views of others. That's OK - we all have our likes and dislikes. Anyway that Side Two of the LP was amazing the first time I heard it, and it continues to delight me to this day. Side One was no slouch either!

By the way, this is one of the tracks heard regularly on our nostalgia station. They're motto is "Great Stars, Great Songs" so this fits the bill perfectly.

Harry
...looking at Crystal Illusions from both sides now, online...
 
I thought I'd be the only here that liked "You Stepped out of a Dream", thank goodness I've been proven wrong! I love the beautiful string opening at the begining of this song. I think this is definitive Brasil '66; not as jazzy as earlier recordings, but a great song nonetheless.

Joe, confessing his love for ALL Mendes songs, Grusin or no Grusin!
 
Joe said:
I thought I'd be the only here that liked "You Stepped out of a Dream", thank goodness I've been proven wrong! I love the beautiful string opening at the begining of this song. I think this is definitive Brasil '66; not as jazzy as earlier recordings, but a great song nonetheless.

You are most certainly not alone in your love of "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" my friend. I'm with you all the way. I also love the string opening. It's a masterful arrangement. I also love the way it takes off with Lani and Karen's vocals...sensational!! It is, indeed, definitive of Brasil '66.

Joe said:
Joe, confessing his love for ALL Mendes songs, Grusin or no Grusin!

I feel the same. With or without Grusin, Sergio & Brasil '66 were a sensational group. Amazing how well the material has held up throughout the years. Personally, I don't think Grusin's strings detracted from the sound of Brasil '66. If anything, he added dimension -- another step in the evolution of Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66.

Jon
 
"COULD THERE BE EYES LIKE YOURS..."
sorry, couldn't resist. I agree, I really like this song. The ladies seem less synched as they do in other songs. (perhaps forshadowing to Ye-Me-Le). yes, come to think of it, there is a whole underlying synchronization thing going... From The first album (Lani doing the vocals twice to perfection) to Stillness (think Viramundo with each singer singing her own version of the song).
Then in brasil '77 they are back to overlapping the same singer for fluency (of that language). (Gone Forever, Tonga, After Midnight?)

Do you all think I may have something here???? (or has this already been discussed?)

trevor
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom