Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits

CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF HIS SOUNDS AND MUSIC. IT REALLY MOVES THE WHOLE OF YOUR BEING. LOVED IT.

A fantastic sollection of Sergio Mendes' bossa nova covers under the famous group name of "Brasil 66". The much played Beatles and Bacharach & David numbers are all here, lending themselves surprisingly well to the gentle bossa nova sway that makes Brasil 66 tracks the most highly prized of all lounge music by retro heads today. There's no sense of embarrassment in hearing songs like "Fool on the Hill" or "Going Out of My Head" converted into sunny lounge music, because Sergio Mendes treats the material with respect and skilfully re-works them with his own musical style. Actually, the Brasil 66 version of "The Look of Love" is probably one of the best versions of that song, period. Not all the songs are covers though, and the original compositions like "Look Around" and "So Many Stars" are equally as good as those previously mentioned.

The smooth female vocals are by Lani Hall, and her performance plays a large part in the charm of the music. Lani has an easy, effortless singling style with no histrionics or heavy stylized interpretions of the lyrics, so the vocals simply lay down the words and let the music get on with the job. And along with the authentic latin percussion of the group, every arrangement is spot on perfect.

With this many good songs you are really spoiled for choice. I can't think of any that need skipping, and there's no doubt that the sparkling "Mas Que Nada" has gone down in history as the quintessetial Mendes anthem, and rightly so. My only gripe (I always have one!) is that this CD seems to be a near re-issue of an old CD collection called "The Very Best of Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66" with the same tracklisting but with four tracks missing - and my personal favourite, called "Watch What Happens" has not been featured, which annoyed me somewhat, as it is a gorgeous little number. But despite that omission, what you do get is a fantastic feast, heavily loaded up with musical delicacies to pick and choose from. Before the lounge movement became ripe for rediscovery (and parodied by groups like Mike Flowers Pops, and so on), this was the real deal, and it has stood the test of time, sounding as fresh today as it did in it's time of origin. I can see why.

It's hard to believe this music is over 40 years old. It there were a rating for six stars, this would surely get it. And the lesser known songs are probably the best cuts on the album. What I like best about this album and music from this era is that you get to hear actual and real musicians playing... no synthesizers, no big echo effects covering up bad singing... real drummers, real string players, real everything. The string arrangement on Like A Lover is wonderful. Highly, highly recommended. You won't find better at less than $8.

Mais Que Nada came on the radio in my local coffee shop today, and I had to dredge my memory for "flyover AM radio pop songs from 40 years ago" to come up with the name Brasil 66. What a surprise to hear this song again -- what a rare delight. It hasn't just aged well, it shines brighter in 2006 than when it was released. Lead singer Lani Hall may not be Astrud Gilberto, but the similarity in their voices is remarkable. She is superb. Mendes's piano is damn near perfect, sliding from background to foreground with fluidity and precision, always on the edge of some breakaway improvisation, barely restraining himself. Talk about a clean arrangement! What a fun song. Too bad I barely noticed it the first time around.

The first time I bought this album, it was on 8 track, I was in college, and it was quite a departure from the usual 60s music. The CD sounds much better, but, then again, my stereo system is much better than the speakers in my old Mustang. The songs seem a little old now, makes me feel like I'm listening to an oldies station, but the vocals and instrumentals are still great to hear.