Back in 1994 when this was released, I was just stumbling
into learning about Brazilian music and came to this album via its New York
pedigree – my hero Arto Lindsay produced the record, she covers the Velvet
Underground, Laurie Anderson has a guest spot, Philip Glass does an arrangement
and so forth – but it’s Marisa Monte’s talents that held me to the record, not
any of her pals. I was won over by Monte's gorgeous, lilting voice, by the
sheer beauty of the tunes, and by the variety on display.
Turns out that not only was this
record a precursor for the group Tribalistas she later formed with two of her
cohorts here – Carlinhos Brown and Arnaldo Antunes – but it also has proven
over the nearly 20 years since its release to stand strong not just as her
finest hour (well, 50 minutes anyway) but as also one of the finest records out
of the MPB movement that she’s a part of. MPB is short for Música Popular
Brasileira, an all-embracing style of Brazilian pop music that arose in the
post-Bossa Nova era and showed love for all styles of Brazilian music. Monte
here takes on Bossa Nova, a funky Jorge Ben classic (“Balança pema”), an
introspective Velvets classic (“Pale Blue Eyes”), some moody saudade
from Paulinho da Viola (“Dança da solidão”), and a 1950’s samba, never stepping
wrong at any point. But even more than showing her effortless grasp of Brazil’s
musical breadth and history, it’s a showcase for the new tunes (mostly written
by her and her Tribalistas pals) which are of a piece with the time-tested ones
she covers and which show her and her associates’ mastery of pop music.
Kicking off with Carlinhos Brown’s
“Maria de Verdade” the album sets itself quickly into a lovely summery groove
before taking you on a tour of Brazil’s many styles and moods of music. And in
fact, even above Lou Reed and Jorge Ben and Paulinho da Viola, Brown takes tops
honors on the record, though not with the uplifting groove of the lead cut;
it’s his spectacularly lovely tune “Segue O Seco” that’s the killer of the
entire album. It’s a mid-tempo groover with a wistful tone, bordering on
melancholy without surrendering its hope fully to that feeling – it’s simply
too gorgeous to step down to that. After the strong opening songs, the record
starts to jump around stylistically before settling on a more uptempo ending
kicked off by Jorge Ben’s cut, then leading into the mellower Laurie Anderson
guest spot and then closing out with the celebratory samba “Esta Melodia” –
well, it’s celebratory until you tune into the lyrics, which are loaded with
heartbreak but set over such an irresistible melodic line and surging rhythm
that you can’t help getting swept up in the fun of it.
Bouncing from style to style, mood
to mood, Marisa Monte’s talent is nowhere in her catalog more evident than
here, on her best album. And in spite of the cream of Brazil’s modern MPB
movement at her side, in spite of the great songwriters she honors (and works
with), in spite of the guests she’s pulled in to help out (and did I also mention
Gilberto Gil and Bernie Worrell’s spots on the album?), it’s her authority as
singer, bandleader, and musician that holds the whole thing together. It’s a
brilliant record, and despite everyone else I talk about here, it’s Marisa’s
album - her masterpiece, in fact.
- Patrick Brown
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