Search - Ana Moura :: Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand
Ana Moura Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand Genres:International Music, Pop Portuguese starlet Ana Moura sings with a casual confidence on Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand, which beautifully showcases the traditional fado style of her homeland. It's all the more startling when yo... more »u realize that Moura is only 25 years old, and this is her debut disc. Moura got her start singing in Portuguese clubs and at parties. Soon enough, she was discovered by Jorge Fernando, an accomplished composer, producer and guitarist in his own right. Under his tutelage, Moura blossoms beautifully on Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand, which captures a soothing blend of rehearsed vocal, improvisation and instrumentation. Moura's velvety voice and the subdued production work bleed into each other, and it makes the album an alluring, hypnotic adventure. Particularly enthralling is "Sou do Fado, Sou Fadista," the album's emotional centerpiece, which finds Moura singing about her passion for the traditional fado style. Her work is genuine and heartfelt, and Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand signals the arrival of an exciting new talent on the world music scene. --Joey Guerra« less
Portuguese starlet Ana Moura sings with a casual confidence on Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand, which beautifully showcases the traditional fado style of her homeland. It's all the more startling when you realize that Moura is only 25 years old, and this is her debut disc. Moura got her start singing in Portuguese clubs and at parties. Soon enough, she was discovered by Jorge Fernando, an accomplished composer, producer and guitarist in his own right. Under his tutelage, Moura blossoms beautifully on Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand, which captures a soothing blend of rehearsed vocal, improvisation and instrumentation. Moura's velvety voice and the subdued production work bleed into each other, and it makes the album an alluring, hypnotic adventure. Particularly enthralling is "Sou do Fado, Sou Fadista," the album's emotional centerpiece, which finds Moura singing about her passion for the traditional fado style. Her work is genuine and heartfelt, and Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mao: Keep My Life in Your Hand signals the arrival of an exciting new talent on the world music scene. --Joey Guerra
"There's not a bad track here. And though Ana Moura is strictly classified as a fado musician, there's quite a range here, from the mournful ballads (e.g. tracks 4) to some upbeat and danceable tracks (e.g. track 5). The common thread is a singer with a remarkably controlled voice (compared to other singers, if not fadistas) and beautiful guitar melodies.
Not sure how to articulate this, but you can always identify sincerity in a voice, a real connection to the music- the lead guitar hitting the notes just hard enough, vocalist singing just loud enough, etc. I hear that here.
I've often heard it said that Portuguese is the most beautiful languages in the world, and I'd have to agree. And while I've always been hesitant to learn Portuguese because I was afraid that the lyrics wouldn't hold up, the liner notes include the English language translations to these traditional fados... you won't be disappointed."
Lovely modern Portuguese ballads
Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 02/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A beautiful, melodic set of modern Portuguese fados. Vocalist Moura takes a much softer approach to the music than the traditional, keening style popularized by Amalia Rodrigues and her generation of fadistas. She's no less passionate, however, and this is quite a lovely album... Recommended!"
Anna Moura
T. Schreiber | Seattle | 03/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Portuguese Fado has an irresitble mingling of passion and loss. We are told that it has waned in popularity and its great artists have become relics. Just listen to this fine young woman trace a sampling of its styles, its flavors on this remarkable CD, and you'll hope for it to stay - as it sounds - forever."
Wow!
Neil Purcell | Rutherford, NJ USA | 10/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ana Moura sings wonderfully - and with a passion that fits the beauty of the Portuguese lyrics. I am right now listening to "Sou do fado, sou fadista" - one of my favorite songs on any album - and no matter how many times I come back to this recording, it always moves me. This is music that is beautifully arranged, and performed with great feeling."