Search - Seu Jorge, Ana Carolina :: Ao Vivo: Live (W/Dvd)

An Extraordinary Meeting of Voice & Soul ... Ao Vivo

Juan Mobili | Valley Cottage, NY USA | 04/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In an understated voice, Seu Jorge opens this concert promising that the main connection tonight is with the audience. The tone is humble, but not sentimental ... and then he announces "1967, Farofa Carioca"--the name his first band, years before Bowie & Zissou made him a star--and their song, Sao Gonca, propels his voice to show an extraordinary emotional range, nothing expected from his introductory words.



The gorgueos bossa of Problema Social follows, and Jorge again hits the measured intimacy the lyrics ask for--"If I could tweak my fate/I would be not a boy selling lemons/working at the street fair all day/to earn his bread ... If I could I would not be a social problem." The first half of this album is pure Seu Jorge, even more real and immersed in the music itself than in "Cru" which is to say a lot, he seems to relax in front of the public, be at ease. His hit Carolina proves that, relaxed never meant to be laid back.



Ana Carolina does not appear until the fifth track, "Comparsas," but when it does, you know she's here to blow you away. This happens unarguably in the duet's version of Damien Rice's The Blower's Daughter, renamed E Isso Ai in Portuguese, A song which was great in its original version--which, by the way, is clearly credited to Rice everywhere in the album--but is at least matched by Seu & Ana. Carolina kills here.



And this is just half of the album. Jorge offer his Brazilian form of Punk attitude through O Beat Do Beata and Chatterton adding some irony and rebel soul to the proceedings, while Carolina excels again in Pra Rua Me Levar and is simply amazing in Beatriz--half Maria Bethania, half Diana Krall--the classic Chico Buarque song about Dante's longing for his unreachable lover.



All in all, this is worth having. and hanving handy to listen to it a few times, specially if you're new to these people. The music will take you the rest of the way."

Muito Bom!

Coutch | Washington, DC | 04/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Listen, please ignore the review from the person who bought this album because he/she wanted listen to something Brazilian. If that is the case this person was better off buying a compilation of Samba or Forro music. His Brazilian friend made a great recommendation.



One thing this reviewer was right about is that they do a cover of Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" and it's fantastic. Mr. Rice would be honored. As for not giving Rice credit for writing it, I'm not sure where that information came from but if the reviewer knew anything about Seu Jorge, he would have known that this artist covers Western pop music with a Brazilian spin.



Putting all of what I wrote aside, this is a lovely album and the songs are romantic and well played. In fact, the songs make this album perfect to listen to with a loved one--and with any luck--fall deeper."

One of my best recent purchases...

Kenneth Brewer | San Diego, CA | 03/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a big fan of Seu Jorge since I first heard his Bowie covers in the movie "My Life Aquatic." After playing around with Youtube, I discovered his work with Ana Carolina. I found a portuguese version of Damien Rice's Blower's Daughter that they did, and that was the closer. I had to have the album. One of my best recent purchases. It comes with a regionless DVD, which did not work with my software on my computer but had no problems on my DVD player. The DVD contains extra material. Almost every song on this album is great on its own merit. Highly recommended."