Search - Daniela Mercury :: Sol Da Liberdade

Whatever they put in the water in Salvador, Brazil, seems to work wonders. Not only has the city produced talents like Caetano Veloso, Olodum, and Margareth Menezes, but also the queen of percussive axe music, Daniela Mercury. On her first studio outing in three years, she puts an extra gloss on the production (thanks to Emilio Estefan Jr., Gloria Estefan's husband), but it doesn't obscure the strong roots of her music. Instead, it puts her in a position to reach a much broader audience with plenty of electric guitar on tracks like "Axe Axe" and rhythms that make sitting still impossible. Even when she lowers the flame, as on the samba-ish "Sou Voce," her rich voice remains irresistible. Few artists can cover the spectrum of their music with such passion and integrity, and reconcile art and commerce in such a package. --Chris Nickson