Two Discs of New & Old
bordersj2 | Boston | 08/16/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I saw this one in the music shop a few times and thought it looked pretty interesting. It's a series done up on Union Square Music, a label out of the UK that's known for putting out some pretty diverse compilations across musical styles. Brazil: The Essential Album was off of it as well as "A Night in Havana", "A Night in Istanbul" or even "A Night in Bombay".
This one, "A Night in Rio", is a pretty good double disc set with a disc 2 stand-out. That disc starts out with Seu Jorge's "Carolina", a song that'll transport you right to walking in Rio and hearing it in on the radio. Ole' Knockout Ned did a good job with this. It's followed up eerily well with Djavan's classic "Maria Das Mercedes" and then Chico Buarque's "Pedro Pedreiro"; both cuts are loaded with that guitar and groove that you're used to from the 60's & 70's 'soul Brasil'. Other highlights to disc one are easily Vertente's "Chuva", Eliane Elias "Choro", Jussara's "Desencontro" and Sabrina Malheiro's "Estacao Verao" is featured here in cd format with the Kenny Dope remix. CD1 on this compilation isn't so bad but it didn't have the same strength of songs (IMO) that CD2 did. I dig Democustico's dancefloor oriented "Brazil", Joyce's mad mellow "A Hard Day's Night" and Grupo Cabana's "So Danca Samba".
The verdict? Sure, pick this up! Especially if you enjoyed "Brazil - The Essential Album" or the "Nu Brasil" franchise. It's got a good variety of old and new cuts that I enjoyed and this is un-mixed; there's no cross-fading at all. Not all of the cuts got me on this but there's more than enough quality here to warrant giving it a shot as long as you're not breaking the bank for it. One warning I have though is to be very careful of overlap between these and any other Brazilian compilations you check out. And if you dig this, you may like those compilations mentioned along with "Spirit of Brazil" and the tremendous "Brazilian Love Affair" series off of another UK label (Far Out Records)."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1