Caetano Veloso [Import]

1. Little More Blue

2. London, London

3. Maria Bethânia

4. If You Hold a Stone

5. Shoot Me Dead

6. In the Hot Sun of a Christmas Day

7. Asa Branca

Caetano Veloso,Caetano Veloso,Universal Int'l,Brazil,Brazilian,Int'l & World Music,Latin,MPB,World Music

Average customer rating: uneven, and not what it claims to be CAETANO Rare Fine Wine The very worst of Caetano Veloso O que e uma cosa bella?

The Best of Caetano Veloso Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Baroque Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Alternative Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music International | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Purists | Warner Brothers Records | Stores | Music Similar Items: A Foreign Sound Talk to Her Songs of Almodóvar Cê Fina Estampa ASIN: B0000C23DI Release Date: 2003-09-16

Tracks:

1. O Estrangeiro
2. Manhata
3. 13 De Maio
4. Fina Estampa
5. Haiti
6. Baiao Da Penha
7. Cucurrucucu Paloma (Live)
8. Um Tom
9. Tradicao
10. Que Nao Se Ve (Come Tu Mi Vuoi) (Live)
11. Michelangelo Antonioni
12. Itapua
13. Onde O Rio E Mais Baiano
14. Un Vestido Y Un Amor
15. Na Baixa Do Sapateiro

Customer Reviews:

uneven, and not what it claims to be.......2006-02-12

This CD is actually a compilation of stuff recorded between 1992 and 2001, hardly the "best of" for an artist who has been recording since the 1960s. The liner notes are by David Byrne, but it seems from the credits that David Byrne did not actually choose the songs.

Overall the CD is torn between a bland "World Music" esthetic, and a more pensive bossa-nova sound. There are good songs on this CD, but I'm giving it 2 stars because it so badly disappoints its packaging. There is a song on here that affects "rap music" lyrics, and others that are equally impotent, both style-wise and content-wise. One of the really good songs on here is "Cucurrucucu Paloma", which some may remember as the central song in the movie "Talk to Her" directed by Almodovar.

CAETANO.......2005-09-01

Somethings are beyond space and time despite being in it, and affecting elements therein. Such is the voice of Caetano Veloso. So in lieu of offering a critique of "The Best of Caetano Veloso", I shall proffer my best attempt with the facet of myself that transcends boundaries in a psalm:

Caetano

Your Voice is like an Angel at the "Gate Beautiful",
whose charge is giving wings to SOULS fortunate to come that far
Your Voice, Your LIFE: your Voice is LIFE,
endearing responses from any organic as it drifts overhead; aerial to, yet somehow earthly and at the HEART of the matter;
taking hold of what is exterior and interior and reconciling these two hands; hand in hand the conflict ends from the purity and savoir faire in your Voice

I thought I was familiar with enchantment, until I heard you sing
Your Voice reminded me; artfully, rapturously admonished me, that there was still yet more to be caressed down deep in me

Despite the despot, and the fanatic, and the self-obsessed; in spite of their daily oppression, they cannot undo the design of a wings mission;
to take us far away from rancor, though we are still standing near.

© Vernell Garrett

Rare Fine Wine.......2005-04-14

Caetano's music takes a bit of effort to understand for Americans used to pop or rock. Those who put in a bit of effort will be rewarded with finely crafted art pieces that defy conventional classification. This cd provides a sampling of his latest efforts. Theres a lot of orchestration and refferences to cool jazz, big band Latin music from the 40's and 50's, and bossa nova flavored avant guarde soft poetic stuff. Jaques Morelembaums cello arrangements are sublime. All of it is so beautiful and unique. If you like some of it keep exploring his music. There are more electric works like Estrangeiro, Circulado and Tropicalia 2 with Gilberto Gil. All of it is of timeless quality.

The very worst of Caetano Veloso.......2005-03-06

I bought this phony Veloso CD thinking it would contain his best songs however, David Byrne has destroyed the art and music of Caetano Veloso in this CD. It should be renamed "b-sides."

O que e uma cosa bella?.......2004-06-27

"The painter Paul Gauguin loved the light of Guanabara Bay / The composer Cole Porter loved the lights of her night / Guanabara Bay / The anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss detested Guanabara Bay / It looked to him like a toothless mouth / And I -- if I knew her less would I love her more? / I'm blind from so often seeing her, from so often staring starry / What is a beautiful thing?" -- O Estrangeiro

Any great musician must be some sort of philosopher as well. Otherwise they're just playing so many notes. Art presents us with somebody's perspective of the truth. Some artists are charlatans and try to paint everything with a rosy glow that will please everyone (and satisfy no one) and that can be safely hung in or played in a dentist's office. Some artists suffer, but haven't the intelligence or skill to dignify the awfulness of their art. Some artists only want to talk about themselves, which is okay sometimes.

But a really good artist -- that is someone who present us with the ugly and the beautiful, enthusiasm and lethargy, sorrow and pleasure, all of it. And Caetano Veloso does it with subtlety and tremendous good taste.

"And the epic grandeur of a still unfinished people / Attracts us, dazzles us and excites us / Nothing matters, not the profile of that mansion / Not the TV cameras, not even that Paul Simon record / No one, no one is a citizen / If you go to the party in Pelourinho, and even if you don't go / Think of Haiti, pray for Haiti / Haiti's right here, Haiti's not quite here." -- Haiti

This Best Of Album gives you Veloso in various epochs of his career, so it's a pretty good overview. There are the dissonant noises in "O Estrangeiro" like echoes at a subway station, the gentle strumming and chanted "Manhattan" litany of "Manhata", the cathedral hymn-like "Michelangelo Antonioni", and the classic Brasiliana of "Na Baixa do Sapateiro".

Buy this album and listen to it many times. There is even a special message for us Americans and English (who knows, maybe even the French are implicated): it's great that some of our citizenry love international music. Otherwise that music might never get produced. But it is a shame that often people must leave the countries which are the source of their music in order to propagate the melodies. I hope international stardom has brought Caetano Veloso the freedom to do as he pleases.

"Some may like a soft Brazilian singer / But I've given up all attempts at perfection." -- O Estrangeiro

Average customer rating: Not "A Foreign Sound" or "Fina Estampa" A great, intimate rock album from Brazil's greatest singer Beautiful.

Cê Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music Similar Items: Live at the Blue Note Gil Luminoso The Best of Caetano Veloso Pasajero Momento ASIN: B000LKARD4 Release Date: 2007-01-23

Tracks:

1. Outro
2. Minhas Lagrimas
3. Rocks
4. Deusa Urbana
5. Waly Salomao
6. Nao Me Arrependo
7. Musa Hibrida
8. Odeio
9. Homem
10. Porque?
11. Um Sonho
12. O Heroi

Amazon.com

The adventurous veteran rarely fails to surprise, as Caetano Veloso continues to confound the easy-listening expectations that surround Brazilian music. Co-produced by Veloso's son, Moreno, and featuring the crisp, edgy backing of a band of three musicians a generation younger than Caetano, this is his version of a rock album. The freshness of the arrangements appeals throughout, from the propulsive "Rocks" with its frenetic guitar break through the tom-tom throb and call-and-response vocals of "Waly Salomão" and the spoken word, soaring harmonies, and art-house atmospherics of the closing "O Herói" ("The Hero"). Yet the supple vocals, languid balladry, and seductive sensuality (at times so lyrically explicit in translation it might make Prince blush) render this very much a Veloso album above all else. --Don McLeese

Album Description

Caetano Veloso's Ce is as bold as it is beguiling. Friend, collaborator and label-mate David Byrne calls it "an immersion in the land of experimental indie rock."

Customer Reviews:

Not "A Foreign Sound" or "Fina Estampa".......2007-03-06

Very good Caetano music, but not in the category of his two previous ones, both of which are five-star-plus.

A great, intimate rock album from Brazil's greatest singer.......2007-02-09

Veloso does something different with each of his albums, which can make it difficult for new listeners to figure out which CD to pick up first. Now he's made the answer easy: Ce. This disc is an intimate collection of songs whose style can perhaps (however inaccurately...) be described as calmly ferocious garage rock tunes. While he doesn't "rock" in the American sense, the stripped-down instrumentation of this album (guitar, bass, drums, voice) provides a great counterpoint to some of his other, more overblown works of recent years (the orchestral arrangements of Estampa Fina, the horns, strings and samba-rhythms of Livro, etc., and his inconsistent A Foreign Sound). The tunes on Ce are tightly-wound, and, though sometimes sweet, are actually angrier than Veloso has been in the past (he recently went through a rough divorce). The great rock tunes on this one are "Outro," "Odeio," and "Rocks." "Homem" talks of all the things about women of which he's not jealous, and a few of which he is: longevity and multiple orgasms. With this album Veloso also distances himself from the more soporific trends in Brazilian popular music (Bebel Gilberto, Marisa Monte, Veloso himself on some other albums). I highly recommend "Ce," as well as "Live in Bahia," and "Tropicalia II" (which he recorded with Brazil's other great, Gilberto Gil).

Beautiful........2007-01-24

Cê" is a really surprising new album from Brazilian legend Caetano Veloso, and a big departure from the work he's been turning out for the last several years.
In fact, the more I listen to it the more I think that it might be the greatest album he's recorded since his late-'60s and early-'70s heyday. Veloso has long been tagged the Brazilian Bob Dylan, so I suppose that would make "Cê" his "LOVE AND THEFT", except that instead of basking in the patina of his old age with the world weariness of a hundred-year-old man, Veloso has taken the opposite track and somehow morphed back into a nineteen-year-old.
Seriously, it's almost bizarre to hear such a young sounding album from someone who must be in their mid-sixties, his voice is totally intact and as beautiful as ever and he's more than willing to take artistic chances that he really doesn't have to be taking at this point in his career.
No doubt his son Moreno deserves some credit for this, as he produced the record and wisely shed many of the adult contemporary trappings that have been Veloso's safe haven for many an album.
Totally devoid of syrup, the songs are all stripped down and jittery, with weird angular guitar playing creating an excellent tension to Veloso's beautiful, sweet delivery.
Unambiguously excellent, and further proof that the man is simply one of the greatest pop musicians of the last forty years.
Listen to it.
You'll love it.

Average customer rating: Solid all the way through, with variety too. Desert Island If you don't understand Portugese... Oh Snap Great Lyrics

Caetano Veloso (Tropicália) Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music International | Imports | Stores | Music Latin Music | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Transa Caetano Veloso (1969) Clube da Esquina África Brasil Tropicália 2 ASIN: B00004TR0P Release Date: 2000-05-29

Tracks:

1. Tropica
2. Clarice
3. No Dia Em Que Eu Vim-me Embora
4. Alegria, Alegria
5. Onde Andar
6. Anuncia
7. Superbacana
8. Paisagem Util
9. Clara
10. Soy Loco Por TAmca
11. Ave Maria
12. Eles

Album Details

1967 Reissue from the Pop Musician/Poet/Filmmaker/political Activist Regarded as "The Bob Dylan of Brazil". This is his Solo Debut that Lead the Tropicalia Movement Fusing Brazilian Music with International Pop Culture. The Album was Intended by Him to Surpass the Beatles' 'sgt. Pepper' with More Psychedelic Experimentation.

Customer Reviews:

Solid all the way through, with variety too........2007-06-02

If I had to pick a "scene" in rock history that seems to transcend every pop staple, it would be those illuminary Brazillians from the late 60's. There are so many super-talented and visionary artists from that movement, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the passion and exhuberance of these albums. Caetano Veloso is one of those artists. I sometimes feel like the romantic drama and devil-may-care virtuosity of this album could drive anyone to tears, or at least to youtube, trying to find any way to vicariously experience whatever socio-political hell was responsible for an artist like Veloso to grab everything meaningful in life, shoot it out of an existential cannon; watch it float through outerspace and land in the Amazon. It sounds so futuristic, so contemporary, so pre-historic. I still listen to this album, scratching my head, wondering: "How the hell did he do that? How can anyone evoke everything through sound with seeming effortlessness?" and then I realize it is the entire experience that he is channeling: the military overthrow, the intense repression of individualistic efforts, the racial conflict and an economic overhaul felt through the impoverished ranks of a sickeningly rapid transition to modernity. All of that and just drop you to your knees beautiful songs that the most hardened death-row inmate would fall in love to. Be careful who you are listening to this with; it's sensual allure is basically immutable. This album is absolutely fantastic, and there are several from this movement. Tracks 2 and 5 will absolutely break your heart, while track 12 will leave you sweating with abstract pop largesse. Keeping in mind, that this album starts off with a genre, and perhaps even nation-defining track: Tropicalia. Good God, just buy this album.
I have never felt more comfortable recommending an album so unconditionally.

Desert Island.......2007-04-10

This album is simply divine from start to finish. During the 60s a lot of American blues and soul music was going psychedelic. The same thing was happening in Brazil with bossa nova and samba. Firstly, you can't top Caetano's tenor. I think Caetano could make an acappella record this good. He could suffice with only a woodblock. His is a sauce with a lot of cream. He is able to create and hold melody with his voice. A lot of BN singers dance around like butterflies, which is great too. But Veloso isn't afraid to emphasize in a style that is ostensibly finesse but actually power. The second track "Clarice" is BN so stoned and slowed down it's just one of the most soulful things I've heard. Contrasted by "Clara" whose xylophone backed whimsical gameshow sound is tropicalia at its best, flying below some of the cheesier tendencies of the genre. The violins are fantastic, which is a suprise because orchestration ruined so many Brazilan records (Phillips & EMI). The percussion is on point throughout--a wood block never sounded so wooden. One of the best qualities of great music is its ability to wind, spiral, and layer. These songs sound new every single time. I still save it for sunny Sundays. This is the Pet Sounds of Brazil. I'll take this one to the island though even though/because I don't speak Portuguese.

If you don't understand Portugese..........2007-01-15

This record is an interesting historical document of a Brazilian artist digesting many of the influences of pop music in the late 1960s and applying it to his art. In other words, it is both derivative and original at the same time.

It is melodic, the arrangements are nice. The styles represented are rather ecclectic.

I can't make any judgments on the lyrical content since it is sung in Portugese and there is no translation of the extensive lyrics on the enclosed lyric sheet. The music alone is not enough to hold my interest on repeated listening, and with no lyrics, the album is of limited value to me.

By the way, the album is monophonic, and it sounds like many pop music efforts of its time -- attempting to squeeze vocals and multimiked orchestral arrangements and guitars/drums all into one center channel. The sound is dated: compressed, and a little tinny.

I'm sure that at the time this sounded groundbreaking to some people. Listening in a modern setting, apart from the fact that it is melodic, whereas other pop music at the time of its releast was getting increasingly agressive, it is good music but not great.

Oh Snap.......2006-04-09

Oh. What? This album could be the hottest. All tropicilia albums are something to check out, but this one rides into the sunset. Out of all those fools...this one is in the top three. Definetly his best album. If you like anyhting. You'll find something to like on this. Essential.

Great Lyrics.......2003-11-28

This is an excellent album. Caetano's records of 1967 and 1969, when released were like nothing else played in Brazil at the time.

Caetano's lyrics are always excellent, and, in my opinion, he as yet to outdo himslef after his first two records. He and Chico Buarque de Holand are the premier lyricists in Brazilian music.

A testament to that is my memory, as I recently found out I could recall by heart all the lyrics for all the songs in these albums, more than 30 years after learning them at three years old.

Never mind that I have lived in foreign country, speaking in a foreign language for many years.

i was delighted to see the CD's at amazon, and just had to purchase them.

Average customer rating: Pure Brazilian Magic Caetano Sings Spanish Language Favorites ao vivo AO VIVO Fina Estampa > Fina Estampa Best spanish singing by a Brazilian. My favorite album

Fina Estampa Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Best of Caetano Veloso A Foreign Sound Tropicália 2 Caetano Veloso (Trilhos Urbanos) Fina Estampa ASIN: B0000015VO Release Date: 1996-01-30

Tracks:

1. O Samba E O Tango
2. Lamento Borincano
3. Fina Estampa
4. Cucurrucucu Paloma
5. Haiti
6. Cancao De Amor
7. Suas Maos
8. Labios Que Beijei
9. Voce Esteve Com Meu Bem?
10. Vete De Mi
11. La Barca
12. !Ay, Amor!
13. O Pulsar
14. Contigo En La Distancia
15. Itapua
16. Soy Loco Por Ti, America
17. Tonada De Luna Llena

Customer Reviews:

Pure Brazilian Magic.......2003-05-23

I first heard Caetano Veloso's version of "Cucurrucucu Paloma" in the film Talk to Her. Even though I listen to a lot of different types of music, I had never been so moved by a performance before. This rendition of the Mexican classic song really stirred things inside me. Even if the rest of the songs in the CD were bad (which they are definitely not) it would be worth to buy it just for Cucurrucucu Paloma.

Caetano Sings Spanish Language Favorites ao vivo.......2002-12-31

Caetano delivers another stirring live performance recording, this time of fine spanish langauge favorites from the Fina Estampa studio album. My favorites are cucurrucucu paloma, also recently featured in Almodovar's Talk To Her and haiti. As always his musical selection is stellar and his voice in this recording is sweet and strong. This is a fine introduction for new comers to Caetano Veloso.

AO VIVO Fina Estampa > Fina Estampa.......1999-07-16

I think maybe I'm biased towards the AO VIVO version of Fina Estampa because I saw this show in Sao Paulo and it did nothing less than produce an out-of-body experience in me--my soul was completely enthralled! (There's a video out of this CD if you too would like to experience the show) I've played this CD for my family and relatives and they all absolutely love it--they're Mexican and they don't feel at all offended by Caetano's renditions of these traditional songs. I mean really, many of these songs have been recorded over and over by artists throughout Latin America. What's different about Caetano's rendition of these songs is the soulful touch he adds to all his music!

Best spanish singing by a Brazilian. My favorite album.......1998-06-19

Many but not all of the songs are the same. It seems to have been created out of the desire to correct a mistake or two on the non-live album. Some songs I like better on this album, some on Fina Estampa. The best song IS Fina Estampa, written by the formidable peruvian songwriter Chabuca Granda. But his version of Cucurrucucu Paloma is the most haunting and engaging of the 50 versions I have heard. I even love the songs in Portugues though I don't understand the lyrics. This album was a present from some people I visited in Belo Horizonte and is one of my all-time favorites.

Average customer rating: Excellent video.... Great songs sung by a diverse group of artists Pavarotti's Best War Child Concert Very diverse! Loved it! A wonderfully enjoyable and diverse collection of music

Pavarotti & Friends: For Cambodia and Tibet Traci Chapman , Eurythmics , Savage Garden , George Michael , Aqua , and Skunk Anansie Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works Featuring Luciano Pavarotti | Pavarotti, Luciano | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Cambodia | Far East & Asia | International | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Denza, Luigi | C to G | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Capua, Eduardo di | C to G | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Pavarotti & Friends For Guatemala And Kosovo Pavarotti & Friends 2 Together for the Children of Bosnia Pavarotti & Friends Pavarotti & Friends - For The Children Of Liberia ASIN: B00004XR5E Release Date: 2000-09-12

Tracks:

1. Cielito lindo
2. Around The World
3. There Must Be An Angel
4. I Knew I Loved You
5. Guarda che luna
6. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime
7. Tracy's Flaw
8. Baby, Can I Hold You Tonight
9. 'O sole mio
10. You'll Follow Me Down
11. A Wonderful World
12. Agnus Dei
13. Desde que o samba e samba
14. Funiculi, funicula
15. Telling Stories
16. Se e vero che ci sei
17. I Saved The World Today
18. Manha de Carnival
19. Be With You
20. All You Need Is Love

Amazon.com

With the seventh installment of Pavarotti & Friends: For Cambodia and Tibet, the beloved tenor assembles yet another all-star cast of musicians in hopes of helping the children of Cambodia and Tibet. The music of the pop stars--which ranges from the modern rock of the veteran Eurythmics to the dance-pop of Aqua--really steals the show here, with Pavarotti lending his impeccable vocal support. Tracy Chapman performs "Baby Can I Hold You" as a duet with Pavarotti, and Eurythmics team up with him on "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)." Of course, the tenor's fans will be begging to hear the opera great in his element, and it's no surprise that he shines on Bizet's "Agnus Dei," with international pop star Mónica Naranjo joining in; Eduardo Di Capua's "O Sole Mio," with Savage Garden; or even Luigi Denza's "Funiculi, Funicula," with Aqua and a children's chorus. As globetrotting benefit tributes go, this is a mixed bag, but there's probably something here for everyone. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Excellent video...........2002-10-13

I am a fan of Savage Garden, The Eurythmics, and George Michael - all of them did a great job with and without Pavarotti....

And the man who sang O SOLE MIO - Darren Hayes (formerly of Savage Garden)... has the most beautiful- angelic- sultry and great voices I have ever heard - and to do it in Neapoliaton Italian (dialect) and in my opinion the best duet of ALL of them featured!!!!!

Great songs sung by a diverse group of artists.......2002-02-07

As always, Maestro Pavarotti's Modena concerts are highly entertaining and uplifting.
All artists sang two songs during the concert (one on their own and another with Maestro Pavarotti), but unfortunately not all of the songs are featured on this video. Another shortcoming is that there are no interviews or any extra footage.

It is funny to hear Pavarotti sing a pop tune as it is equally funny to see a pop singer with virtually no voice doing "O Sole Mio", but if it is all in good spirit and for charity, then it is enjoyable.

If you are intersted in European music scene or simply love Pavarotti, this tape will be a great treat for you.

Pavarotti's Best War Child Concert.......2002-01-04

Bravo showed this concert on New Years 2002 and it blew my mind. It is certainly the best of the War Child concerts, which started in 1996 as Pavarotti's effort to help the children of war-torn countries.
Like in the previous concerts, Pavarotti appears with international pop stars in the open-air piazza of his home town, Modena, Italy. (How do I get tickets for that?)
If you haven't heard any of these concerts, also available on CDs, you will be surprised how well Pavarotti's voice--a voice that makes the gods swoon--blends with the likes of Enrique Iglesias, George Michael, Tracy Chapman, and the Eurythmics. Previous concerts included B.B. King, Elton John, Ricky Martin, and Liza Minelli. Sometimes he sings along in English, sometimes in Italian counterpoint. The effect is stupdendous! These concerts display all the beauty of this great operatic voice while at the same time honoring the art of our greatest pop artists.
What makes this video the best is the children's chorus, the combined Ars Canto of Parmi, Italy, and the Children's Choir of Cambodia and Tibet. The video starts with this chorus joining Pavarotti and the totally sexy Enrique Iglesias in a rousing "Cielito Lindo."
Pavarotti really knows entertainment and in this one he pulls out all the stops! Best of all, part of the proceeds of this tape goes to benefit the children of Cambodia and Tibet. Pavarotti's efforts to help War Child have already built music centers for children in Kosovo, Liberia, and Guatemala. What great leadership!
He says on one of his jackets: "All too often, children are betrayed by the inhuman actions of adults, and become the innocent victims of war and cruelty. War Child is an energetic, and practical organization offering vital hope, working tirelessly for children to regain their rightful place in the world."

Very diverse! Loved it!.......2000-12-18

I am a HUGE Savage Garden fan so that was the main reason to buy this album. And I have to say Darren's voice is AWESOME in "O Sole Mio", the first time I listened to it it made me cry. So I bought the cd. I was glad to see that there are very enjoyable songs in the album not only the SG tracks. I loved Tracy Chapman's "Baby Can I Hold You Tonight" performance, now I am a Tracy fan too. You'll enjoy the performances by Aqua, Enrique Iglesias and Eurhytmics and of course the queen Tracy Chapman " ("Telling Stories" is superb!). I even discovered some new artists I had never heard of and I liked them. You won't be disappointed by this album.

A wonderfully enjoyable and diverse collection of music.......2000-11-05

This collection of music has given me great pleasure. Aqua's Around the World is a joy. Hearing the Eurythmics and Pavarotti perform together is fun and beautiful. I also especially liked Enrique Iglesias's Be with you. 20 tracks and 77 minutes of great music I will listen to again and again. And all for a good cause.

Average customer rating: Love this More to the picture than meets the eye (ear, actually) below average Americans DID NOT invent the airplane! "technicality" comment/remark

A Foreign Sound Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music Cabaret | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Best of Caetano Veloso Fina Estampa Fina Estampa Cê Caetano Veloso (Trilhos Urbanos) ASIN: B0001LJC6G Release Date: 2004-04-06

Tracks:

1. The Carioca
2. So In Love
3. I Only Have Eyes For You
4. Always
5. Come As You Are
6. Feelings
7. Love For Sale
8. The Man I Love
9. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
10. Cry Me A River
11. Jamaica Farewell
12. Nature Boy
13. (Nothing But) Flowers
14. Manhattan
15. Diana
16. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
17. Love Me Tender
18. Body And Soul
19. If It's Magic
20. Detached
21. Something Good
22. Blue Skies

Amazon.com

On this new studio CD, Brazilian composer/singer/author Caetano Veloso reinterprets classic and contemporary American pop songs. Veloso's feathery, Miles Davis-like, Portuguese-inflected vocals negotiate the English language with silken skill with a 28-piece orchestra led by his long-time arranger, cellist Jaques Morelenbaum--featuring Carlinhos Brown on percussion and Veloso's gifted son Moreno on guitar--over Afro-bossa rhythms and spacey, echoplexed synth/guitar strains. Veloso sings the melody straight on the stunning string-accompanied "Feelings," and on a brave a capella reading of Cole Porter's "Love For Sale." But the fun begins when he reggae-fies Bob Dylan's "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," sings "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" with boppish sax lines and offers a twangy take on Kurt Cobain's "Come as You Are." From Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic" to Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" and Arto Lindsey's edgy "Detached," Veloso shows that he's a master of sonic subversion. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Customer Reviews:

Love this.......2007-01-25

My husband and I heard him sing in a movie, so got on the internet to look up the movie and find out who was singing.
It is not in English, but if you can appreciate a lovely voice, you will enjoy this CD.

More to the picture than meets the eye (ear, actually).......2007-01-05

I read with interest the polemic that developed among a couple of reviewers as a result of co-composer Jacques Morelenbaum's comments in the liner notes that "Aviation didn't begin in America; it began in Brazil".

Look it up. It's indisputable that Brazilian Alberto Santos Dumont flew a contraption heavier than air prior to the Wright Brothers. The point is debatable, and it hinges on the definition of the contraption. What's more important, though, is that Morelenbaum made the comment in the context of THIS record. It's an analogy, get it, folks?

As with first flight, whether modern American music or American standards, both of which Veloso interprets here, were invented in America or in Brazil first is debatable. One thing is certain: Veloso and his cohorts can fairly be credited for inventing the Tropicalia movement back in the 60s. What was Tropicalia? Plain and simple, it was a fusion of American or western music with black music.

Let's not forget Brazil's geographic and historical location. As a major stopping point in the slave trade, African culture and music took root there, and mixed with "western" music centuries ago. As the African diaspora spread northward to the south of the US, for example, African American musicians took it to the next step, and are widely credited for inventing rock 'n roll in the 50s.

It's telling that Veloso and Morelenbaum titled this album "A Foreign Sound", because on the one hand, it's "foreign" in that it consists of American music. On the other hand, it's not "foreign" at all to Veloso, for the reasons described above.

If you're already familiar with Veloso, you'll know that nothing he's done in his beautiful career is accidental. He's an incredible composer, and the songs he chose to interpret on this album were carefully selected, and he more often than not imbues the songs with a new interpretation that even the original songwriter sometimes prefers over his original version.

On the latter note, David Byrne often introduces his song "Nothing but Flowers" before playing it in a concert by saying "I'm going to play it the way Caetano Veloso plays it".

Can there be a bigger compliment from one composer to another? I don't think so. Could any non American have paid a bigger compliment to American music, while simultaneously commenting that "Americans didn't invent American music" than Caetano has on done on this album? I don't think so.

below average.......2006-06-26

I like Caetano a lot, I've heaps of his previous CDs, but this one sucks...a lot...
He needs to put his feet back on the ground. THis Cd is sooo pretentious that it hurts...
You can easely skip this one.

Americans DID NOT invent the airplane!.......2006-05-26

As a responde to Geoffrey's comment below...


The liner notes in the CD were referring to Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont, who really built the first successful airplane in 1906. The Wright Brothers used a weight-driven catapult system to get off the ground.


Oh, and this CD is really good for those that enjoy Caetano.

"technicality" comment/remark.......2006-05-16

In the liner notes (CD sleeve notes or whatever they're called), cellist Jacques Morelenbaum is quoted as saying: "... and Americans think that they invented the airplane." Thank you Mr. Morelenbaum, because they, in fact, did. Tone of voice of course being impossible to detect with such written quotes, I'm assuming he's perhaps referring to da Vinci, but he should undoubtedly know that da Vinci really only concocted the notion of strapping wings to one's arms and "taking flight" off a cliff (to certain demise?). Who does he think he is to make such a pompous remark. He is otherwise a fantastically talented cellist, and I relished seeing him perform alongside Caetano in my hometown of Columbus, OH (OH truly being the birthplace of aviation). All I'm saying is, give props where they're due. Sure, da Vinci thought of "flying," but I fly in my dreams too, as I'm sure everyone does (TUUP from TGU quote: "When you dream, do you fly?"). Anyways, that is merely a rant, and I'm certain that Jacques realizes that da Vinci or any other prior or latter thinkers/scientists/whatever did not achieve true flight before the Wright Brothers out of Dayton, Ohio, who of course flew their plane at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina (I've never been there). So paz out, homies.

p.s., kites, gliders, balloons, dirigibles/zeppelins, and blimps do not count, and of course Igor Sikorsky invented the helicopter, once again excepting da Vinci's crazy-azz gyrocopter drawings that never took flight.

Average customer rating: The Art of Combining Intellectualism with Pure Passion córrego do consciousness An album of ideas... The sublimation of a legend Caetano lives!

Livro Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Similar Items: Estrangeiro Tropicália 2 Transa Noites Do Norte Fina Estampa ASIN: B00000IPXN Release Date: 1999-06-01

Tracks:

1. Os Passistas
2. Livros
3. Onde O Rio E Mais Baiano
4. Manhata
5. Doideca
6. Voce E Minha
7. Um Tom
8. How Beautiful Could A Being Be
9. O Navio Negreiro
10. Nao Enche
11. Minha Voz, Minha Vida
12. Alexandre
13. Na Baixa Do Sapateiro
14. Pra Ninguem

Amazon.com

Caetano Veloso has been tied in a kind of historical knot for decades with Gilberto Gil, with whom Veloso helped spur the Tropicalia movement in the 1960s. And just as Gil's moved on to reference and discuss a panoply of themes in his music, so too is Veloso on an extended foray into nonmusical subjects. The sprawl of this package, with its lengthy, swirly-painted accompanying booklet, is aided by Veloso's essay on pop culture in his native Brazil. And while the points he makes--mainly about what literary theoreticians call the "simulacrum"--are cogent, you can't really hear the mark of his ideas in the music. No matter, really, since the music itself is a vertical stack of styles that's both tall and thick. On top of Bahian rhythms, frequently played in the style of drum troupe Olodum, are strong, swaying samba elements. On top of that are riffing, sometimes mellifluously floating horns, and on top of that is Veloso's smooth voice, which moves at an eased speed that counters the thronging sound of all the instruments under his voice. As a whole, the sound is aptly luxurious, with flügelhorns and double reeds and strings, but there's always a rhythmic parade underneath. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

The Art of Combining Intellectualism with Pure Passion.......2006-03-17

Livro is distinguished by an explosion of Latin America passion combined with a refined intellectual narrative. Caetano creates a world where love, concepts, philosophy and history are intertwined in perfect mode. Veloso unveils in his poems the Brazilian tradition and encircles each of them with a melody that conveys the tropical milieu of samba and bossa nova. The tenderness of his voice in "Voce é Minha" and "Na Baixa do Sapateiro" softens the disgrace of unrequited love. "No Enche" and "How Beautiful..." are good examples of the need for samba. "Alexandre" is by far his best song; a tribute to Alexander The Great that moves and inspires anyone who is acquainted with the hero.

córrego do consciousness.......2005-05-16

The suggestion that this album proves that Mr. Veloso is 'suddenly old' is not only insulting to Caetano, but also insulting to anyone who might enjoy 'Livro'. The same holds true for the accusations that only a Brazilian can possibly have any perspective on the matter. On the other hand, one reviewer referred to Mr. Veloso as an 'icon' and then, parenthetically, suggested the possibility that Caetano was not an icon but, rather, an 'Iconoclast'. Well ... he was right. It is clear that Mr. Veloso is both. Tropicália, indeed, advocates shattering icons. However, its premise has always provided for the establishment of new ones; by which we may define tomorrow. This album is a solid reaffirmation of Tropicália. It possesses all that was ever embodied by the movement. All of the elements that cross the boundaries of the twilight world that exists between the waking world and the night. All that is rational juxtaposed against the primitive and emotional. All of the technological limitations of 1967 São Paulo versus all of the modern wizardry of wherever one cares to reside today. By definition, Tropicália can never get old. Therein lies the great hope of Brazil (and, dare I say, the world). It has often been said that Brazil is a failed nation, but I ask you: Is it gone? No it is not ... and so long as it lives there is hope. Hope for Brasil and hope for the world. Viva Caetano! Viva Brasil!

An album of ideas..........2004-03-03

I am a great Maria Bethania fan and I do respect her brother Caetano. He is a superb composer, poet and interpreter, and what is most important, he has PERSONALITY... a truly brilliant personality ;) I was fascinated by him when I heard his songs Leaozinho and Estrangeiro (on BELEZA TROPICAL compilations by David Byrne). But this album was a bit of a disappointment for me. In fact, it justifies its name - "Book". The lyrics are sophisticated and crammed with Caetano's philosophic ideas, in each song he tries to express an IDEA of global importance... and the music, frankly speaking, doesn't benefit from it. That is, in fact, Caetano's way - if his sister's manner is dramatic and violently sensual, he is a rationalist to the backbone, even at his most lyrical moments he is a bit aloof, he never loses his rationalism. In Livro, he tries to put as much SENSE as possible in each song, to the detriment of the MUSIC and of the EMOTION. The result is that the arrangements are plain boring, his vocals in Baixa do Sapateiro lack expression, as well as in almost all the songs of the album... But I know that he CAN DO IT BETTER, he can write such gems as Leaozinho and Qualquer Coisa, superbly arranged and very sensual, not necessarily carrying a message of vital importance to the mankind, but just - BEAUTIFUL... beautiful like the sunset over the ocean, like flowers, like simple human emotions. The essence of music is emotion. And as far as great ideas go, it is better to express them on paper... ;)

The sublimation of a legend.......2003-03-20

This is one of the finest CDs ever released. No wonder it won a Grammy Award; the sophistication of the lyrics, the bewitchering voice, the magic of the rythms, I just don't know which one struck me as more impressive. Yes, Caetano Veloso is a legend and one of the finest singers in the world; but this album is simply superlative, even to his standards. HIGHLY recommended.

Caetano lives!.......2002-07-31

This is a brilliant cd including a masterful 12 tonal piece and various other wonderful and rich arrangements only made better by being seen live if you ever have the opportunity.

Average customer rating: Caetano in Spanish the man from Bahia Beautiful Music sublimo que no A wonderful tribute

Fina Estampa Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Fina Estampa A Foreign Sound Caetano Veloso (Trilhos Urbanos) Un Caballero de Fina Estampa The Best of Caetano Veloso ASIN: B0000015U2 Release Date: 1994-10-11

Tracks:

1. Rumba Azul
2. Pecado
3. Maria Bonita
4. Contigo En La Distancia
5. Recuerdos De Ypacarai
6. Fina Estampa
7. Capullito De Aleli
8. Un Vestido Y Un Amor
9. Maria La O
10. Tonada De Luna Llena
11. Mi Cocodrilo Verde
12. Lamento Borincano
13. Vete De Mi
14. La Golondrina
15. Vuelvo Al Sur

Amazon.com

In Fina Estampa, released in 1994, Brazilian singer and songwriter Caetano Veloso set out to recast classics of the Latin American songbook, most of them in Spanish. It is quite a challenge. Some of these songs have been dulled by rote repetition and over-singing. Perhaps it just takes an artist like Veloso, who understands the value of what not to do, to make them new. "Contigo a la distancia" gets an understated, perhaps melancholy, treatment that gives the song a long-lost feeling of yearning; "Pecado," originally a tango, becomes a sober bolero; "Recuerdos de Ypacaray," a Paraguayan classic, is performed to an austere solo bass accompaniment. Veloso might have set out just to revisit the classics, but by the album's end, he makes them his own. --Fernando Gonzalez

Customer Reviews:

Caetano in Spanish.......2006-08-01

I bought this CD for one specific band: Recuerdos de Ypacarai. I loved all the other recordings. I hoped for more rithm, but still a good buy for those who remember 40s and 50s songs from South America (besides Brazil).

the man from Bahia.......2005-01-07

One of Brazil's best songwriters, Caetano Veloso on this CD plays homage to other Latin American composers, mostly from the distant past and all in Spanish, with great songs from Ernesto Lequona ("Maria La O", Cuba, 1931), Agustin Lara ("Maria Bonita", Mexico, 1941), Chabuca Granda ("Fina Estampa", Peru, 1956), and 12 others, ranging from 1860 with "La Golondrina" to the most recent, Astor Piazzolla's 1988 "Vuelvo Al Sur".

With his high, pure voice, which has a lovely, subtle vibrato, Caetano sings like a smooth caress, in a style that is at once sophisticated and sweet. The musical arrangements are also soft and gentle, and I especially like the ones that include the cello of Jacques Morelenbaum.
Veloso, born in Bahia in 1942, was part of the Bossa Nova craze that hit America in the mid '60s, started by Joao and Astrud Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim among others. Still going strong, Veloso won a Latin Grammy in 2003, and was part of the marvelous soundtrack of the 2002 film "Frida".

Full of romance, this is a perfect CD for those candlelit dinners; the only lively number is "Capullito de Aleli", which is delightful, and will make those who remember the cha-cha-cha want to get up and dance. One of my favorites is a song so familiar to me from childhood, "Pecado", that Veloso gives a whole new spin to...it is innovative and beautiful, and another is the fascinating "Tornada de Luna Llena". The booklet insert lists the musicians and includes the lyrics, the sound is excellent, and total playing time is 51'55.

Beautiful Music.......2002-08-24

This is a collection of Latin American classic pop ballads. (The songs were not composed by Veloso.) It is a beautifully sung and played album. The lyrics are included, for those of us who would like to practice our Spanish. (Veloso is a Brazilian singer, but these songs are sung in Spanish.) The basic tone of the cd is peaceful, reflective, and melancholy. It's definitely not lively dnace music. Other reviewers have commented that these songs are well-worn chestnuts, but I think the average person buying this cd in America or Canada would not know this. Certainly I was not familiar with any of these songs before I purchased this album. For people like me, this is a fine introduction to Latin standards. For people who are familiar with this music, I think Veloso's exquisite performance of the songs also makes this cd well worth buying.

sublimo que no.......2002-04-13

Well I was born in Peru and can safely say that I am an aficionado of Latin American folk music. This cd has given me much satsfaction with Caetano's sublime rendering of these timeless classics. His interpretations are unique, masterfully arranged and full of heart and soul.

A wonderful tribute.......2002-02-10

This is a heartfelt tribute by a leading Brazilian singer-songwriter to songwriters of the Spanish New World, and probably the most consistently satisfying album by Caetano I have. Among the highlights are Jaques Morelembaum's beautiful, yet austere and somber, arrangement for "Un vestido y un amor" (I understand Fito Paez was completely bowled over by this rendition), and similarly somber and expressive "Vuelvo al sur" by Piazzolla, with its BACH quotation in the intro and the coda. Caetano's style is probably a mismatch for some of the more lighthearted songs (Rumba azul, Capullito de aleli) but is wonderfully effective in Lamento Borincano and La Gorondrina. And which singer without his wonderful falsetto could sing the two-octave leap in "Maria la O"?

Average customer rating: Bahian Out of Time You really can't go wrong classic Absolutely fresh Celebration of a 25 year musical and personal friendship

Tropicália 2 Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Tropicália Essentials Caetano Veloso (Tropicália) Quanta Transa Acoustic ASIN: B000005J2O Release Date: 1994-05-03

Tracks:

1. Haiti
2. Cinema Novo
3. Tradicao
4. As Coisas
5. Aboio
6. Dada
7. Cada Macaco No Seu Galho (Cho Chua)
8. Baiao Atemporal
9. Nossa Gente
10. Rap Popcreto
11. Wait Until Tomorrow
12. Desde Que O Samba E Samba

Album Details

Alternate Cover Art from USA Release. Produced by Legendary Liminha. The First Track "Haiti" features Percussion by Brown and Musotto.

Customer Reviews:

Bahian Out of Time.......2004-12-05

This is one of the finest pop albums of the '90s, as well as one of the best Brazilian records ever made. Gil's work in the '80s was spotty--he had an unhealthy fixation on reggae and while most of his albums, including the very nice "Um Banda Um," contained great songs, his stuff tended to be overproduced and lacking in the melodic finesse and mystery of his classic '60s and early-'70s work. Veloso I've always found a bit genteel, although his best work ranks with the best of Gil. But on this album the combination of Veloso's conventionally beautiful voice and Gil's somewhat more idiosyncratic vocals (and Gil's brilliant guitar playing) makes for a classic. "Tradicão," originally done on Gil's 1978 "Realce," is one of the most gorgeous performances I know. They sound glad to be recording together again. I'd compare this to what might have happened had Lennon lived to make a record with Paul McCartney; certainly Gil and Veloso compare favorably to the two British musicians who influenced them so much. The only questionable track is Hendrix' "Wait Until Tomorrow," originally done on the 1968 "Axis: Bold as Love." But if this indulges Gil's longtime fascination with the great American guitarist and songwriter, so be it. The rest of it is flawless, beautifully sung, and tinged with that Brazilian nostalgia called "saudade." A great one to start with, along with "Tropicália Essentials," if you want to get into these two artists.

You really can't go wrong.......2004-05-08

By now most of know all about Gil and Veloso - 2 legends, each a great poet and musicians, founders of a movement in art and culture "Tropacalia." This album is somewhat uneven, but I would purchase it on the basis of "Haiti" and Cinema Novo" alone, they are classics.

classic.......2003-11-24

Tropicalia II . Classic . Produced by legendary Liminha .The first track ("Haiti") , with the percussions of Brown & Musotto , worths the whole album .

Absolutely fresh.......2002-12-01

This is my first Veloso/Gil album though I have heard many of their songs elsewhere and it is fantastic. Many of the pieces are so creative yet maintain elements of their origin so you see the exploration and stretching but always remaining true to the Brazilian roots. It's great to just listen to and relax to but each piece also arouses curiosity and pleasure through its originality.

Celebration of a 25 year musical and personal friendship.......2000-09-04

If you don't yet own any of Caetano Veloso or Gilberto Gil's CDs and are curious as to where to begin, go no further. This is a great starting point. Likewise, for those of us who have a fairly extensive collection of both musicians' work, this is a fantastic CD, because it brings together the 2 different songwriting styles and blends them seamlessly. This is sensuous, exotic, but above all extremely catchy pop. These guys are influenced by musicians ranging from Miles Davis to Jimi Hendrix, but the one thing that stays constant is the African rhythm. I've had it for 2 years, and don't foresee the day I'll be tired of this CD.

Average customer rating: That's what saudade is all about Sublime sublime sublime sublime sublime sublime sublime Overrated Caetano Album Caetano Veloso, a genius... Brilliant Brazillian Rock

Transa Caetano Veloso Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music International | Imports | Stores | Music Latin Music | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Caetano Veloso (Tropicália) Caetano Veloso (A Little More Blue) Caetano Veloso (1969) Tropicália 2 Construcao ASIN: B00000GAC1 Release Date: 1998-03-25

Tracks:

1. You Don't Know Me
2. Nine Out of Ten
3. Triste Bahia
4. It's a Long Way
5. Mora Na Filosofia
6. Neolithic Man
7. Nostalgia (That's What Rock'n Roll Is All About)

Album Details

Reissue of the 1972 Recording by the Master of 'musica Popular Brasileira', One of his First Acts after Returning from a Period of Political Exile in the UK. Features a Cut Written with the Help of the Poet Greg=rio De Mattos, 'triste Bahia', plus Six More Mostly Sung in English.

Customer Reviews:

That's what saudade is all about.......2006-12-10

Saudade meaning longing in Portuguese,it must have invaded Caetano while creating this album.He was about to return to Brazil from exile when he embarked in this project.Eventually a cult disc and not a commercially succesful LP,TRANSA(making love)has its ups and downs.The English language tracks are a mixed bag while the Portuguese language songs are definite hits.Mora na Filosofia is my favorite.Not the best work of Veloso,but not the worst either.

Sublime sublime sublime sublime sublime sublime sublime.......2006-03-19

This record is a masterpiece of tropicalia music. The Context: The tropicalia poet has been sent into exile in London by the forces of repression and artistic control in Brasil.

London, 1970: at the height of hippie culture. Surrounded by the sounds of 1960's British rock, the harsh noise of the English language, with the warmth of tropical Brasil and the soft Portuguese language only dreams and memories in a primitive, neolithic, rock-dominated nightmare of exile. He wakes up in the morning, singing an old Beatles song. It is a long way back to his homeland.

At home, in Brasil, the Poet is a star. In England he is a just a long-haired South American man with a guitar and a funny accent. He hears his voice among others... just a common man. His presence in London goes unnoticed. ... "You don't know me..." he says and "You won't see me." He feels anonymous and the feeling pervades these songs.

He has no idea when or if he will ever be allowed to return to his homeland. He might as well learn to play rock chords and sing in English. But it is awkward. He cannot take the hippies or the rock-&-rollers completely serious. He is an outsider to their ideas and life style. He mocks them: "You sing about waking up in the morning but your never up before noon!"

And he cannot escape his memory and his language. Bits of Portuguese surface up from his subconscious, even as he struggles to sing and write in this new, rhyme-less language. Verses in Portuguese force themselves into his English songs. The sound of cuicas and bossa nova chords intervene, even as he tries to play his guitar in the English style. But the sounds of Brasil, and the sounds of Portuguese words, come across as hallucinations, chunks of dream, trance-inducing (trance, a play on words on the title "transa", which is itself a word full of sexual, sensuous overtones).

The Poet goes into the streets of London. He walks down the street and hears a tropical sound: but it is just reggae, not the samba and bossa nova sound of his home land. He remembers a lesson from his days as a school boy, another poet 300 years his elder, Gregorio de Mattos, whose outrageous art earned him the nickname "Hell Mouth" and earned him an exile in Angola. "Triste Bahia" becomes a sort of seance, a dialogue of exiled poet to exiled poet, across the cosmos and the centuries, a communion of language and rhythms that evoke a homeland, Bahia, from which they have both been expelled.

So much for the context, now for the music. It is amazing how dreamy it is while maintaining a bare, minimalist production. No lush tracks recorded one on top of the next. Just a man, a microphone, an acoustic guitar, some background percussionists, and a bassist. If you close your eyes it almost sounds like you are in the sound studio with Caetano as he plays. And how he plays! Every one of these tracks is an amazing typically tropicalia journey to the limits of the accepted, conventional norms of mainstream music. Each starts off soft and conventional, and then builds, builds, repeats, repeats, until finally you are overwhelmed with the absolute force of the noise coming out of your speakers. And then silence. And typically a return to the beginning again.

Overrated Caetano Album.......2005-10-24

I thought I was a Caetano fan until I bought Transa (I have Cualquer Coisa, which I like very much except for the Beatles cover tunes). And the reason I bought Transa was all the glowing amazon.com reviews. Though the music is good, the lyrics are very repititious and insipid (especially the English lyrics). I mean: "Nine out of ten movie stars make me cry...I'm alive" That's bad enough once, but repeated ten times more, it's painful. I want more Caetono Veloso, but which records I don't know.
Transa is almost unlistenable...but maybe I just have a low tolerance for repititious lyrics. Good luck!

Caetano Veloso, a genius..........2003-09-12

I became an addicted listener to Caetano Veloso when I was around 15. Twenty years have passed but my great genius of the Brazilian music still keeps visiting my home day after day and heartbeats assault me nervously whenever a new cd springs up or a show calls for me. To tell the truth, I still can't help feeling excited with Caetano Veloso, really.

The 'Transa' record goes back to 1972 and it's among those Top10 records of our lives which I would take to that desert island all of us have already been invited to visit. 'Transa' was recorded during the London phase of Caetano, when he and Gilberto Gil were forced to exile for political and dictatorial reasons. It is a superb record, full of a wide musical richness, where silence achieves a never-heard dimension. Marked by solitude and also by the fact that he was living in a foreign country, 'Transa' shows a Caetano with traces of musical psychedelism, geniously seasoned with musical flavours from Northeast of Bahia, his homeland. The father of Tropicalism gave birth to an album with a strong identity, strongly winking at the European sound (many of his songs are sung in English), with several references to rock (one of the flagships of Tropicalism), to the Beatles ('woke up this morning / singing an old, old Beatles song' , in 'It's a Long Way') , but still deeply Brazilian. It's a record made by an unknown singer in the London of that time, a record by someone that lived in a country that he didn't know and that wouldn't dare to expect his music being fully understood by those to whom he would open the door of his talent. Solitude and depression that he was facing at that time blurred some musical freshness, categorically evidenced in some of his Brazilian albums. There is no room for doubt when Caetano sings: 'You don't know me / bet you'll never get to know me / you don't know me at all.', in the opening track.
'Transa ' is a conceptual album about homesickness, about absence, about his anguish imprisoned in European walls, about nostalgia and its own marks engraved on music, on his Popular Brazilian music, on rock'n roll which Tropicalism merged with to expand and that definitely changed everything about the sound produced in Brazil. As Caetano sings in 'Nostalgia', the last track of the record: 'That's what rock'n roll is all about / I mean, that's what rock'n roll was all about.'
The best justice that we can do to 'Transa' is, obviously, listening to it from the bottom of our hearts.

Brilliant Brazillian Rock.......2003-06-26

Caetano también estuvo en el exilio. Y artísticamente parece que le hizo muy bien. No he escuchado, hasta el momento, más material sobre aquél período pero "Transa" es sin duda una joya. Dentro de su buenas canciones, para mí destacan dos que son representativas: "You Don't Know Me" y "Mora na filosofia". La primera, como me dijo un amigo, "parece Lou Reed". Es rock tradicional británico setentero, pero con la cadencia del samba y un aura melancólica que es la que acompaña al resto del álbum. El segundo tema en cuestión es casi épico, largo, bien logrado, triste y único. En este disco, a diferencia de varios otros de la discografía de Caetano, se presenan pocos temas pero largos, con secciones instrumentales prolongadas. Sin recargos, simple, directo, improvisado y complejo a la vez. "Transa" es una obra maestra que sigue la línea comenzada por el mismo Caetano y seguida por Os Mutantes.

Rock Music:

1. Calma Apparente
2. Calypso: Vintage Songs from the Caribbean
3. Caminhos
4. Cemeteries & Desire
5. Christmas with Nana Mouskouri [Import]
6. Comment Te Dire Adieu [Import]
7. Dance of Shakti
8. De L'amour Le Mieux [Import]
9. Derecho de Vivir en Paz [Import]
10. Didgeridoo Groove

Rock Music

rock music

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