COHEN On The Road

Original released on CD Legacy 88697768392

(2010, September 14)

Given that Leonard Cohen's international concert tours of the late 2000s were prompted by the fact his former manager made off with his life's savings, only a curmudgeon would blame the man for trying to make the enterprise as profitable as possible. Roughly 14 months after releasing "Live in London", which preserved Cohen's July 2008 performance at London's 02 Arena, the venerable singer and songwriter presented "Songs from the Road", featuring 12 tunes from his 2008 and 2009 concert dates. While "Live in London" captured the feel and flow of a single concert and featured most of Cohen's best-known songs, this set includes bits and pieces from 11 different shows, and while this album isn't exactly a collection of rarities, it does feature a number of lesser-known tunes (such as "Heart with No Companion" and "That Don't Make It Junk") and variant versions of some of his more famous numbers (Cohen juggles the order of the verses on "Suzanne" and adds a new verse to "Bird on a Wire"). While "Live in London" was a richly satisfying souvenir of Cohen's inspired comeback shows, "Songs from the Road" is less impressive in its more modest scale and less cohesive atmosphere. But the album still demonstrates that Cohen is a compelling and absorbing performer who brings his soul into every verse he sings, and his band is nothing less that superb; even when Dino Soldo's sax and Bob Metzger's guitar dip into jazz fusion sleepyland, they give Cohen just the musical support he needs, and the interplay between them and the vocalist is a marvel. "Songs from the Road" seems a bit pale compared to the excellence of "Live in London", but both albums are enough to convince anyone that even at the age of 74, Leonard Cohen remains one of the most vital figures in contemporary music, and his gifts as a performer nearly match his abilities as a writer, no small accomplishment. (Mark Demming in AllMusic)

DANIEL BACELAR: "On The Road Again"

Para satisfazer diversas solicitações, é com renovado prazer que Rato Records apresenta aqui de novo este album de Daniel Bacelar. São 11 temas gravados entre 2006 e 2010, quase como por acaso, e em que o suporte musical esteve totalmente a cargo do Zé Pino, guitarrista de eleição e amigo de sempre do Daniel. Num País dado a vaidades bacocas e interesses comezinhos, é reconfortante saber que existem pessoas para as quais o facto de se sentirem felizes é a única recompensa que desejam alcançar pelo seu trabalho. O Daniel e o Zé são duas dessas pessoas especiais, que puseram nestas gravações o melhor de si próprios, e que agora as disponibilizam a todos os amigos da música e deste blogue em especial. Um grande obrigado aos dois!

"NUNCA"

(Daniel Bacelar)

Nunca me deixes

não não partas assim

tu estás tão longe

e eu sinto-te tão perto de mim.

O amor é forte

não tem fronteiras p'ra mim

não me abandones agora

que eu necessito de ti.

Nunca me esqueças

pois tu és tudo p'ra mim

sempre que penso em ti

sinto uma tristeza sem fim.

Porque eu te amo

e tu estás tão longe de mim

tão longe de mim

tão longe de mim

tão longe de mim

tão longe de mim

tão longe de mim

tão longe de mim

...

BRYAN FERRY: "Olympia"

Original released on CD Virgin 5099990642821

(EU 2010, October 22)

There are two headlines for "Olympia", Bryan Ferry’s 13th solo album. The first is that it’s Ferry’s first collection of primarily original material since 1994’s "Mamouna" - of the ten songs only Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" and Traffic's "No Face, No Name, No Number" are from another author - the second is that among the many collaborators here are Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, and Andy MacKay, all original members of Roxy Music, their presence suggesting a return to the chilly art of Roxy’s earliest records. Neither headline tells the real story: "Olympia" is Ferry’s most seductive album since "Avalon", a luxurious collection of softly stylized sophistication. Instead of pushing into new territory, Ferry focuses on refinement, polishing his signatures - primarily songs so slow they seem to float, and also the occasional high-end piece of pristine pop-funk - until they’re seamless, the textures shifting so subtly that when the chorus of "Heartache by Numbers" turns eerie, the change in atmosphere is almost subliminal. Such command of mood is a tell-tale sign of a quiet perfectionist, but "Olympia" doesn’t feel fussy; it’s unruffled and casually elegant, its pleasing familiarity reflecting the persistence of an old master honing his craft. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

MARTHA ARGERICH Plays Chopin & Beethoven

MARCELO JENECI: "Feito Pra Acabar"

Edição original em CD Slap 1821-2

(BRASIL 2010, Novembro 30)

Poucos cantores e bandas têm um começo tão conciso e coerente como Jeneci. É uma mistura homogênea de vários estilos, sem parecer ser feito às pressas. A voz feminina é talvez o grande trunfo do álbum, pois confere uma atmosfera mais subtil e suave. Jeneci é um instrumentista de mão cheia, principalmente com o seu acordeão. A sua voz talvez não seja a melhor parte do album, mas contribui de uma forma bem interessante pra que tudo se encaixe na perfeição. Marcelo Jeneci veio pra modificar a musica brasileira, que até então estava bem desgastada e sem muito futuro. Simplesmente um óptimo album. A voz feminina fica realmente como o ponto forte do disco, e me leva a pensar se Jeneci não poderia ter adicionado uma segunda assinatura ao seu disco, também com o nome dela - quem sabe assim saberíamos o seu nome -. Senti que as subtis imperfeições da sua voz soaram como o grande charme de tudo: doce, leve e caseira. Quanto ao próprio Jeneci, dá pra notar a sua forte intimidade como músico de estúdio - principalmente pelas experiências em parcerias anteriores com Arnaldo Antunes e Vanessa da Mata - utilizando-se de variados instrumentos nas suas gravações. Algo que as bandas/artistas apenas se aprimoram, quando assim o querem, com o passar do tempo, ele nos traz já neste primeiro disco, mostrando que já chega maduro e conhecedor da causa. Enfim.. Lindas letras, melodias que se encaixam em qualquer ocasião, entrosamento infalível do casal de vozes, óptimas infuências musicais, além da bela estética visual da banda nas apresentações ao vivo, eis o resumo... Marcelo Jeneci já chega de estréia nos mostrando um pouco do futuro... feito pra acabar e durar. (in RateYourMusic)

CARO EMERALD Debut Album

Original released on CD Grandmono GM 005

(NETHERLANDS 2010, January 29)

Caro Emerald came out of nowhere in 2009 with the summertime hit "Back It Up," a catchy jazz-pop song with a dance beat. The follow-up single, "A Night Like This," was an even bigger hit, topping the Dutch charts. By the time "Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor" came around, Emerald was well established as one of the most exciting new artists to emerge from the Netherlands in some time, and her full-length album debut was eagerly awaited. It includes the smash hit singles "Back It Up" and "A Night Like This," both written by Vincent de Giorgio, David Schreurs, and Jan van Wieringen. The latter two Dutchmen are Emerald's producers. They released "Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor" on their Amsterdam label Grandmono Records. In addition to the pair of singles, the album includes ten new songs quite varied in style. "Just One Dance" is straight dance-pop with dashes of jazz, and "The Lipstick on His Collar" draws from both Amy Winehouse circa "Back to Black "(2006) and Portishead circa "Dummy" (1994). "The Other Woman" is another song that brings to mind Winehouse and Portishead. Other songs like "Dr. Wanna Do" go heavy on the jazz. Emerald is a talented singer and she sings in English well, but in the end, the varied jazz-pop productions and the slick dance beats are what set her apart from the crowd. Fans of the initial singles should find plenty else to enjoy on "Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor", which finds Emerald trying out a number of different jazz-pop styles. (Jason Birchmeier in AllMusic)

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER's "Love Never Dies"

Original released on Double CD Really Useful 2724793

(UK 2010, March 9)

Better than I expected, though not as good as "Phantom of the Opera". Mr Lloyd Webber seems to have got some of his magic back. The style of this is much more 'Broadway' than operetta, but that suits the setting of the story, Coney Island, with its amusement park and side show freaks. There are passages with very prominent electric guitars which suit the tone and mood of the song they're used in but pull the listener out of the era in which the story is set. The cast are excellent vocally. The Phantom and Raoul and Christine and Meg Giry tend to sound a bit alike at times. The original Raoul, Steve Barton, has sadly passed away. (in RateYourMusic)

Few musicals have enjoyed the cultural (and financial) longevity of "The Phantom of the Opera". Lyricists Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and composer Andre Lloyd Webber’s take on the classic French novel by author Gaston Leroux, opened in 1986 with no endgame in sight, which makes one wonder why it took so long to cash in and make a sequel. In 2010, Webber, along with writer Glenn Slater, who won a Tony for his work on the 2007 stage adaptation of the 1989 Disney film "The Little Mermaid", brought Christine Daaé and the Phantom together again in "Love Never Dies". Set ten years after the events of the first installment, the Phantom has lured his muse from Paris to New York City for a performance (that unbeknownst to her, he set up) at a new venue called Phantasma in Coney Island. High drama and tragedy ensue (fans of the original will revel in the gothic splendor of pieces like “The Coney Island Waltz” and the crafty/schmaltzy ballads “Til I Hear You Sing” and the beautiful “Love Never Dies”), allowing Webber to spin a predictable but effective new set of themes that both celebrate the half-masked anti-hero’s pipe organ past while allowing him to evolve (as much as he can with his anger issues and addiction to heartache) beneath the formidable shadows of the Big Apple. (James Christopher Monger in AllMusic)

KATIE MELUA: "The Ultimate Collection"

Original released on CD Digipak BMG 538433672

(EU 2018, October 5)

THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD LOVES YOU, PAUL!

"The Thrill Is Gone" By B.B. KING & ERIC CLAPTON

MUXIMA - Homenagem Ao Duo Ouro Negro

Edição original em CD Farol FAR 91796

(PORTUGAL, 2010)

A tribute band dedicated to Duo Ouro Negro, a popular Angolan duo from the 1960s and '70s, Muxima is a Portuguese quartet who made their Top Five hit album debut with "Homenagem ao Duo Ouro Negro" in 2010. Founded in 1956 in Benguela, Angola, a country in southwest Africa that was an overseas province of Portugal until 1975, Duo Ouro Negro was comprised of Raul Indipwo and Milo MacMahon. They made their commercial recording debut in 1959. Though they were active throughout the '70s, they were most popular during the '60s, when they scored numerous hits and performed Portuguese-language covers of popular music of the era such as the Beatles ("Agora Vou Ser Feliz") and Charles Aznavour ("La Mamma"). Founded with the intent of paying tribute to the 50th anniversary of Duo Ouro Negro, Muxima is a quartet comprised of Janita Salomé (who hails from Portugal), Filipa Pais (Portugal), Ritinha Lobo (Cape Verde), and Yami (Angola). The album includes some Duo Ouro Negro favorites such as "Amanhã," "Maria Rita," and "Vou Levar-te Conmigo." Produced by Manuel d'Oliveira and Hélder Moutinho. 

CARLOS DO CARMO & BERNARDO SASSETTI

Edição original em CD Mercury Universal Music

(PORTUGAL, 2010)

Este é um álbum sem segredos, pelo menos no que respeita à voz [que surge pura, sem trapézios, com um processamento quase nulo] de Carlos Do Carmo. Mas que comportava um desafio, pois enfrentava o perigo de alguma monotonia. E se esse desafio é superado com distinção e classe, deve-se à prestação soberba e pujante de Bernardo Sassetti: o pianista nunca se coloca acima da voz, sabe dar-lhe espaço e respiração dinâmica e depois nos momentos em que assume maior força harmónica é brilhante, exemplar. Depois ambos os músicos dão-se ao vizinho acolhendo-o em troca. Sassetti acolhe um sentido popular, sem deixar de ser exuberante e Carlos Do Carmo recebe do pianista uma nova aventura, que abraça como um jovem, mantendo toda a sua sofisticação. É um diálogo, que chega a ser comovente, de admiração mútua este disco, e também de admiração aos grandes autores da música portuguesa – essas versões parecem-me mais apaixonadas, as de Jacques Brel, “Quand On N’a Que L’Amour”, Léo Ferré, “Avec Le Temps”, e Violeta Parra, “Gracias La Vida”, são emotivamente mais distantes, mas talvez isso seja uma resposta também de amante da música portuguesa. Um trabalho que evoca um renascimento da música portuguesa num sentido erudito, mantendo a sensibilidade mais importante de todas: a proximidade com o público. (in ArteSonora)