JORGE BEN (ABO#281)

Another Great Post from TT

JORGE BEN

TOME-O FACIL, MEU IRMÃO

(1963-1976)

If if you are not familier with Jorge Ben, you will know “Mas Que Nada” from debut album “Samba Esquema Novo” a hit for fellow Brazilian Sergio Mendez and covered by several artists, indeed Sergio revisited it with the Black Eyed Peas for A Nike ad. You will also find something very familiar about “ Taj Mahal” Rod Stewart purloined it for his “ Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” hit Jorge won the subsequent plagiarism case.

You will hear several styles of Brazilian music when you listen to Jorge, from Bossa Nova to Tropicala

Jorge also found influences outside Brazil, exploring his African roots and even Disco, which of course had in itself had a Brazilian influence.

Jorge Ben changed later changed his name to Jorge Ben Jor, apparently some of his royalties were finding their way to George Benson !

Jorge Ben Jor is still very active today, but for me his music got less interesting as the 70s progressed and whilst the late 70s albums all have something of note, it was a case of diminishing returns and I didn’t keep track of him after 70s.

This two CDs cover him at his peak form 1963 – 1976.

So make yourself a Caprina sit back and enjoy

MINK DEVILLE (ABO #252)

TEARDROPS MUST FALL:

A TRIBUTE TO

WILLY DEVILLE

THE MINK YEARS, 1977-1985

First of two volumes of Baistophe's homage to Mr. Willy DeVille. This one covers the Mink DeVille years, the next will span his solo career.
I cannot express how saddened I was when I learned Willy's death. He will be missed.
Here's a biography I lazily took from Wikipedia:
"Willy DeVille (August 27, 1950 - August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. First with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1985) and later on his own, DeVille in his 35-year career created songs that are wholly original yet rooted in traditional American musical styles. DeVille worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary music.
Mink DeVille was a house band at CBGB, the historic New York City nightclub where punk rock was born in the mid-1970s. DeVille helped redefine the Brill Building sound. During the 1980s, continuing to make a diverse variety of music, he sang the song "Storybook Love" in the movie The Princess Bride, for which he is most well-known. After his move to New Orleans in 1988, he helped spark the roots revival of classic New Orleans R&B. His soulful lyrics and explorations in Latin rhythms and sounds have helped define a new musical style sometimes called "Spanish-Americana". Jack Nitzsche said that DeVille was the best singer he had ever worked with.
Critic Robert Palmer wrote about him in 1980, "Mr. DeVille is a magnetic performer, but his macho stage presence camouflages an acute musical intelligence; his songs and arrangements are rich in ethnic rhythms and blues echoes, the most disparate stylistic references, yet they flow seamlessly and hang together solidly. He embodies (New York's) tangle of cultural contradictions while making music that's both idiomatic, in the broadest sense, and utterly original."
Doc Pomus, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member with whom he penned several songs, wrote about him, "DeVille knows the truth of a city street and the courage in a ghetto love song. And the harsh reality in his voice and phrasing is yesterday, today, and tomorrow—timeless in the same way that loneliness, no money, and troubles find each other and never quit for a minute."
Critic Mark Keresman wrote about Willy DeVille, "In some respects, DeVille is the rock & roll counterpart to Sinatra—both can rock, both stared down personal demons, both are capable of rousing memories sweet and sad, and both can navigate the mean streets with panache before winding up on Lonely Avenue at daybreak."
DeVille died from pancreatic cancer in the early hours of August 6, 2009 in a New York hospital. He was 58 years old."
Some may notice the absence of any track from 1985's Sporting Life, I've tried to include at least one but this album is just not good (mainly ruined by cheesy arrangements) so I decided to concentrate on the other works of the terrific band Mink DeVille was.

My MINK DEVILLE list
1 - Coup de Grace (1981)
2 - Le Chat Bleu (1980)
3 - Cabretta (1977)
4 - Where Angels Fear to Tread (1983)
5 - Return to Magenta (1978)
6 - Sportin' Life (1985)

AL DI MEOLA (ABO #235)

AL DI MEOLA

INCANDESCENT

(1976-2007)

Al Di Meola is one of the biggest influencial guitarists in the world. First because of his high adaptability to any kind of music, from simple rock to RNB (with Leonid Agutin), but his main love belongs to acoustic guitar and hispanic music (including south american music). From his very first solo album back in 1976 to his latest one in 2006, his landscape includes Santana and Pat Metheny and his tributes to artists like Astor Piazzola are what we remember first.

Much more famous for his contribution with RETURN TO FOREVER, whom he joined back in 2008, Al Di Meola remains a great miss in many guitar lovers collection.

My Al Di Meola TOP3 :
1- Elegant Gypsy (1977)
2- Splendido Hotel (1980)
3- Land Of The Midnught Sun (1976)

My Al Di Meola BOTTOM3 :
1- Vocal Rendez-Vous (2006)
2- Tirami Su (1987)
3- Soaring Through A Dream (1985)

[Di Meola Revisited (2003) has no interest except if you want a more concise best of than this one]

SEU JORGE (ABO #138)

SEU JORGE

EQUILIBRIO

Seu Jorge (born June 8, 1970) is a Brazilian musician, singer/songwriter and actor. Born Jorge Mário da Silva, he was raised in a favela in the city of Belford Roxo in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro state. He is considered by his fans a renewer of Brazilian pop samba. Seu Jorge cites samba school Estação Primeira de Mangueira, composers Nelson Cavaquinho, Zeca Pagodinho, and American soul singer Stevie Wonder as major musical influences, he is also a fan of footballer Romário .As a singer, Seu Jorge was part of the band Farofa Carioca, writing most of the songs of their 1998 debut album Moro no Brasil. In 2001 he released Samba Esporte Fino, a pop album influenced by musicians Jorge Ben Jor, Gilberto Gil, and Milton Nascimento. It was released outside Brazil under the name Carolina in 2003. His second album, the critically acclaimed Cru ("Raw"), was released in 2005. Seu Jorge also recorded the live duo album "Ana & Jorge" with Brazilian singer Ana Carolina, released in Brazil in 2005.Seu Jorge has gained exposure through his work as an actor and soundtrack composer. He appeared in the critically acclaimed film City of God as Mané Galinha, and then played Pelé Dos Santos in Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, for which he provided much of the soundtrack in the form of Portuguese language cover versions of David Bowie classics.In June 2006, he performed at Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee and at the Festival Sudoeste TMN in Portugal. He has also performed in 2006 at the Bluesfest in Ottawa and performed at the Harbourfront in Toronto. Jorge's performances are known for their excitement and getting the crowd moving.Jorge has three young daughters, Flor de Maria, Maria Aimee, and Luz Bella. Flor and Luz live in São Paulo, Brazil with Jorge and his wife Mariana. Maria Aimee lives in California, USA with ex-wife Fernanda and her new husband. He also made incursions into political movements, especially when he took part of the Cansei movement, a 2007 manifestation critical of the Brazilian government. (wikipedia)

Rebel Rebel

Tive Razao

MANU CHAO (ABO #083)

MANU CHAO
QUE PASO QUE PASO

Chao was born on June 26, 1961, in Paris to Spanish parents — his father, Ramon Chao, a respected writer, comes from Galicia, his mother Bilbao. Growing up bilingual, he was also influenced by the punk scene across the English Channel that happened while he was still in his teens. As a teen he played in bands, including a rockabilly outfit called Les Hot Pants, which won local critical praise. After that, Chao and his cousin began Mano Negra, named for an anarchist organization that operated in Spain. They recorded their first album , "Patchanka," for Boucherie Productions (Pigalle, Les Garçons Bouchers, etc.) but its French success led them to a contract with Virgin — something many early fans decried as selling out.

Multilingual and decidedly multicultural, but with an edge heavily influenced by the punk rock of the Clash, Mano Negra seemed comfortably at home anywhere. In 1992 they began a seemingly odd tour of Latin America, traveling by boat with actors and a circus, playing in port cities on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides. In 1995, Chao moved the band to Spain, where he also formed another outfit, Radio Bemba Sound System, employing both musicians from Mano Negra and outside, which, according to rumors, caused rifts within the ranks, leading to the split.

Chao then returned to South and Central America, spending the next few years drifting around with his guitar and a four-track, recording here and there. The resultant collection of songs was released in 1998 under the title Clandestino. The album itself took off very slowly, but after a year was going stronger than ever, a sleeper that found its niche in the burgeoning Latin alternative scene (even though its lyrics freely mixed English and French along with the Spanish). In june of 2001, he released his second album, Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, which showed that his musical self had been spending the last couple of years soaking up the sounds of the Caribbean. This was further explored on Radio Bemba Sound System, a live recording done in 2002 that was taken from the tour following Proxima Estacion: Esperanza. In 2004 Chao released his first French-only album, Sibérie M'était Contéee and in 2007 Radiolina. This best of spans his entire solo career and displays how talented and versatile an artist Manu is. Enjoy!

1. Clandestino 2:28

2. Bongo Bong 2:38
3. Je ne t'aime plus 2:03
4. Welcome to Tijuana 4:04
5. Dia Luna... Dia Pena 1:30
6. Minha Galera 2:22
7. Merry Blues 3:36
8. El Dorado 1997 1:30
9. La Primavera 1:53
10. Me Gustas Tu 4:00

11. Mr Bobby 3:49
12. Por Donde Saldra El Sol ? 2:41
13. Peligro 3:09
14. El Viento 2:41
15. Rumba de Barcelona 3:31

16. Radio Bemba 0:34
17. Que Paso Que Paso 1:10
18. Pinocchio (Viaggio in Groppa al Tonno) 0:45
19. La valse à sale temps 3:41
20. Les mille paillettes 4:05

21. Helno est mort 3:34
22. Te tromper 1:13
23. Te souviens-tu... 2:34
24. 13 Dias 2:37
25. Politik Kills 3:03
26. Rainin' In Paradize 3:41
27. Me Llaman Calle 3:14

28. La Vida Tombola 3:16
29. Panik Panik 1:46
30. Sone Otro Mundo 1:19

MANO NEGRA (ABO #078)

MANO NEGRA
MALA VIDA!

Named in honor of an Andalucian anarchist group, Mano Negra emerged from the same Parisian artists' scene which also gave rise to the like-minded Les Negresses Vertes, drawing equal influence from the punk ethos of the Clash and the multitude of sounds and rhythms endemic to the global music community. Formed in 1986 from the remnants of the neo-rockabilly unit the Hot Pants, Mano Negra essentially consisted of vocalist Manu Chao, his trumpeter brother Tonio and drummer cousin Santiago Casiriego, Spanish natives who fused rock, rap, flamenco and rai to create a heady brew they dubbed "Patchanka," a name derived from a Spanish pejorative for dancehall music. Mano Negra's debut LP, also titled Patchanka, appeared in 1988, scoring the French indie hit "Mala Vida."
The record's success led to a contract with Virgin, which in 1989 issued the group's sophomore effort Puta's Fever (Dominican slang for a sexually-transmitted disease caught from a prostitute), increasing the band's visibility abroad as well as establishing them as France's most popular alternative act. While 1991's King of Bongo attempted to broaden their Anglo fanbase via the inclusion of several English-language tracks, but their focus quickly turned to South America when in 1992 they embarked on the "Cargo Tour," travelling to a series of port cities to perform on a stage built into their ship's hold. Mano Negra returned the following year, this time journeying by rail from Colombia's Caribbean coast to the capital city of Bogotá, giving free concerts at stations en route. Latin influences dominated 1994's Casa Babylon, which proved to be the group's final record. (Allmusic guide)