Bebel Gilberto: Back-to-Basics Bossa Nova
Reviewed: Bebel Gilberto's 'Tanto Tempo' (Six Degrees Records) -
If you're a fan of Bossa Nova in the traditional sense, try this CD! Every track is a delightful experience, with Bebel's sexy, understated Portuguese and English vocalizations, super piano, acoustic guitar and percussive accompaniments, and great production quality. There are some electronic 'enhancements' on some tracks that aren't overly obtrusive or overpowering, a relief IMHO.
Bebel is the daughter of the legendary Joao Gilberto (but not Astrud's) who has performed with him and apparently inherited his talents as well (refer to CDNow's excellent review and bio for further info). Her songs remind me of Astrud's early work from a style standpoint, but are not cloned. One track, "So Nice (Summer Samba)" even is a redux of Astrud's. "August Day Song" is intriguing, in that Bebel does a 'duet' in both languages from one channel to the other, and also on both! The first track, "Samba da Bencau" also is a standout, setting the mood for the whole album.
Note that in Amazon's listings, there is a remix version of this CD - I haven't heard that one, but can't believe it to be any improvement on this, the original mix, other than it seems to have some 'bonus tracks' my copy (with eleven) doesn't. BTW, I'm not pushing CDNow (that's not where my copy came from) but I DO highly recommend this CD, a Latin Grammy nominee that deserves to be heard...
Reviewed by Tim Yee, 8/13/2002
Posted on Jan 11, 2004 at 12:53 am by Rudy.
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