Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66-'86 - Classics, Volume 18 (1987)

WISH LIST WEEK* (AUGUST 10-16, 2015)

A very enjoyable compilation of Mendes' most popular songs from the late '60s - early '70s, plus two top 40 hits from '83 & '84. The former are samba classics and covers (including some tasty Beatles and Bacharach tunes), the later ones are unabashed American pop songs with fantastic vocals by Joe Pizzulo. The liner notes describe this music as a "delicately-mixed blend of pianistic jazz, subtle Latin nuances, cool minor chords, a danceable beat, gentle laughter and a little sex." Agreed.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

Song	Year	Easy Listening	Hot 100
Mais Que Nada	1966	4
Scarborough Fair	1968	2	16
With A Little Help From My Friends	1968	31
The Look of Love	1968	2	4
Fool On The Hill	1968	1	6
Going Out Of My Head	1966
Look Around	1968
Like A Lover	1968
One Note Samba/Spanish Flea	1966
Bim Bom	1967
Never Gonna Let You Go	1983	1	4
Pais Tropical	1971
Promise Of A Fisherman	1972
Pretty World	1969	4	62
So Many Stars	1968
Song Of No Regrets	1969
Alibis	1984	5	29

17 tracks, 54⅓ minutes, including Mendes' 5 singles that reached the US Top pop 40 (Mendes placed 27 hits on the Adult Contemporary charts). Only one skippable track: Promise Of A Fisherman.  The over-produced tracks from the '80s seem out of place in the strange sequencing, but I like those two so much it doesn't bother me.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox,
go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  I own the later A&M albums: 1983's self-titled album on both CD and vinyl, 1984's Confetti on vinyl. Back in the days of Napster (ca. 2000), I made my own bootleg Mendes compilation. It was 24 tracks (below) with 11 tracks appearing on both my compilation and A&M's.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Sergio Mendes (1983)
Crystal Illusions (1969)

---

*My money earned for teaching summer school usually pays for the family summer vacation. This year, however, we decided to forgo the usual vacay and spend money updating things around the house (the wife has been watching a lot of HGTV). Anyway, there was a little money left over, so I went over to Amazon and bought every CD available on my wish list, some of which had been on said list for over four years. This week, I'll be featuring some of these new-to-me discs; listening to many of them for the first time.

Sergio Mendes (1983)

I can't help it. I just love this cheesy album. I had a dubbed cassette of it back in the '80s then, in the late '90s, I went to eBay and paid more than I should have for a CD because it has long been out of print. Was it worth $30 for a used CD? Probably not for you, but I had to have it. Now you can download the entire album for $7.99. Thanks, technology, you're just a bit late. I recently checked on eBay where a copy of the CD is offered for $141.99 (no kidding). I love it, but maybe not that much. That makes my $30 purchase look like quite a bargain.

I'm guessing my CD copy is one of the earliest printed CDs I own. Why? For one thing, the CD was made in Japan because CDs weren't being manufactured in the US in 1983. Secondly, this was printed before the industry adopted the designations for whether the original recording was recorded digitally, how it was mastered, etc (e.g. AAD, DDD). This designation was standard on CD releases later in the '80s, but appears nowhere on this CD or its booklet. Finally, the back of the jewel case is engraved with the words "Patent pending." In other words, the jewel case design wasn't even patented when this CD was released.

Now for the music. To say that anyone could have made this record may be overstating the case, but the fact is that there is no way of knowing that this is a Sergio Mendes record without looking at the jacket. Mendes produced the record and plays keyboards on all the tracks, but I think he was more of a coordinator for this album, putting together songs written by top-notch songwriters (Ivan Lins, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Michael Sembello) and the best session musicians available at that time (Nathan Watts, Ernie Watts, Jerry Hey). Sure it's not Mendes' '60s sound, it's over-produced, and it won't be on any "best of" lists, but it's a solid pop album in my opinion. It's easy to listen to and maybe that's just what I needed back in the summer of 1984.

Mendes also released a Spanish version of the album titled Picardia.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "well-balanced mix of ballads and up-tempo Latin-tinged tracks"
• Stereo Review: "production, arrangements, and performances are as flossy and as overstuffed as ever."
• CashBox: "Uh oh, Sergio"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #27
• Billboard R&B: #22
• CashBox: #33

Track: Never Gonna Let You Go (#4 pop, #1 AC) is a classic and I never get tired of it, but I think my favorite track may be My Summer Love, don't ask me why. Also good are Rainbow's End (#52 pop, #6 AC), Love Is Waiting, and Sí Señor. Track 7, the instrumental Dream Hunter, can also be found on David Sanborn's 1982 album, As We Speak, but there it is titled Port Of Call. The only track on this album I'm even tempted to skip is Carnaval, but its got a tuba solo and how often do you get a tuba solo on a pop record?

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: (Same as with David Sanborn's Voyeur) In the summer of 1984, I would go over to my band director's apartment to pick up mail, water the plants, etc. while he was visiting family out of state. I also took the opportunity to borrow his LPs and record them to cassette tapes. This was on one such tape.

When I was teaching a group of undergraduates during the spring semester of 2010, a cell phone rang in class one day. The student's ringtone? Never Gonna Let You Go. My reaction: "Oh my God, is that a Sergio Mendes ringtone?!?!"

Previously revisited for the blog:
Crystal Illusions (1969)

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Crystal Illusions (1969)

Pure '60s cheese in all its wholesome goodness. Makes me want to shake up some martinis. Lani Hall singing in Portuguese over a bossa beat is a delight as are Dave Grusin's orchestral arrangements. Put this on with some Herb Alpert, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Getz/Gilberto, and you've got yourself a cocktail party. In fact, that's not a bad idea.

Blurb from the back CD insert:

By 1969, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 were proven hitmakers, with an effervescent signature sound that was instantly recognizable. Crystal Illusions kept that sound alive, and it also added some new elements to the mix - digging deeper into Mendes's roots with dazzling new tunes by young Brazilian songwriters like Milton Nascimento and giving the band a chance to stretch out and experiment on the adventurous title track.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "the group reaches out to experiment with a new and almost abstract sound."
• CashBox: "bound to be a monster"
• Record World: "an enticing set of lush and sweet bossa tunes"
• High Fidelity: "This album sounds like its predecessors."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #33

Tracks: Higlights include (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay (#66 pop, #12 AC) Viola, Salt Sea, Empty Faces, and Pretty World (#62 pop, #4 AC). The CD ends with 2 clunkers: You Stepped Out Of A Dream and the title track, the latter being an overblown psychedelic experimental piece that's of interest only to a Mendes historian (I'm assuming there is one) as he gets to stretch out on an extended Rhodes solo.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Not so much with this CD, but with the song Salt Sea. I played a good marching band arrangment of the piece in college around 1986 and wanted to hear the original, which led to the purchase of the CD.