The Best of Marcos Valle: Carioca Soul

Marcos Valle was the Renaissance man of Brazilian pop, a singer/songwriter/producer who straddled the country's music world from the early days of the bossa nova craze well into the fusion-soaked sound of '80s MPB. Though his reputation in America never quite compared to contemporaries like Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, or even Tom Zé, Valle is one of the most important and popular performers in the history of Brazilian pop.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1943, Valle studied classical music as a child but listened to many different types of music, especially jazz. He began writing songs with his brother Paulo Sérgio -- Marcos was the tune writer, Paulo the lyricist -- in the early '60s, and after Tamba Trio found a hit with his "Sonho de Maria," Valle was named Brazil's Leading Composer of the Year at the age of 19. A recording contract soon followed, and in 1964 he released his first album, Samba Demais, for EMI Brazil. A tour with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 the following year brought his first show business connections in America (via Merv Griffin), and in 1966 Walter Wanderley took Valle's song "So Nice (Summer Samba)" into the U.S. Top 40. Valle soon earned his own American contract, and in 1967, Warner Bros. released the instrumentals album Braziliance! One year later, his Verve debut, Samba '68, became a Brazilian classic thanks to simple, infectious pop songs like "Batucada," "Chup, Chup, I Got Away," and "Crickets Sing for Anamaria" (all of which featured spot-on harmony vocals by his wife, Anamaria).

Despite the incredible promise revealed by Samba '68, it was his last American album to date. That same year, the Brazilian-only Viola Enluarada became a big hit in South America, thanks in part to the title track (with vocals by a young Milton Nascimento). The rock & roll era that had already influenced tropicalistas like Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil soon began inspiring Valle as well. With albums like the irresistible 1971 classic Garra, he moved away from native Brazilian forms like the bossa nova and samba and into a rock-influenced sound that played up groove-heavy bass and smooth funk even while courting his amazing melodic sense. He continued recording for EMI until he moved to America in 1975. There, he wrote and arranged tracks for Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, and Chicago. He continued to record solo albums during the early '80s, adding electronics and smooth production techniques to the mix with surprisingly solid results, but also moved into writing music (often with Paulo) for films and novellas, including the theme to Brazil's version of Sesame Street.

During the late '80s, the rare-groove craze centered in London resurrected and relentlessly compiled dozens of crucial overlooked tracks from the '60s and '70s, including Valle's "Crickets Sing for Anamaria." In 1995, the British label Mr. Bongo released a two-volume series (The Essential Marcos Valle) dedicated to his work. One year later, Valle appeared on the jam session compilation Friends from Rio, and in 1998 returned with a new album, Nova Bossa Nova. That same year, the Lumiar label released The Marcos Valle Songbook, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, including new versions of Valle standards by Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethania, Edu Lobo, Joyce, Chico Buarque, Joao Bosco, and Azymuth, among others. The new millennium heralded another studio album, Escape, as well as prescient Japanese reissues from his late-'60s/early-'70s peak. Additional albums followed during the 2000s, including Contrasts (2003) and Jet Samba (2005), as well as the live Conecta ao Vivo No Cinematheque (2008). He entered the new decade with another new studio album, 2010's Estática.

Tracks


1 On Line Valle 5:56
2 Nova Visual Valle 4:15
3 Parabens Bond, Valle 8:33
4 Os Grilos Valle, Valle 5:47
5 Nordeste Valle 6:48
6 Escape Valle 5:42
7 Nova Bossa Nova Valle 4:05
8 Apaixonada por Você Valle 5:44
9 Valeu Joyce, Valle 4:46
10 Poweride Valle 7:56
11 Samba de Verao (Summer Samba) Valle, Valle 4:26
12 Mentira Valle 4:02
13 Batucada Surgio Valle, Valle 3:26
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V.A. - Rolling Stone Collection: 25 Years of Essential Rock (1993)

Not everyone who was a rock music fan during at least part of the 25 years covered by the seven CDs in this collection will agree on what was the most "essential rock" of this era. Since this collection is associated with Rolling Stone magazine, you would be correct if you assumed that some of the magazine's favorite artists would be included here: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Prince, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Byrds, and Talking Heads. But also here are cuts by Led Zeppelin, a group the magazine generally did not consider to be anything special. The collection includes one #1 hit single, "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner; many non-hits, such as "The Crystal Ship", the B-side of the Doors #1 smash, "Light My Fire" (which is not included in this collection); some well-regarded efforts that were only available as album tracks; and some selections that are unknown singles by unknown artists to most rock fans, such as "See No Evil" by Television. For most potential buyers it will include some selections they already have on a CD and others they've never heard before. It may even introduce them to some artists they will grow to love. By the way, the sound quality of this collection is uniformly excellent. - amazon.com

The Rolling Stone Collection - 25 Years Of Essential Rock (1993 US 110-track 7-CD box set from Rolling Stone magazine in conjunction with Time-Life Music, featuring material from 1969-1992 including tracks by Bob Dylan, Donovan, The Doors, Cream, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Ramones, Wings, Elton John, Sex Pistols, U2, The Clash and many more.

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Wyclef Jean Carnival, Vol. 2: Memoirs of an Immigrant

Ten years after his 1997 solo debut, The Carnival, former Fugee, "Hips Don't Lie" producer, and globetrotting activist Wyclef Jean presents the sequel, subtitled Memoirs of an Immigrant and meaning it. There's a star-studded guest list, but Carnival, Vol. 2 is composed from Wyclef's personal experience and filled with his commentary on 2007's immigration crisis. He even works his own green-card story into "Selena," a lighthearted love letter to the Mexican American diva that shamelessly quotes her "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" over a light reggae beat before it morphs into a screaming loud carnival number. Many of the songs here shift genres with fascinating ease, like when the epic "Touch Your Button Carnival Jam" goes from a Black Eyed Peas-styled pop number to an intense soca workout. Then there's "Riot," a duet featuring System of a Down's Serj Tankian and dancehall dread Sizzla that utilizes a tense rock rhythm before exiting on a wet reggae beat. If it all sounds overwhelming, it's held together by Wyclef's well-crafted arrangements, and if Serj and Sizzla sound like an odd combination, try Sizzla and Minister Louis Farrakhan on violin for "Welcome to the East." Chamillionaire gets a Bollywood orchestra as a backing band, T.I.'s track is almost a hippie number, and Paul Simon croons over an R&B beat during "Fast Car," not the Tracy Chapman one but a song just as poignant. While this skillful mixing and matching of the A-list makes quite a first impression, it's the songwriting that sticks as Wyclef has upped his game. The deadbeat dad story "What About the Baby" is a convincing exchange between Wyclef and Mary J. Blige because of all the honesty written into it, and lines like "I got love for Miami all day/But if my Cubans get to stay/Why you turn my Haitians away?" add edge and weight to an album that's otherwise slick and immaculately polished. To make sure the immigration issue is always nearby, Wyclef quietly and at regular intervals references "shelter," "helping hands," and other words of refuge and protection. It's done so masterfully that it makes the couple "I'm gonna grab my guitar!" moments worth ignoring, which are the only times Wyclef's ego seems to be muscling into the mix. Otherwise, Carnival, Vol. 2 strives to give the immigration problem a face, turning those thousands of marchers seen on the news into a thousand personal stories of struggle and hope. It does so while pulsating with life and displaying an unabashed love of music that's rich, daring, and delightful.

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Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring Refugee Allstars

The Score was one of those rare hip-hop albums that came out of nowhere and rewrote the rules. In the aftermath of its success, many pundits predicted that rap would move away from gangsta and toward a richer, more varied existence. Given such heady praise, perhaps it was reasonable that Wyclef Jean, the guitarist and male rapper for the Fugees, decided to follow The Score with a solo project. However, Presents the Carnival comes across like Jean presenting his case that he is the true genius in the Fugees. And he's partially right. He has the ambition and drive common to many great artists, but he lacks the skills to fulfill his vision. Of course, the very fact that he has an original vision makes Jean one of the more compelling figures of late-'90s hip-hop. Not content to rely solely on hip-hop, Jean adds all manners of influences to his music. You can hear reggae, soul, disco, Caribbean rhythms, worldbeat, and opera scattered throughout The Carnival, giving the record the riotous atmosphere of its title. Even so, Jean occasionally tries too hard, forcing disparate genres to mix and spending more time on production than songwriting. But even with all its faults, The Carnival delivers great thrills when operating at full strength, demonstrating that Jean is at least half a genius.

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Gabo Ferro, Flopa & Ral Veroni\Nada para el destino (Nothing for destiny)

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