Astrud Gilberto Music

I dearly love Astrud Gilberto. Have almost everything she's ever had
recorded. This particular recording has been issued, re-issued under
about 20 different versions of cd covers, faces, titles, etc. They all
have Astrud Gilberto listed on the front, but not always the same photo
or caption. Same songs on every cd and same versions. For me, the ONLY
keeper on this is the gorgeous rendition of "Far Away" with Astrud and
the late, great Chet Baker in a vocal duet. I only wish the whole cd
was up to this standard, but alas, it is not. Those looking for the
original "Girl From Ipanema" version w/Stan Getz or ANY of Astrud's
other beautiful Verve songs need to stay away from this low point in
her recording career. I don't blame Astrud on this project, and will
forgive her. She obviously had bad advice and/or management with this.
5 stars for "Far Away" and 2 stars for the rest of the material.

I've always liked this album. I've not listened that much to Ms Gilberto but I like her voice a lot, even though she sounds a bit distracted at times. What makes this album special are all the great New York studio musicians that play on it. In here you'll find people like George Young, Eddie Daniels, Will Lee, Allan Schwartzberg, Warren Bernhardt, Jeff Mironov etc. I don't remember the others offhand. The album also features a special performance by Chet Baker on "Far Away". I recommend this album to anyone who likes good music!

So maybe in the 1970s,when both bossa nova and Astrud Gilberto's time had peaked and passed,it seemed a good idea to re-record these classics in order to sell them to the disco crowd...Maybe Gilberto needed the cash...certainly it was no real stretch to go from bossa nova to disco..BUT THESE SIDES JUST AIN'T THE SAME AS THE ORIGINALS,and without Stan Getz's contributions these sides stink...

When I ordered this CD I was expecting the original "The Girl from Ipanema." Imagine my disappointment when a totally different version, minus the incredible sax, began playing. I wanted to toss it then and there. I decided to check out the rest of the CD but it didn't get any better. Fortunately, I found the correct recording on the "Getz/Gilberto" CD, which is absolutely an incredible listening experience. This is the CD you want if you're looking for "The Girl from Ipanema." Don't waste your money (or your ears) on this CD. Just awful.

This was quite an odd collection of songs, but being a fan of Ms. Gilberto's voice and phrasing if the CD's plays on you just may forget to press the forward button. I don't know where they found that fantastic electronic piano player but I don't think I've ever heard an eletric piano sound that grovy before. I didn't really care all that much for most of the tracks but If you love Ms. Gilberto you need to pick this up.

I dearly love Astrud Gilberto. Have almost everything she's ever had
recorded. This particular recording has been issued, re-issued under
about 20 different versions of cd covers, faces, titles, etc. They all
have Astrud Gilberto listed on the front, but not always the same photo
or caption. Same songs on every cd and same versions. For me, the ONLY
keeper on this is the gorgeous rendition of "Far Away" with Astrud and
the late, great Chet Baker in a vocal duet. I only wish the whole cd
was up to this standard, but alas, it is not. Those looking for the
original "Girl From Ipanema" version w/Stan Getz or ANY of Astrud's
other beautiful Verve songs need to stay away from this low point in
her recording career. I don't blame Astrud on this project, and will
forgive her. She obviously had bad advice and/or management with this.
5 stars for "Far Away" and 2 stars for the rest of the material.

I've always liked this album. I've not listened that much to Ms Gilberto but I like her voice a lot, even though she sounds a bit distracted at times. What makes this album special are all the great New York studio musicians that play on it. In here you'll find people like George Young, Eddie Daniels, Will Lee, Allan Schwartzberg, Warren Bernhardt, Jeff Mironov etc. I don't remember the others offhand. The album also features a special performance by Chet Baker on "Far Away". I recommend this album to anyone who likes good music!

So maybe in the 1970s,when both bossa nova and Astrud Gilberto's time had peaked and passed,it seemed a good idea to re-record these classics in order to sell them to the disco crowd...Maybe Gilberto needed the cash...certainly it was no real stretch to go from bossa nova to disco..BUT THESE SIDES JUST AIN'T THE SAME AS THE ORIGINALS,and without Stan Getz's contributions these sides stink...

When I ordered this CD I was expecting the original "The Girl from Ipanema." Imagine my disappointment when a totally different version, minus the incredible sax, began playing. I wanted to toss it then and there. I decided to check out the rest of the CD but it didn't get any better. Fortunately, I found the correct recording on the "Getz/Gilberto" CD, which is absolutely an incredible listening experience. This is the CD you want if you're looking for "The Girl from Ipanema." Don't waste your money (or your ears) on this CD. Just awful.

This was quite an odd collection of songs, but being a fan of Ms. Gilberto's voice and phrasing if the CD's plays on you just may forget to press the forward button. I don't know where they found that fantastic electronic piano player but I don't think I've ever heard an eletric piano sound that grovy before. I didn't really care all that much for most of the tracks but If you love Ms. Gilberto you need to pick this up.

.

Here is an album of great poise, intimacy and class.

Gilberto's phrasings have never sounded so soft, deliberate or vulnerable as they do here.

Without doubt this is "The Girl" at her most tender and her most romantic.

Sadness and a sense of loss are underscored by the rhythms of old Brazil that waft through the entire collection.

The sardonic "I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do" with its haunting accordion opening is a case in point.

So too is the plaintive "Where's the Love" with its beautiful melody line and its sad, sad lyric.

It is a lamentation carried across the darkness of a moonless night for a love lost but not forgotten.

"In the Wee Small Hours" is also delivered with the same sense of loss and is articulated with restraint and integrity.

My favourite cut, "Wailing of the Willow" again reflects that fragile set of emotions - a word, a thought, on the verge of a tear.

Rarely does such intimacy and emotion flow consistently through all the tracks of an album.

This time it does.

FIVE STARS for the Girl from Ipanema. Always.

Thankfully for Astrud Gilberto fans, this CD is now available. Astrud called it her "fireside" album. It's a quiet and intimate record, drenched in strings and lyrics about love and longing. It's such a delicate album, in fact, that it makes her "A Certain Smile a Certain Sadness" sound like hard rock in comparison. On "I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do"," Astrud attempts to free herself of her bossa nova past. Only a couple tracks (Sea is My Soil and Without Him) have any Latin flare at all. This is is an enjoyable pop record, but I did miss her singing in her native Portuguese. The highlights are the above-mentioned Sea is My Soil and Without Him as well as Astrud's rendition of Trains and Boats and Planes (a Burt Bacharach tune). Trains is one of her saddest and most moving moments; and her version of Wee Small Hours I find more charming than Sinatra's. At only 28 minutes, "I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do" is a short album, but an attractive one.

Track list:

1. I HAVEN'T GOT ANYTHING BETTER TO DO
2. DIDN'T WE?
3. WAILING OF THE WILLOW
4. WHERE'S THE LOVE?
5. SEA IS MY SOIL(I REMEMBER WHEN),THE
6. TRAINS AND BOATS AND PLANES
7. WORLD STOP TURNING
8. WITHOUT HIM
9. WEE SMALL HOURS
10. IF(THE BIGGEST LITTLE WORD)