Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Real Thing

Recently, I've been getting into Brazilian conductor Sérgio Mendes' late 70's material. I've come across many Mendes' records here and there, however didn't really know much about the artist until recently. Even though I definitely can't vouch for all of his music, I can say that I'm a pretty big fan of both Sérgio Mendes & The New Brasil '77's 1977 self-titled LP and Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '88 1979 Magic Lady LP. Both albums, which I've picked up recently, are somewhat departures from Mendes earlier work with his Brasil '66. The New Brasil '77 record has a laid back, however funky latin-disco sound to it with standout tracks like "The Real Thing", "Why", and "Mozambique". Magic Lady, on the other hand, contains one of Mendes most high energy dance cuts with "I'll Tell You", as well as other funky disco numbers like "Lonely Woman" and "Let It Go". Overall, Sérgio Mendes is one of those complicated artist to get into because he touches so many musical genres with many of his releases being very unique to themselves, however for people who enjoy the more funky disco era stuff, like myself, I highly recommend checking out both The New Brasil '77 and Magic Lady albums.

Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '88 - I'll Tell You
Sérgio Mendes & The New Brasil '77 - The Real Thing

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