A lot of excitement surrounded Marisa Monte's new release,"Memórias, Cronicas e
Declarações de Amor", since it had been five years
since her last studio album, "Rose and Charcoal"
(Her most recent one, "A Great Noise", was a live
collection of previous hits).
After all, Marisa Monte is one of the rare musical
unanimities in Brazil. Everyone admires her work, regardless of class or
education. She is as "pop" as she is "cult", and most agree that she is
one of Brazil's best female voices.
Whilst listening to the CD, one notices that Marisa is gradually
consolidating her own style, leaving the musical mixture of her early
career well behind her.
Such consolidation no doubt benefits the singer, but it leaves to the
listener a feeling of déja-vu. Many of the songs, unfortunately, sound too
much alike.
The concept of the album, as its Portuguese title suggests (Memories,
Chronicles and Love Stories), is love, and happiness, sadness and bliss
that are an integral part of love are present on every track.
The opening song, "Amor I Love You", which is tirelessly playing on the
radio here, sums up well the idea of the album. Its concept is even more
evident as Arnaldo Antunes ( a frequent collaborator of Monte's) reads a
passage from "The Yellow Sofa", the anti-Victorian masterpiece by 19th
Century Portuguese novelist Eça de Queiroz:
"... tinha suspirado, tinha beijado o papel devotamente! Era a primeira
vez que lhe escreviam aquelas sentimentalidades, e o seu orgulho
dilatava-se ao calor amoroso que saía delas, como um corpo
ressequido que se estira num banho tépido; sentia um acréscimo de
estima por si mesma, e parecia-lhe que entrava enfim numa existência
superiormente interessante, onde cada passo conduzia a um êxtase, e
a alma se cobria de um luxo radioso de sensações! "
"... she had sighed, and had kissed the paper devotedly! It was the first
time that such feelings had been put on paper for her, and her pride grew
to the loving heat that came from those words, like a dried body that lies
itself in a tepid bath; she felt a growth of esteem for herself, and it
seemed to her that she had at last entered a superior, interesting
existence, where each pace led to an ecstasy, as if the soul was covered
by a fantastic luxury of sensations! (my translation)"
"Amor I Love You" is actually one of the album's greatest moments. Other
very interesting tracks are "Para Ver As Meninas"(To See The Girls), by
Paulinho da Viola "Cinco Minutos" (Five Minutes) by Jorge Benjor and
"Sou Seu Sabiá" (I'm Your Hummingbird), by Caetano Veloso.
In this writer's opinion, the best track is, without a
doubt the bossa-nova styled "Gotas de Luar"
(Drops of Moonlight), a standard by Nelson
Cavaquinho and Guilherme Brito. Its simplicity
opposes to the rest of the album's sophistication.
The remaining tracks, which were mostly
co-written with Carlinhos Brown, Arnaldo Antunes and Lucas Santtana
are very interesting, but as I wrote earlier they are sometimes repetitive,
specially "Não Vá Embora (Don't Go Away)" and "Não é Fácil (It's Not
Easy)". One sometimes wonders, by their similarities, if someone has
tampered with the CD-Player.
However short, the album is great listening pleasure. the co-producer,
Arto Lindsay , gave a lot of importance to the instruments, which is a rare
attitude in albums by vocalists.
The inlay has all the lyrics and the guitar chords, plus pictures of things of
Marisa's everyday life, such as books, CDs and the like.
In Brazil, an enlarged hardcover version of the inlay was also released in
bookstores. I am not aware of its release outside the country, but never
mind it, unless the reader is a collector of Marisa Monte merchandise.
In conclusion, the album is worth the price, despite of its weak moments.
A good wine is an appropriate accompaniment to its listening
Links
Marisa Monte Official Site
Read Last Month's Review
Purchase The CD
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