Album Review
Various – Bossa Nova from Brazil featuing Marcia Salomon
I can honestly say with my hand upon my heart that this is the best Bossa Nova that I’ve ever heard! Granted, it’s the only Bossa Nova I’ve ever sat down and listened to, but hey, I like it! It appeals to the side of me that has, in the past, made me do things like give jazz chick Norah Jones the chance to astound me with her debut LP or even to fall heavily in love with folk’s femme fatale Erin McKeown and her ‘Distillation LP.
And so in all truth I tell you, this LP is surprisingly pleasant. Not surprisingly because it’s Brazilian Bossa Nova but more for the fact that it’s on the IMS label, a division of the Cooking Vinyl label, renown for their more frantic and furious releases for the likes of The Prodigy, Dropkick Murphys and Frank Black. All of which I don’t mind at all, but the thought of some Brazilian Bossa Nova being thrown into a mix with that sort of sound did scare me somewhat. Thankfully, what we have here is exactly what it says it is on its sleeve. And it’s great!
Bossa Nova from Brazil featuring Marcia Salomon (MS) is one of those CDs you play periodically, given the right situation. Without any close analysis, it’s an inoffensive ice breaker for a summer BBQ or dinner party. Considering the same can be said of Portishead for example, it’s not entirely a bad tag to be punched with. So when you take time out to actually study its quality and substance, to pay it some earnest attention, you realise that it’s actually a stone cold smooth LP.
Marcia Salomon’s haunting voice is used to good effect, hitting every soothing tone with just the right amount of enthusiasm, whenever the moment calls for it. And having released four albums, including her debut back in 1995, I can only imagine that she’s well respected, maybe even adored, in all the right circles. But if the English language is something you just can’t do without in your music, you could always buy a double disc set of Burt Bacharach’s hits to get the same charismatic vibe flowing around the airwaves of your home. And so, the reservations I secretly held towards this album and my reviewing of it stand well and truly corrected. Hooray for MS and hooray for Bossa Nova from Brazil!