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I was gonna say that Joyce is like Brazil's Madonna, but the fact is that her status in the culture of Brazilian music is pretty much unrivaled here in the States. Her career now spans over 30 years and so many genres...
expand review of music that it would be silly to get into it here, but suffice it to say that this reissue is a real treat. Joyce made this album in 1972 with then-husband (and founding Clube de Esquina member) Nelson Angelo and it's basically Heaven for your ears. Actually, this album draws a lot of comparisons to the Clube de Esquina record from the same year, but there's something so much more ethereal and sweet about this one. Maybe it's the husband/wife thing, or maybe it's just Joyce's flawless vocals over Angelo's vaguely psychedelic acoustic backings. This isn't even the kind of thing that needs audio picks (since you should just listen to it front-to-back in a dark room with a huge spliff) but here they are: "Um Gosta de Fruta(1)," "Linda(2)," "Tiro Cruzado(3)," "Vivo Ou Morto(4)" and "Tudo Comeca de Novo(5)." Recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
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Encontro is the sound of band caught between sounds: hard Brazilian jazz-funk veers to summery easy listening before taking a sharp turn to beaty '60s flower pop, often in the space of a single song. Luckily for us, the band...
expand review in question is Azymuth in a protozoic stage (1970), and even when they stray a little too far into the mellow side of things the sounds are proper. Take "Arabian Things(1)," for example. So it's not "Jazz Carnival," but the typical Azymuth groove is right there, drum break, funky bass line and all. Acoustic piano takes the place of the usual electric that Bertrami (aka "Ze Roberto") would get into in the '70s, but he still whips it hard ("Surra 7(2)"). And did I say drum break? Ladies and Gents, start your samplers ("Chafariz(3)"). There are cool textures throughout that'll leave Akai and Ensoniq owners with itchy fingers ("Livia(4)," "Encontro(5)"). Rounding things out are a wild car-chase version of "Summertime(6)" and a nice Brasil pop classic ("Mustang Cor de Sangue(7)"). This WhatMusic reissue is, as with all their stuff, immaculately crisp in sound quality and slick in packaging, with new liner notes and a reproduction of the lovely original cover. -monk
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