Quincy Jones is renowned more for his great arrangements than for his melodies, but I think this tune, from the soundtrack to 'the deadly affair' is really great. It's a slow bossa with a haunting lyric. Astrud sings in her trademark cool, detached style. I never grow tired of hearing this one. Astrud seems to have made a few impromptu appearances on film soundtracks, and I'm always on the lookout for more; one other great one was the Ennio Morricone score 'casse' (burglars), on which she sings two tracks.
from The Deadly Affair (Soundtrack) available on CD - The Pawnbroker/The Deadly Affair
To me, this one of the most perfect songs released in recent years. It's hard to pin down what makes this track so affecting - the instrumentation is mostly synth; there is also an understated, slightly Bowie-style vocal. Overall I think it is the music itself - the fragile chord sequence and instrumentation evoke a strange sense of lost summer memories.
from Virgin Suicides, available on CD (AstralWerks)
19 Apr 01 ·secularus: This track is sublime. Atmosphere to the nth degree. Sophia Coppola is very lucky to have a gem like this as the pervasive track to her film, The Virgin Suicides. Mesmerizing. 22 May 01 ·tinks: that ain't the only reason sofia coppola is very lucky, but that's another story. i agree, i love the entire score to the film.
A beautiful, lush masterpiece with a bossa nova beat (hmm, is there a pattern to the songs I'm submitting?), 'how to open...' is one of my top tracks ever. It opens quietly with a slightly cheesy flute sound over a gentle guitar. A great wordless vocal then comes in coupled with strings. Superb. If you never listen to music like this, what I'm saying probably doesn't exactly make it sound cool. But it really is cool, very very cool indeed.
18 May 02 ·Sem Sinatra: A lot of Lalo Schifrin's music doesn't seem to adhere to a formula, and this is one of those ... I never get tired of hearing it 29 Mar 03 ·Fox: This track is so quiet and peaceful. Lalo is a genious. We got in France, an electronic artist called Alex Gopher (I think he took his name from the soap opera "Love Boat", it's a sign!) that sampled the three first strings notes from that track. His album is called "You, my baby and I" but is more famous for the interpretation he made on "The child" based on a beautiful song from Billie Holliday "God bless the child". For those who want notice the fruits that have grown from the roots! Ennio Morricone made a concert recently in Paris, if Lalo could do the same soon...
An incredible, stomping brazilian pop number, taken from Elis Regina's legendary album 'Elis Regina in London', recorded in England in 1969. Here she takes on the Jorge Ben classic 'zazueira', a seductive, hip, upbeat stomper of a track which just makes you smile every time you hear it. Wonderful stuff.
21 Oct 03 ·heinmukk: you're right. this one makes you smile.
i knew this song before from the mtv unplugged album from jorge ben jor. but this old cut is much more nicer, because...hm, maybe because it's older. :)
A beautiful and really unique track which merges Brazil with electronica (Arto is Brazilian, and a guy called DJ spooky added some beats). It opens with a bare, spacey beat. Fragmented guitar, vocals and organ drift in and out until the song builds into a climax with a simply beautiful synth-string sound. The song manages to be uplifting while retaining a slightly spooky twin-peaks type of feel to it.
from Mundo Civilizado, available on CD
19 Apr 01 ·secularus: Arto sings in such a sensual and soothing way. His most recent albums are well worth checking out. 28 Feb 02 ·G400 Custom: Hmmm. I know he's Brazilian and everything, but I think Arto Lindsay's best stuff was done before he went all Latin on us. Listen to his guitar on the first Lounge Lizards album, when he manages to go 40 minutes without playing anything actually recognisable as a note.
