This, friends, is the swingingest and most bizarre version of this chestnut you will ever hear. Having recently left the Cantores De Ebano (Ebony Singers), sort of a 60s Brazilian version of Sounds Of Blackness, Noriel Vilela, possessor of an impossibly deep, rumbling basso profundo capable of blowing your speakers, embarked on a brief yet fondly-remembered solo career. This witty reworking of the Tennessee Ernie Ford original replaces the country-western-pop of the original with a rollicking samba-rock rhythm and Portuguese lyrics extolling how much fun samba is, sung by a voice from deep in the crypt that swings like crazy. It stops everybody who hears it dead in their tracks and is the guaranteed highlight of any party. What Messrs. Ford and Travis would have made of it is anybody's guess, but this version refuses to die, having recently become a hit in Brazil all over again, 30 years after its first release. I've heard many, many versions of "Sixteen Tons," but believe me, this one truly runs away with the prize!!
from 7 (Copacabana) available on CD - Samba Rock (Compilation)
01 Apr 03 ·konsu: I stand corrected. It's just a matter of getting in line for some of this stuff , ya'know? Soo much music, so little time...sigh... 14 Dec 03 ·Festy: S�o Paulo group "Funk Como Le Gusta" have a wonderful version of this also from their 1999 album "Roda de Funk". It's in the same style that Noriel Vilela did, but tighter. 10 May 04 ·sodapop650: If you get a chance - try and track down a copy of Juarez Sant'ana's first LP it has a super-cool version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" to complete the bizarre brazilian western covers.
Well, i guess musicaltaste is a rather safe place to recommend some Free Design without getting laughed at. It always strikes me they haven't been more popular back in the late sixties. "Kites Are Fun" is one of their more popular and one of their best tracks for sure. Uber-jolly, playfull, catchy with superb vocal harmonies, gentle guitar, flute, bass and drums and some keyboards.
10 Jun 05 ·nighteye: This is great song! Sunshine pop at its best, how can you not feel happy listening to this song? I like kites! 10 Jun 05 ·Festy: I really dig "My Brother Woody" from the same album. Whoever the drummer is, he really cooks on this track. 11 Jun 05 ·konsu: The drummer's name is Bill LaVorgna. He has an unmistakable touch on the drums. He's also on some of Pat Williams Verve LP's.
08 Nov 05 ·Festy: This track never really stood out for me the first few times I heard it. It wasn't that I didn't like it, but, for the life of me, I can't work out how I overlooked it for so long. It is absolutely brilliant. You can't help but feel the pleasure of the song, which, from start to finish, is a relentless celebration for the ears. Recent, cheap imitation cover versions do it little justice.
This is one of my favourite tracks on El Kilo, Orishas superb third offering. I love the horns!
from El Kilo, available on CD
18 Nov 05 ·Festy: Ooh... I hate it when people tease without supplying an audio clip. Any chance? ;) 10 Jan 10 ·delicado: You can now hear it here: http://www.last.fm/music/Orishas/_/Amor+Al+Arte 10 Jan 10 ·Festy: Many thanks, Delicado. As you may have seen, I took a closer look at last.fm yesterday and joined the Musical Taste group. 10 Apr 12 ·muribed: Liked it!
It has been argued that Joéo Donato was the first to play a bossa nova rhythm on a recording (playing the accordian on "Eu Quero Um Samba" with Os Namorados), but whilst his contemporaries from the early years of bossa, such as Gilberto and Jobim, were happy to expand on the traditional bossa sound in later years, Donato went a number of steps further. The first track "Chorou, Chorou", from a fabulous album titled "Quem é Quem" is not even the best track off the album, but the opening bars give an idea of what the whole album is about. It's playful in melody, often subtly funky in rhythm and over all, a great album. This particular album also contains my favourite interpretation of "A Rã" by Donato. I'll have to recommend more songs from this album at a later time, because it really is great.
from Quem � Quem (Odeon) available on CD - Quem é Quem (Odeon/EMI)
29 Nov 05 ·konsu: He was always revisiting his compositions. He did this one in the mid sixties as well. Also check out the mad versions on his "Bad Donato" LP he did for Blue Thumb in 70', his take on The Frog is amazing. 30 Nov 05 ·Festy: I recall reading somewhere that "A R�" was his most favourite track that he had written. I haven't heard a bad version of it by him or anyone else. The "Bad Donato" album never grabbed me either, for some reason. Lots of people love it. I think I need to have another listen to it. ;) 16 Aug 06 ·ambassador: i had the pleasure of interviewing maestro donato a couple summers ago as he was celebrating his 70th birthday. I recently went through the interview again for a forthcoming article about the man and he admitted that "A Bad Donato" was his "noisiest" album. hard to disagree with that and I think that's why some people love it and others are turned off. Sometimes there is just too much going on with it and his later versions of some of these songs are much more refined and better in my opinion. regarding his regularly recording previous songs, he is a HUGE Stan Kenton fan and kenton also recorded his songs dozens of times. my two pennies.
