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.
An antiwar anthem that has even more relevance today than back then. Payne often sounded too girlish to pull off the sophisticated soul Invictus produced for her, but here she's fully in command. Maybe it's the gospel-esque fervor of the arrangement and the backing singers, but this is an awfully passionate song - to a heart-breaking degree. The highlight of Freda's funky, underrated album Contact.
from Contact (Invictus) available on CD - Unhooked Generation: The Complete Invictus Sessions (Castle Music)
Nina's version of this George Harrison classic is brilliant. She makes this song sound as if it were her own. The emotion in her voice send chills down my spine.
15 Jun 03 ·rooftop_holler: wow, this is hauntingly lovely. thanks for pointing me in it's direction. it's gonna be a refrain on the "summertime tape" (working title only) i'm building right now...a refrain someplace in there to track 2 (the beatles version, following ELO's "mr blue sky")
13 Aug 06 ·jandek: recently discovered this myself, WOW!
I guess I'd describe it as sort of psychedelic soul, the uplifting feeling I get when the chorus kicks in is truley awesome...no need for drugs! This is one of the most beautiful life afirming songs I've heard... 16 Aug 06 ·ambassador: Minnie Riperton's voice is stellar as always, but what really shines, for me, on this song is the HUGE arrangement, courtesy of maestro Charles Stepney. Check out the earlier version of the song w/o lyrics on Ramsey Lewis' album, Maiden Voyage, also featuring Stepney arrangements.
