BEAU'S TRIANGLE

The jewel in the Beau Brummels' crown, Triangle was an unexpected departure from the band's earlier hit-making formula — and demonstrated Ron Elliott's growing maturation as a songwriter. All the band's signature styles (folk, country swing, and Brit-pop) are still heard in the mix, but the tunes here assume an added aura of mysticism. Buried commercially by the likes of Sgt. Pepper, Triangle shared its premise of songs loosely united by a common theme — in this case, a ruminative dream cycle (though to call Triangle a concept album might be overstating the case). The exquisite "Magic Hollow," graced by Van Dyke Parks' delicate harpsichord, was surely the LP's highlight. Plucked as a single, it barely dented the charts, yet remains one of the most beautiful tunes in the entire Brummels canon. The album's first five songs — "Are You Happy," "Only Dreaming Now," "Painter of Women," "Keeper of Time," and "It Won't Get Better" — form a surprisingly coherent and cohesive whole despite marked differences. "Dreaming"'s accordion transports the listener to Paris' Montmartre, while "Painter" suggests the shifting sands of the Middle East. Elliott's lyric imagery in these tunes and a third track — "The Wolf of Velvet Fortune" — is particularly striking, and Sal Valentino's richly expressive voice elevates all three to sublime heights. Too long ignored by rock cognoscenti, Triangle is (all hyperbole aside) a fine album which deserves to be heard by a wider audience (Stansted Montfichet in AllMusic)

Coisas do mundo de Nara

Com um agradecimento especial à Paola Martini (a Garota do Ribeirão), aqui fica mais um album original da minha querida Nara (este de 1969) para ser descoberto por todos os meus amigos. As re-edições desses albuns originais (e são mais de vinte!) são tão raras que vale a pena aproveitar esta chance, até porque se trata de um dos melhores albuns dela.

One of my all-time favorite Brazilian singers. The cliche about Nara Leão (1942-1989) was that she was "the muse of bossa nova." As a teenager in the late 'Fifties, she opened up her parents house as a salon for the movers and shakers of the early bossa nova scene - Jobim, João Gilberto, Roberto Menescal, Vinicius DeMoraes, Carlos Lyra and others - to hang out in. Rising to stardom in the early '60s, she became one of Brazil's sweetest, most delectable singers, recording political songs which were critical of the military dictatorship, as well as many beautiful pop and bossa standards. Though hard to find, Nara's records are well worth checking out.

This is one of her's more difficult albums, largely due to the overly-stylized arrangements, which feature mutated marching band motifs and jazzy flourishes throughout. The brass is too intrusive, the tinkling percussion and minor-key organ riffs too clever and too artsy. Her vocals are sweet, but this attempt to stretch the boundaries of her art is simply too strained to command your attention. You can see why, with all the changes going on at the time, she tried something like this, but it's a bit of a noble failure. One interesting note: she covers Malvina Reynolds's anti-suburbia anthem, "Little Boxes," in portuguese. I imagine the lyrics, about little boxes on a hillside, had a much different impact in Rio, where, unlike practically anywhere else in the world, the slums of the morro are up on the surrounding mountains, rather than down in the flatlands, or the surrounding suburban rings. At any rate, this album is probably of interest to folks looking for weirdness and artistic experimentation in Brazilian pop, but might still get on your nerves... (in The Wonders of Brazilian Music)

Concetta Rosemarie Franconero

Original Released on LP MGM SE-3869 (1960)

Connie Francis is considered by many to be the premier female vocalist of the 1950s and early 1960s. After one listen to this album you will be thoroughly convinced of the same - adding the word ‘versatile’ to the mix. Connie had previous recordings on the MGM label with a similar ‘international’ flavor, which seemed to be as de rigueur back then as the International House of Pancakes restaurant chain, which was created in the late 1950s… The jet age made neighboring continents more easily reachable and of more in interest in popular culture. The MGM albums “Italian Favorites” and “Spanish Favorites” were both impressively, if not flawlessly, performed in ‘native tongues.’ One might have predicted an album of French love songs to follow, but instead, Connie (born Concetta Rosemarie Franconero in Newark, NJ) chose the challenge of tackling a set of traditional Yiddish folk songs! (Oy, the tsuris of being a female pop icon in the Eisenhower era…) It should be noted that Connie, no slouch in the sales department, had a lot of sechel at marketing and selling her unique blend of pop, jazz, and country. She had the ability to articulate the emotions of any song with her powerhouse voice.

On this album, Connie’s ability to fluidly master the Yiddish and Hebrew accents is amazing. The woman is simply cantor-esque! Connie actually delivers “Shein Vi De Levone” with a slight Oklahoma drawl, but it only adds to the color. Like Sinatra, Connie is highly adept at making a song her own by putting in little signature flourishes. Listen to this collection’s opener, “Tzena Tzena,” for the hypnotic beat of Havah Negilah (I wish I could have had this version sung at my Bar Mitzvah), and the triumphant closer “Mom-E-Le,” and you will immediately realize how amazingly seductive Yiddish standards can be! Shocking that no James Bond film was ever filmed in Israel… After experiencing the inspirational splendor of Connie’s musical Bat Mitzvah soundtrack, you will be convinced she is a stellar talent, an “uber-shikse,” as it were. Connie continues working today, some 50 years after her auspicious debut. She sings a wide range of her big band, rock and roll, country, and ethnic favorites. Connie is still as elegant and truly beautiful as ever… Her music is her passion, and ours. Can the “Connie Francis Sings Hip-Hop” collection be far off? (Hal Lifson)