quarta-feira, 20 de janeiro de 2016
terça-feira, 19 de janeiro de 2016
A Canção da Vida do Rato
SIMON & GARFUNKEL:
"BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER"
A canção nasceu no Verão de 69, quando Paul Simon começou a escrevê-la numa casa de férias alugada pelo duo em Los Angeles. Curiosamente, tratava-se da mesma casa, localizada numa rua chamada "Blue Jay Way", onde George Harrison tinha composto o tema homónimo apenas dois anos antes. Na altura Art Garfunkel encontrava-se no Mexico, na rodagem do filme “Catch 22 / Artigo 22”.
Nesse mesmo Verão a realidade tomava o lugar do sonho e a 20 de Julho o Homem pisava pela primeira vez solo lunar. Cerca de um mês depois, numas termas portuguesas, dois desconhecidos olhavam-se também pela primeira vez e descobriam o Primeiro Amor (o tal que, segundo os entendidos, é suposto durar toda uma vida). Ele tinha 16 anos, ela 14. O encontro foi breve. E pouco tempo depois a distância intrometeu-se, só lhes permitindo palavras escritas como consolo.
Entretanto Garfunkel, regressado do Mexico, teve a grata surpresa de Simon insistir que a voz em Bridge fosse exclusivamente a sua. Assim foi e Art gravou o tema sózinho - as duas primeiras estrófes em Nova Iorque, a terceira em Los Angeles - isto porque de início a canção era para ter apenas duas partes, com uma letra completamente diferente. A extensão ficou a dever-se à insistência de Garfunkel e também do produtor Roy Halee. Consta que mais tarde Paul se arrependeu desse gesto altruísta devido ao grande êxito alcançado pela canção - nada menos do que 5 Grammys: melhor gravação, melhor canção, melhor arranjo, melhor engenharia de som e melhor canção contemporânea. Haveria ainda mais um Grammy para o album, justamente considerado o melhor de 1970.

Quando o single e o album homónimo saíram nos princípios de 1970, aquele romance de férias ganhou novo alento e a canção tornou-se rapidamente num dos seus laços mais fortes: «porque não páro de ouvir “Bridge Over Troubled Water” e porque me vêm as lágrimas aos olhos quando o faço? Porque desejo tanto ver-te, falar-te, estar a teu lado, não em pensamentos, mas na realidade?» E depois de uma longa espera, o re-encontro tão ansiado aconteceu enfim: «pusémos o Bridge a tocar e começámos a dançar, ternamente, muito juntos, experimentando um mundo de sensações que nos estavam proibidas há tanto tempo! E depois foi o meu primeiro beijo, o nosso primeiro beijo, e não sei descrever a beleza e a maravilha que sentimos. Nessa tarde só essa música tocou no gira-discos e por incrível que pareça nunca nos cansámos de a ouvir. Passámos o resto do dia assim, meio adormecidos, meio acordados...»
Mas uma vez mais a separação voltou a acontecer, só que então com carácter definitivo: «partíamos com as mãos docemente amarradas e os corações estoirando uma alegria breve, quando a noite descia apaixonada como o longo beijo da nossa despedida»
(O tempo passou. Apenas o tempo. E mais outro tempo também)
Existem amores, vagos e fugidios, que duram apenas três dias. Mas há outros, raros e preciosos, que o tempo e a saudade alimentam e que duram toda a vida. O nosso é destes e regressou, passados quase 20 anos:
«Tu vieste.
E acordas todas as horas, preenches todos os minutos,
acendes todas as fogueiras, escreves todas as palavras.»
Foi um regresso breve, transitório. Mas durou o suficiente para que a canção
fosse ouvida de novo, uma derradeira vez. Juntos. Ao entardecer.
Como de costume o tempo voltou a passar. Apenas o tempo.
E mais outro tempo virá ainda onde não saberás sequer o meu nome.
Um nome que se apagará pouco a pouco dos teus lábios, da tua memória.
E seremos reduzidos a algumas canções. Ou só a uma.
*
When you're weary
When you're weary
feeling small
when tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all.
I'm on your side
when times get rough
and friends just can't be found
like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
*
When you're down and out
when you're on the street
when evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I'll take your part
when darkness comes
and pain is all around
like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
*
Sail on silvergirl
sail on by
your time has come to shine
all your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine
if you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
segunda-feira, 18 de janeiro de 2016
CARAVAN'S 1ST ALBUM
Original released on LP Verve VLP 6011 (mono); SVLP 6011 (stereo)
(UK, December 1968)
For their
first album, Caravan was surprisingly strong. While steeped in the same British
psychedelia that informed bands such as Love Children, Pink Floyd, and
Tomorrow, Caravan relates a freedom of spirit and mischief along the lines of
Giles, Giles & Fripp or Gong. The band's roots can be traced to a British
blue-eyed soul combo called the Wilde Flowers. Among the luminaries to have
passed through this Caravan precursor were Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Hugh
Hopper and Brian Hopper (pre-Soft Machine, naturally). By the spring of 1968,
Caravan had settled nicely into a quartet consisting of Pye Hastings
(guitar/bass/vocals), Richard Coughlan (drums), David Sinclair (organ/vocals),
and Richard Sinclair (bass/guitar/vocals). Inspired by the notoriety and
acclaim that Soft Machine encountered during the burgeoning days of domingo, 17 de janeiro de 2016
a gift from a flower to a garden
Original released as 2-LP box on Epic
B2N 171 (stereo); L2N 6071 (mono)
(US, December 1967)
Rock music's
first two-LP box set, "A Gift from a Flower to a Garden" overcomes its original
shortcomings and stands out as a prime artifact of the flower-power era that
produced it. The music still seems a bit fey, and overall more spacy than the
average Moody Blues album of this era, but the sheer range of subjects and
influences make this a surprisingly rewarding work. Essentially two albums
recorded simultaneously in the summer of 1967, the electric tracks include Jack
Bruce among the session players. The acoustic tracks represent an attempt by
Donovan to get back to his old sound and depart from the heavily electric
singles ("Sunshine Superman," etc.) and albums he'd been doing - it
is folkier and bluesier (in an English folk sense) than much of his recent
work. My copy of the original issue was found many years later in a dark basement, in New York.sexta-feira, 15 de janeiro de 2016
EVA CASSIDY LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY - 2/3 January, 1996
Original released on CD Blix Street G2 10046
(UK, 23 September 1997)
The late Eva
Cassidy gained a loyal following in the terça-feira, 12 de janeiro de 2016
segunda-feira, 11 de janeiro de 2016
domingo, 10 de janeiro de 2016
sábado, 9 de janeiro de 2016
TRINI LOPEZ'S LATIN ALBUMS (1964 / 1966)
What Could Be Better Than Trini's First "Latin Album"?
ANSWER:
Original released on LP Reprise R-6215
(US, 1966)
One of the nice things about understanding Spanish is that you'll be able to know what Trini Lopez is singing about. But one of the nice things about not understanding Spanish is that you won't have to bother. Either way it's a good deal, but the bi-lingual listeners are going to have a tough time just sitting back and enjoying the sound of Trini Lopez. We're not talking about the sound of the whole musical group. We're not talking about the familiar sound of Trini's guitar and a mouthful of English lyrics. We're talking about the comparatively neglected and absolutely delightful sound of Trini's voice. Granted that the Spanish language is more euphonious than English, and more mellifluous, still there are voices and there are voices. Trini Lopez has one of the nice ones. It's happy, it's warm, it's romantic, it has a sincere lyrical line for ballads and an explosively creative approach to up-tempo tunes. Trini Lopez has been enjoyed by the world for some time now. And if you mentioned all the qualities that have endeared him to people you'd have a list that listed enthusiasm, a beat, warm personality, a refined approach to rock and roll, a happy combination of Latin feeling and American folk music.quinta-feira, 7 de janeiro de 2016
segunda-feira, 4 de janeiro de 2016
THE CREATION: 1966 >>> 1969
They could've
been contenders - hell, they should've been contenders! That's the first
thought that passes through one's head as one hears the early singles by the
Creation - and, indeed, how they weren't contenders is astonishing. They had
it all, the in-house songwriting, the production, the voices, and the sound
that should've put them right up there with the Who and ahead of the Move and
Jimmy Page, among others. Their lead guitarist, Eddie Phillips, was even asked
by Pete Townshend to join the Who as their second guitarist. But thanks to an
unaccountable weakness in their British sales - as opposed to their German
chart action, which was downright robust - and some instability in their
lineup, they were never to enjoy any of the recognition they deserved, and a
right turn from psychedelia into soul at the wrong moment took whatever wind
they had out of their sails (and sales). And the final few months of their
history, filled out by the work of a revived band that never quite got it
together in the studio, and singles derived from early outtakes, did nothing
but confuse fans and admirers, who couldn't be sure "which" Creation
they were dealing with on record.domingo, 3 de janeiro de 2016
JULIE LONDON'S "For The Night People"
Original released on LP Liberty LRP 3478 (mono); LST 7478 (stereo)
(US, 1966)
After 1959's
excellent 2Julie...at Home", a small-group West Coast session cut in her own
living room, Julie London's albums became increasingly orchestral and less
jazzy during the first half of the '60s. While many of these albums are
excellent (particularly "Around Midnight"), most weren't up to her best
recordings from the 1950s. Then, in 1965 something changed, and stripped-down
jazz backings reappeared on her albums until her notorious final disc went soft
rock with a vengeance in 1969. For this album, the West Coast arranger and bass
player Don Bagley combines an excellent jazz trio with subtle string charts
that never swamp the intimate feeling of the disc. London came to fame by
recording stripped-down sessions with just guitar and bass, so it makes sense
that on "For the Night People", an unidentified jazz guitarist gets to solo
throughout the album. A typically low-key and melancholy session, standout
tracks include a languid reading of the usually manic "Won't You Come Home
Bill Bailey" and two songs made famous by Frank Sinatra - "Saturday
Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week)" and "I'll Never Smile
Again." This album is a must-have for Julie London fans and thankfully she
worked with Bagley again on the more upbeat but no-less-languid "Nice Girls
Don't Stay for Breakfast", which keeps the guitar heard here, but after the
title track replaces the strings with a jazz organ and horn.sábado, 2 de janeiro de 2016
Unforgettable Natalie (6/2/1950 - 31/12/2015)
Original released on CD Elektra 9 61049-2
(US, 1991, May 14)
A major change
of direction for Natalie Cole, "Unforgettable" found the singer abandoning the
type of R&B/pop she'd been recording since 1975 in favor of jazz-influenced
pre-rock pop along the lines of Nat King Cole's music. It was a surprising risk
that paid off handsomely - both commercially and artistically. Naysayers who
thought that so radical a change would be commercial suicide were proven wrong
when the outstanding "Unforgettable" sold a shocking five million units. Quite
clearly, this was an album Cole was dying to make. Paying tribute to her late
father on "Mona Lisa," "Nature Boy," "Route 66,"
and other gems that had been major hits for him in the 1940s and early '50s,
the 41-year-old Cole sounds more inspired than she had in well over a decade. On
the title song, overdubbing was used to make it sound as though she were
singing a duet with her father - dishonest perhaps, but certainly enjoyable. Thankfully,
standards and pre-rock pop turned out to be a primary direction for Cole, who
was a baby when the title song became a hit for her father in 1951.
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