The Definitive Album for Chico Cesar
R. Anastasio | Long Island, NY | 06/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This, I believe, is the second album for Chico Cesar after his "Ao Vivo" album recorded a year earlier. This studio album was a great success in Brazil when it was released in 1996 and for good reason: the CD has one great song after another. Many of the songs here have been re-released or re-recorded on some of his subsequent albums. Chico Cesar's musical style is pop rhythms with a strong influence of Brazilian sertanjo ("Northeastern") sound. Also thrown in the mix are Afrobrazilian and reggae themes to round out the musical salad. Probably the best known track on the album is "A Primeira Vista" which is wonderful romantic song. The song itself become hugely popular when Daniela Mercury's recording of the song was the theme music for "O Rei do Gado" which was a popular soap opera in Brazil. While Daniela's version is full of instrumentation, the original song here is beautiful for its simplicity. What stands out is Chico's voice and his guitar which together create a strong emotional message that really connects. This song is followed on the CD by "Sirimbo" which is great dance song. If you are not at least tapping your hand while listening to this song, you should check your pulse. The other big hit when it came out was "Mama Africa". The subject of the song is "Mama Africa" who is a poor single working mother. The first line of chorus, "Mama Africa (a minha mae)," is sung with a whiney wail at the end which sounds exactly like a kid crying for his mom. The song portrays a sympathetic view of the plight of probably too many moms in Brazil.The shortest song on the album is one of my favorites. "Esta" is less than two minutes long and Chico is only accompanied by a guitar. The sound of his voice on this love song as well as on "Isso" is very reminiscent of Caetano Veloso. The album is a mix of a themes which range from making socio-political statements (like on "Dá Licenca M") to just creating pure fun song like "You Yuri" which is just a play on words revolving around the names Yuri Popoff and Yuri Gagarin (you get extra points if you actually know who these two people are). If you like Brazilian MPB music you will not be disappointed with this CD."
