Breaking Musical Borders
John Holderried | Queens, NY United States | 06/12/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Of all the albums I've collected containing Beatles cover versions, this one may be the hardest to classify. Calling Nogueria's style "Brazilian" or "Latin" doesn't seem to do it justice. There's bits of jazz, country, and zydeco worked in here, and of course the pop/rock of the Beatles. The overall effect transforms the songs, much like Jose Feliciano's cover of "Light My Fire" - it's hard to imagine the song COULD sound like that until you actually hear it. The guitar playing is excellent (and they've even printed the guitar chords in the booklet with the lyrics, so you can play along at home!) Standouts are "Norwegian Wood" and "Blackbird" due to the intricate guitar arrangements. The harmonies and background vocals on "Love Me Do" and "We Can Work It Out" really add nice touches to these versions as well.
Bonus for hard-core Beatles fans: is that "Mother Nature's Son" arranged in the style of "The Night Before"?"