Search - Gal Costa :: Meu Nome E Gal

Gal: The Most Perfect Instrument

S. Sittig | Washington, D.C. | 07/23/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As Tom Jobim once said: "Gal Costa's voice is the most perfect instrument on the planet." He was not kidding.This set of 20 amazing tracks is filled with fantastic performances from one of Brazil's leading female vocalists. (Since the death of Elis Regina, Gal Costa takes the crown.)This CD is my favorite of all her work, and there is not a single bum track or filler song. Stand out tracks are: the alien searching "London, London", the incredibly rich "Luz Do Sol", the native "Acaí", "Meu Nome E Gal" and my favorite track "Baby." The CD closes with Gal's inspired interpretations of 3 Brasilian "marchinhas" (little marches), a style of short samba tune meant to be easy to learn and repeat during "Carnaval." The last track is also samba-infected and a version of a famous Moraes Moreira hit.A MUST for those interested in Brasilian pop and samba music. Gal is not as theatrical a! s Elis, not as melancholic as Bethania, but she is gifted with one of the most beautiful human voices around. Enjoy!"

I fell in love with Gal ...

S. Sittig | 11/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"... or at least with her voice, when I first bought this album in 1991. I already had a couple of her albums, and loved her music, but this is by far her best. And it's a wonderful compilation of folk, pop, and samba songs, a little of everything, extremely well blended and well aranged.The previous reviewer quoted Tom Jobim as saying "Gal Costa's voice is the most perfect instrument on the planet." I hate to repeat, it sounds like I don't have words of my own, but that is the best way I've heard her voice described. I've felt that way for years! You have to listen to this album.All the songs are great. My personal favorite is India, but it doesn't really show off her voice as well as some of the others - - I just happen to get lost in it. To really hear what she's capable of doing with her voice as an instrument, listen to the full track of Meu Nome é Gal (not just the clip on the site). And listen to all the clips, all the songs are worth listening to."

All Hail The Queen, But What Happened To Her Other Songs?

M. Lee | Santa Monica, CA | 03/28/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Gal Costa's voice truly is a gift of God. She is definitely one of Brasil's greatest singers and has given the world so many great songs that are certain to sustain the test of time....But with that in mind, be aware that although this album is fairly decent, it does not include many of her greatest hits, like "Bahia de Todas". I was also a little disappointed by the fact that this album seemed overwhelmed with ballads, rather then being an equal balance including many of Gal's wonderful uptempo songs. It's truly a shame that this album was not as well balanced as it had the potential to be. But from my experience often times it's hard to find a true "greatest hits" album by any artist, that delivers ALL of their greatest work. The only way you might be able to get that lucky is if a greatest hits compiliation comes in a box set."