THE NEXT JOBIM
Stephan | Los Angeles, CA | 11/01/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was totally bummed out when I caught that first flu-bug, right on time when IVAN LINS hit L.A. for a long-awaited performance, of which I normally never miss a single one. But luckily my friend was able to get a copy from Ivan backstage (an inside job ;-) and I decided to give it a listen while driving down to the beach the next day. This CD confirms to me that Lins is one of the most important musical voices coming from this so utterly advanced musical birthplace called brazil ! The ease with which Ivan weaves his melodies into the most gorgeous and liberating chord changes secures him a place in the same league as Antonio Carlos Jobim. Being his best recorded album ever, Ivan makes his tender baritone serve each tune with utterly beautiful simplicity - these melodies have archetypical character, depth and weight. Very interesting about this album is the lush and at times adventurous harmonizing by the string orchestra, juxtaposed with the intriguing and modern rhythm additions that give the standard brazilian rhythms a new dimensions, without feeling blindly pasted over the basic feel ( as many artist today feel inclined to include some hiphop or other grooves which in return obscure their identity ) Not so with Ivan - this album feels like he's pushing the envelope just right and still will deeply satisfy his (well established) listener base! Needless to say, my CD copy is meanwhile "perforated" by the CD-player - that's how much I am playin' it! You go, Ivan, thank you for the soulfood !! Highest recommendations"