Baden Powell: S/D

Anyone?

So many cool Brazilian artists, so litle time in my schedule to hear them all. I was just pledging to check into Toninho Horta, Milton Nascimento's guitarist (and for many others). I see via google that someone mentioned Powell's "Os Afros Sambas" on a Jorge Ben Jor thread.

I like Song Recital (which I think is from the 60s, if I'm remembering correctly) and Live in Hamburg (which is fairly late). What I really want to hear is the original version of Afro-Sambas. I have the re-make he did (in the 90s--I think) and it's got some very nice qualities (which I'm going to leave vague since I haven't listened for a while), but I'm not always into the chorus he has backing him up.

I've never heard of Song Recital, what's it like?

I've been meaning to buy this, but apparently it has someone else than him singing, and I really love his voice. It's so magnificently delicate and fragile and melancholic. I guess one of the reasons I prefer Canto on Guitar is that he does all those wordless vocals on it, which really emphasize his voice as as pure instrument. And I don't understand Portuguese, so the lyrics on his more proper songs are lost to me anyway.

Sorry, that should have been Show Recital.

This talks about it:

http://www.brazil-on-guitar.de/opus/orig/os_originais.html

I can't find that in the local record shops, but I just ordered the original Afro-Sambas LP and Seresta Brasileira, can't wait 'till they drop in my mailbox.

i've enjoyed what i've heard.

ahhhhh os afro-sambas. i can always return to your calm gorgeosity.

I love Os Afro-Sambas, but I'd rather hear Baden Powell himself singing the solo bits than Vinicius de Moraes, he has a much better voice. I'd love to hear the remake Rockist Scientist mentioned upthread, if it has him singing.

Not sure what else it's on, but his track on the Un Homme et Une Femme (A Man and a Woman), "Samba Saravah" is GREAT in both French and English versions.

i have the remake. i prefer the orig.

forgot to include the word soundtrack.

I agree with s1ocki. The remake of Afrosambas is much too smooth for my liking. One of things that makes the original so sweet is the slightly ramshackle nature of the production. I must admit I don't know any of his other music, and will keep an eye on this thread for recommendations.

I haven't heard all of this, but what I've heard has been fantastic. I hadn't even realized it had recently been reissued:

http://www.amazon.com/Frankfurt-Opera-Concert-1975/dp/B00000I399/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290712176&sr=1-1

Thats sound pretty interesting, might have to check it out, even though I have most of the songs on it on various studio albums.

Baden Powell fans should do well to check out this compilation. It has remastered versions of the four albums he released on MPS Records, which are pretty rad. Tristeza on Guitar has kind of a bossa nova feel to it, and it has a few instrumental versions of the Afro-Sambas plus some explosive percussion work. Poema on Guitar is a more jazzy affair with German jazz players backing Baden, and some nice covers. Canto on Guitar is, IMO, his best solo album: here he starts doing singing with his lovely, frail voice and experimenting with longer, more improvisatory song forms. Images On Guitar takes the experimentation even further and adds the wordless vocals of Janine De Waleyne into the mix. It's all sounds quite lovely.

I think out of the four albums on this comp, only Canto on Guitar has been available on CD before (and its remastered version here sounds better than previous CD release), so it was really nice MPS reissued them like this. The only complaint I have is that the cool original artwork of the albums isn't reproduced in the sleeve (except for stamp sized thumbnails), but at least the liner notes are pretty extensive.

Sorry, here's a better link.

Am I the only one who thinks the remake of Os Afro-Sambas is as good as the original? It's true that it has a somewhat smoother and less psychedelic sound (though the arrangements are still quite good, and not that different from the originals), but on the other hand Baden Powell's own voice and singing sound much better than Vinicius's. I'm glad both versions exist.

Thanks, Tuomas, that looks like a good set. I feel weird about buying any more Baden Powell since I have so little Brazilian music and I already have an imbalanced amount of his material, but I may still end up getting this (along with the concert recording I posted about). I need to get over my all-or-nothing attitude about Brazilian music and just get recordings reflecting the relatively narrow range of Brazilian music I like, rather than worrying about some abstract idea of Brazilian music in general.

I have still only heard the revised Os Afro-Sambas. I find the chorus a little offputting. Everything else is great though.

Any idea about this one, Tuomas (or anyone else)?

http://www.amazon.com/Baden-Prelude-Powell/dp/B004LTB5LY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1299267815&sr=1-1

No, I'm not familiar with it. A quick web search reveals it doesn't actually feature Baden Powell's solo material, it's a reissue of two early 60s albums by other artists where Baden Powell plays the guitar. Sounds interesting though, and I'm not familiar with his pre-Vinicius/Baden work, so I put it on preorder. Will report back once I get to hear it. Thanks for the link!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70b1pNxMvHc

Two of the original Afro-sambas are on the recent Soul Jazz Bossa Nova comp which is actually pretty good in that it doesn't overlap with other Bossa Nova comps too much. It also has some covers of "Berimbau" that seem neither Afro nor Samba but I guess must be Bossa Nova

i just heard something called "prelude"

That youtube continues to fascinate.

you know what it was on last.fm, it was really something else

(and thankfully better quality than youtube)

No, I'm not familiar with it. A quick web search reveals it doesn't actually feature Baden Powell's solo material, it's a reissue of two early 60s albums by other artists where Baden Powell plays the guitar. Sounds interesting though, and I'm not familiar with his pre-Vinicius/Baden work, so I put it on preorder. Will report back once I get to hear it. Thanks for the link!

― Tuomas, 4. maaliskuuta 2011 22:01 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So, I got Baden in Prelude, and I would recommend it if you're interested in early bossa nova, though not necessarily if you're just into Baden Powell. Both of the albums included on it are fine on their own right, especially the Lúcio Alves one (IIRC he was an older-generation crooner who adapted pretty well to the new bossa style, and that provides an interesting sound for the album), but Baden works on them solely as accompanist. He's pretty good at that role, but since these albums were done early in his recording career, and since they're both very vocal-oriented, he doesn't get much of a chance to shine.

Surm, or anyone else who's interested in BP, I'd recommend getting with the compilation I mentioned upthread. It's a wonderful and extensive introduction to his music for a reasonable price.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB38fGlqr58

can someone help me find the original Afro-Sambas album on Spotify? there's at least 3 different albums under that name...

Doesn’t seem to be there.

aah, that explains it

thanks

in Canada at least, there's a version with an atrocious pink cover that sounded like the original versions based on the couple tracks I sampled, but with the songs in the wrong order. I didn't check that thoroughly, but I think the other two are the remake (discussed upthread)

The version of Canto De Ossanha found on "Tristeza On Guitar" is all time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB9w9L-rKF0

is it true he lived in baden-baden in the 80s?

I don't use Spotify, but the original versions are quite easy to recognise, as they're in mono and feature Vinicius's somewhat off-key singing. The 90s remake is obviously in stereo and has BP himself singing, plus it includes some later songs he and Vinicius made, and an instrumental overture. Both versions are quite good, I think... Like I said upthread, I prefer the remake because BP is a better singer and has such a delicate, sweet voice, but OTOH the cool echo effects and other 60s "psychedelic" touches on the original album probably makes it better for others.

is it true he lived in baden-baden in the 80s?

for anyone who's interested, i found this record in maybe a thrift store or something and find myself putting it on pretty frequently. it's a good career overview (1963-1971) and has several interpretations of familiar songs that i'd never heard but which are lovely all the same. you can get it on discogs for like four dollars:

https://img.discogs.com/p6RGB04f1xB6-xup8R8FDNIcCf8=/fit-in/512x525/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-3450364-1330862329.jpeg.jpg