Astrud Gilberto Albums (14)
What The Critics Say
Astrud Gilberto had begun tackling '60s vocal pop crossovers on her Windy album from earlier in 1969, but her final record (of three) from that year found her stretching out not just on material but on arrangements. The production and arrangements by Brooks Arthur and Albert Gorgoni, respectively, attempt to push Gilberto into the type of groovy "now sound" that everyone from Harry Nilsson to Andy Williams was employing in the late '60s. Of course, Gilberto was an easy fit for this type of sound, and the only missteps here come when the songs don't fit her occasionally limited talents. "Light my Fire" is at the top of that list, while the Bee Gees' "Holiday" and Nilsson's "Don't Leave Me, Baby" appear very high as well. Highlights do crop up, with the opener "Beginnings" working very well except for its long coda, and the one Brazilian song, "Let Go (Canto de Ossanha)" charting the perfect balance between timeless pop and late-'60s crossover appeal. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Two years after her underrated album on CTI Records, Astrud Gilberto's follow-up is her first attempt to be taken seriously, not as a singer -- she had that covered -- but as a songwriter, at a time when simply singing standards was seen as lacking. Her four songs on this ten-song album show she has a way with a melody, though obviously influenced by countrymen Milton Nascimento and Jorge Ben, and her producer Eumir Deodato. "Gingele" and "Zigy Zigy Za" are exactly the kind of riff-based tropicalismo that Ben and company were making popular around this time. "Take It Easy My Brother Charlie" is probably her best song here (covered over 20 years later by Kahimi Karie), though it is Ben who often gets the writing credit (here it's listed as Gilberto and associate producer David Jordan). Very few concessions are made to America; only "Daybreak (Walking Out of Yesterday)" comes from the pop world, with instrumentation and sound coming from south of the equator. ~ Ted Mills, All Music Guide
'The Astrud Gilberto Album'
Release Date 2/6/1991
Tracks 11
Label Verve
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What The Critics Say
Astrud Gilberto became an accidental success when her fragile command of English made her the de facto choice to sing "The Girl from Ipanema" at a session led by Stan Getz and her husband, João Gilberto. Of course, despite its overwhelming success, it wasn't clear that she could sustain a career when she recorded her first solo LP, The Astrud Gilberto Album. She had sounded more like an amateurish novelty act than a recording professional, her voice was sweet but fragile, and the Getz/Gilberto album had featured two strong voices, with Gilberto herself an afterthought (albeit a commercially effective afterthought). But The Astrud Gilberto Album was at least as good as Getz/Gilberto (despite what jazz fans say), for several reasons. The Brazilian repertoire plays particularly well to traditionally weak vocalists, her voice was yet more sweet than had been heard previously, and as before, the record featured two strong leaders -- arranger Marty Paich and the incomparable Antonio Carlos Jobim. Paich's strings positively coated the album with radiance, and his choices for lead instrumental voices -- Bud Shank's flute, João Donato's piano, Jobim's guitar -- complemented her vocals perfectly. Gilberto sounded beautiful on a range of material, from the sentimental "Dindi" to the playful "Agua de Beber," and as long as intelligent musicians were playing to her strengths (as they do here), the results were splendid. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Gilberto with Stanley Turrentine'
Release Date 9/21/1990
Tracks 10
Label King
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What The Critics Say
W/ Stanley Turrentine. 1988 reissue of 1971 set that had some mildly entertaining moments. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
'So & So: Mukai Meets Gilberto'
Release Date 1/1/1990
Tracks 8
Label Denon
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'Astrud Gilberto (Let Go]'
Release Date 1/1/1969
Tracks 11
Label Verve
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'I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do'
Release Date 1/1/1969
Tracks 10
Label Verve
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What The Critics Say
With her tenure on Verve drawing to a close, Astrud Gilberto steps further away from her bossa nova roots with I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do, an intimate, nocturnal set closer in scope and spirit to the Baroque pop of Burt Bacharach, whose "Trains and Boats and Planes" is beautifully rendered here. In the liner notes Gilberto dubs it "my fireplace album," and indeed the record is immediately warm and comforting, despite the melancholy that colors all of the selections. Albert Gorgoni's arrangements are sumptuously romantic, perfectly complementing the simple, poignant vocals. Mistakenly considered a minor entry in the Gilberto canon, I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do is instead a minor masterpiece. Each song is ideally suited to her distinctive style and the disc as a whole maintains a consistency of mood and feeling largely unmatched in her catalog. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
'Astrud Gilberto Plus the James Last Orchestra'
Release Date 1/1/1969
Tracks 11
Label Verve
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What The Critics Say
1987 release. Gilberto still has alluring sound. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While assembled from seemingly disparate sessions arranged by Eumir Deodato, Don Sebesky, and Pat Williams, Windy nevertheless proves one of Astrud Gilberto's most consistent and sublime efforts, artfully straddling the division between Brazilian bossa nova and American sunshine pop. Credit the aforementioned arrangers for much of the LP's appeal -- from a percolating rendition of the Association's title cut to a neo-classical reinvention of the Beatles' "In My Life," the songs possess a lithe, shimmering beauty that perfectly complements Gilberto's feathery vocals. Still, she can't quite skirt the cloying sweetness that undermines so many of her mid-period Verve LPs -- son Marcelo, who first joined his mother on the previous Beach Samba for an excruciating duet version of the Lovin Spoonful's "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," resurfaces here for a reading of The Jungle Book's "The Bare Necessities," proving yet again that children should be seen and not heard. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
