Mariza Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
It was perhaps time for the obligatory live album from fado's big new star, but this was more than a gig, it was a huge concert in Lisbon. Mariza cherry-picks material from her three albums, and there's some fine stuff to choose from on Concerto em Lisboa. Her usual sympathetic group is augmented by strings, but there's never any danger of them swamping the sound; the arrangements on material like "Menino do Barrio Negro" are so subtle and sublime that they color the edges of the piece instead, gently enhancing the mood. Mariza herself shows how well she's developed as a singer, rarely letting her voice carry her away, and showing the control over the crowd that comes with stardom. For all intents and purposes, Concerto is a live greatest-hits disc, but it's none the worse for that. Like most live albums, it seems as if it's the summation of this phase of her career before looking ahead. But she does it not only with style and aplomb, but also a great deal of grace, and with such a winning, aching voice on the soulful music that she's impossible to resist. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Transparente is Mariza's "big" album, it seems, the one designed to make her more than just the shining star of the new fado. The music connects the dots between Portugal and Brazil, giving an international quality to it all. Her voice is as crystal clear as ever, and production by Jacques Morelenbaum is wonderfully transparent. Yet there's a sheen to it all that seems intended to rub off any rough edges. You can hear it in the soft strings that cushion "Meu Fado Meu." It just seems to be trying too hard, rather than letting the music unfold. It's apparent, too, in the fact that the songs are all short -- the longest barely passes three-and-a-half minutes. Not that it's not a gorgeous album; it enfolds the ears like silk; Mariza herself has never sounded more seductive, and the cello on "Quando Me Sinto So" is as warm and inviting as a lover's kiss. But unlike her previous work, there seems an air of calculation about all this, the sense of deliberately seeking out a larger audience rather than allowing the music to speak for itself. She'll never sing a bad note, and there's absolutely nothing to fault with this album. The arrangements are understatedly lush, the playing impeccable, everything as close to perfect as it's possible to be. But at heart, it just doesn't feel real. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On her first album, Fado em Mim, Mariza covered four songs by the late queen of fado, Amália Rodrigues, drawing a specific parallel to her predecessor. On her second album, Fado Curvo, she covers only one, "Primavera," which may suggest that she is starting to put her inspiration behind her. But she remains true to the traditional sound and mood of fado, even if the album title implies that she is giving it her own twist. Producer Carlos Maria Trindade provides spare, acoustic, and rhythmic arrangements, focusing on the Portuguese guitar of Mário Pacheco, but for the most part he stays out of the singer's way, using the accompaniment merely to anchor her expressive vocals. The lyrical sentiments, conveniently translated in the booklet to the American version of the release (even if a note admonishes, "No literate [literal?] aim at the translation of the poems"), are highly poetic and filled with regret and longing for the past, the better to be interpreted by Mariza's heartrending singing. Even an English speaker struggling with the "literate aim" of those words can get the point of the songs from the arrangements and the singer's tone. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Though she's undoubtedly resigned to nearly eternal comparisons with Amalia Rodrigues, the master of Portugal's fado, Mariza's debut album finds her breaking out of the mold from the beginning. Newcomers to the fado will quickly become familiar with the style from the plaintive crystal of Mariza's voice and her evocative guitar accompaniment, but her delivery occasionally recalls jazz or the blues. Double bassist Ricardo Cruz and pianist Tiago Machado help carry the effervescent "Poetas," while light percussion adds a note of intrigue on the closer, "Barco Negro." ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
