Rita Lee Albums (19)
'Multishow ao Vivo'
Release Date 5/8/2005
Tracks 14
Label Biscoito Fino BR
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
From psychedelic princess in the early '70s with Os Mutantes to disco queen in the '80s as a solo artist, Rita Lee has long claimed the title of Brazil's first lady of rock, bar none (and presumably for all eternity), not to mention one of the country's most exhilarating and beloved artists. A living legend, Rita Lee is set to complete a riotous life cycle, from everybody's favorite crazy girlfriend to everybody's favorite hippie auntie, to everybody's favorite granny with a wild past. It matters little that at this point, Lee has become one of those artists whose live and compilation releases seemingly far exceed her studio output -- all the more regrettable considering that her last two or three albums are as good as any of her classics -- her concerts are always going to be a fantastic party. While there is nothing about Multishow Ao Vivo to make it particularly preferable to other Rita Lee live albums, there are certainly plenty of reasons to embark on another multicolored ride. Lee is astute enough to stir up her setlist, both by revamping the unavoidable hits such as "Ovelha Negra" or "Flagra," as well as including several surprises and a few new songs. In the first category belong a hilarious Portuguese version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," with lyrics about a mountain goat of the Brazilian Northeast, a medley of Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil songs associated with the Tropicalia movement (of which Lee was its youngest member), paying a humorous tribute to Frenéticas with a version of the mock tango "Vingativa," changing the object of desire of one of her lustiest love songs from "Bwana" to "Obama," rocking out with covers of "Poison Ivy" and "Roll over Beethoven," or dusting off neglected gems such as "Cor de Rosa Choque." The two new songs, "Vítima" and "Insônia," obviously cannot compete with Lee's standard repertoire, but are still fine additions. The only change here is that Lee's voice, at 62, does not sound quite as chirpy as it used to, but a life of excesses does not come free, even if it was as much fun as this Multishow Ao Vivo, or any of her joyous albums. As all of the titles in the Multishow series, it is presented in a CD/DVD package with a video of the concert plus behind-the-scene extras, taken from Lee's celebrated PicNic 2009 tour. ~ Mariano Prunes, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Rita Lee is widely recognized as a great live performer with a virtually magnetic charisma, and at 58 years of age she shows absolutely no sign of either slowing or cooling down. But amazing shows don't necessarily translate into amazing live albums, and this is an example of that. MTV Ao Vivo could be viewed as a follow-up to Lee's (commercially very successful) live album Acústico MTV, from 1998. Just as then, the repertoire here consists of some of Lee's most popular songs -- though not the same ones as on the acoustic 1998 effort. There can be no doubt about the inherent quality of the songs, of course, but they simply don't sound as good here as they do on the studio albums. The biggest general stylistic difference between the versions of Lee's songs here compared to the original versions is that they have been given a harder and heavier rock sound. It all works pretty well, but the most worthwhile moments on the album come from the two entirely new songs that appear on it: "Meio-Fio" and "Coração Babão." "Meio-Fio" is a fluent, catchy guitar pop song, while "Coração Babão" is more of a jumpy pop/rock tune. Both are very nice and clearly demonstrate that Lee hasn't lost her songwriting touch (if anyone thought she had). Apart from these two new songs, there is one other track that stands out a bit from the rest, namely "Eu Quero Ser Sedado," which is a version of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated," sung in Portuguese. Rita Lee is an extraordinary rock artist who has had a fantastic career, but this particular album is neither extraordinary nor fantastic. Just good. ~ Philip Jandovský, All Music Guide
'Box Acústic MTV'
Release Date 11/23/2004
Tracks 54
Label Universal International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
After a long row of opaque and uneven albums during the '80s and '90s, Rita Lee returned to form in 2000 with the critically acclaimed rock album 3001. The following year she recorded the equally impressive Aqui, Ali, em Qualquer Lugar, with its inventive renditions of Beatles' classics. With Balacobaco, Rita Lee has done it again, but this time with a sound very similar to the type of spirited pop that characterized her music in the early '80s. The opening track, "Sexo e Amor," was a big hit in Brazil and definitely has the potential to become a new Rita Lee classic. As has the catchy "As Minas de Sampa," (with witty lyrics about the girls of São Paulo) which has a touch of ska to it. The sweet and romantic "Já Te Falei" was written by Arnaldo Antunes, Marisa Monte, and Carlinhos Brown, and has the same luxurious and unmistakably Brazilian pop feel as the songs on that trio's own 2002 mega-success Tribalistas. "Hino Dos Malucos" is a funny rock song paying general homage to "mad" people, "A Gripe do Amor" is a glossy disco track and "Copacabana Boy" a cool, elegant pop tune. From start to finish, Balacobaco is clearly the work of an inspired Rita Lee. ~ Philip Jandovský, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On this album Rita Lee, in a very personal and inventive way, interprets 11 songs by the Beatles, her teenage idols. Perhaps the most impressive and surprising thing with this album is that Rita Lee actually succeeds in making these old Beatles songs, some of which have been played almost to death over the years, sound fresh, interesting, and new. The Brazilian style that has been added to the songs (some more than others) doesn't at any point sound forced or out of place, and the arrangements and production by Roberto de Carvalho are both superb. The general style of the album is a rather gentle, bossa nova-inspired way of performing, but the opening track is a very upbeat bossa rock version of "A Hard Days Night." The third track, a version of "If I Fell," is performed in a modern bossa nova style. The fourth track is a gentle interpretation of "All My Loving," which is followed by an absolutely great version of "In My Life." The ninth track, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," has been given a distinct touch of forro, with the genre's indispensable accordion and all. The album ends in a great crescendo with a brilliant version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." Somewhat ironically, that track is the only one to which a distinctly Brazilian touch has not been added. Also, at the end of the album there are three so-called bonus tracks, which are nothing else but "Here, There and Everywhere," "In My Life," and "If I Fell," performed again by Rita Lee in the same way as earlier on the album, but this time with Portugues lyrics (the version of "If I Fell" heard here was a hit in Brazil). On the whole, one would imagine it impossible to make a more inventive or better Beatles interpretation album than this one. [The Portuguese version of this album was titled Aqui, Ali, Em Qualquer Lugar.] ~ Philip Jandovský, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Novelas is a compilation of Rita Lee songs that have appeared on Brazilian TV soap operas (telenovelas) through the years. The album features a few of Lee's best and most famous songs, such as the 1975 rock classic "Esse Tal de Roque Enrow," the sarcastic funk of "Agora é Moda," and the enchanting "Eu e Meu Gato" from her great 1978 album, Babilonia. The version of the Beatles cover "Minha Vida" (In My Life) on this compilation isn't the same (or as good) as the version found on her successful 2001 album, Aqui, Ali, Em Qualquer Lugar. The compilation also includes a couple of more or less uninspired songs released by Lee during the '80s, the least artistically impressive period of her career. Thanks to the inclusion of some of her classic recordings from the '70s, however, Novelas could work reasonably well as an introduction to her work, but there are several better Lee compilations, such as Meus Momentos and Brazilian Collection. Those two and other collections give a much better picture of the music of Rita Lee -- one of Brazil's most celebrated, charismatic, and talented artists. ~ Philip Jandovský, All Music Guide
'Aqui, Ali, em Qualquer Lugar'
Release Date 6/18/2002
Tracks 14
Label Import
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On this album Rita Lee, in a very personal and inventive way, interprets 11 songs by the Beatles, her teenage idols. Five of the songs have been given new and quite fine Portuguese lyrics by Lee and all of the songs are performed in a very different way compared to the original recordings. The perhaps most impressive and surprising thing with this album is that Lee actually succeeds in making these old Beatles songs, some of which have been played almost to death over the years, sound fresh, interesting, and new. The Brazilian style that has been added to the songs (some more than others) doesn't at any point sound forced or out of place, and the arrangements and production by Roberto de Carvalho are both superb. The general style of the album is a rather gentle, bossa nova-inspired way of performing, but the opening track is a very upbeat bossa rock version of "A Hard Days Night." The third track is a version of "If I Fell" called "Pra Você eu Digo Sim" and is performed in a modern bossa nova style. "Pra Você eu Digo Sim" was a hit in Brazil when it was released as a single. The fourth track is a gentle interpretation of "All My Loving," which is followed by "Minha Vida" -- an absolutely great version of "In My Life." The ninth track, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," has been given a distinct touch of forro, with the genre's indispensable accordion and all. The album ends in a great crescendo with a brilliant version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Also, at the end of the album there are three so-called bonus tracks, which are nothing else but "Here, There and Everywhere," "In My Life," and "If I Fell," performed again by Lee in the same way as earlier on the album, but this time with the original English lyrics. For anyone speaking Portuguese, these three tracks are quite superfluous. On the whole, one would imagine it impossible to make a more inventive or better Beatles interpretation album than this one. ~ Philip Jandovský, All Music Guide
'Releeda: Remixes'
Release Date 5/8/2000
Tracks 16
Label EMI Music Distribution
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Rita Lee has declared herself tired of responding to interviews about Os Mutantes, but this album has several references to them. It opens with the cosmic "3001," redoing the theme of "2001," recorded as a redneck rock in 1968 by Os Mutantes. The arrangements are techno/electronic, with even touches of Brazilian samba school percussion emulated by drum machines, a heavy tendency in pop during this time (most certainly devised by the fashionable co-producer Apollo 9). Rita Lee never paid attention to samba before, an old rocker with a bit of an opportunistic attachment to dance music. Following "3001" is "Você Vem," a rock song, and "Erva Venenosa," a funk interpretation of the version of "Poison Ivy" which knew success during Jovem Guarda with the Golden Boys, but later Brazilian generations would only connect it with the rock band Herva Doce in the '70s. With Zélia Duncan in the partnership and in the vocals, Lee attacks "Pagu" continuing her feminine actuation in the hosts of rock. "O Amor Em Pedaços" has Pato Fu's Fernanda Takai in the authorship and vocals of a rockabilly interpretation. "Aviso Aos Meliantes" has the strongest lyrics, by Itamar Assumpção -- crossing limits, he affirms "I will destroy the Senate/I will depose the President," for the first time writing rock (music by Roberto de Carvalho). "Entre Sem Bater" mentions a row of important women, from Luz del Fuego to Elvira Pagã -- another non-radical feminist reference. Why non-radical? "Entre/entre sem bater/entre, entre sem bater em mim" ("Enter/enter without knocking/enter, enter without knocking in me"). ~ Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide
