Elétrica

Performer: Daniela Mercury
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Daniela Mercury is so kinetic that she could make the Energizer Bunny seem lazy. What better way to channel that energy than with a live album, one so lively listeners find themselves gasping for breath halfway through and wondering if she'll make it to the end. Her Salvador ax� style mixes up reggae and African music with local Bahian beats and with some frenetic percussion as a lively backdrop to her songs. Mercury's quite obviously in her element on-stage, her sensuous voice caressing the songs even as the beat never stops, laying out her stall in the opening title track, where the catchy chorus simply explodes before a hyper guitar solo fires into the stratosphere. This is essentially a refinement of the trios el�tricos music Mercury sang at the beginning of her career, meant for entertaining a reveling crowd at Salvador's Carnaval, but with a broader musical canvas. The material is largely drawn from her earlier studio albums, but with all gloss removed in favor of full-tilt renditions that bring everything into another realm. For all that, there's still plenty of subtlety, especially from the horn section, whose contributions push things along sweetly. The biggest surprise, given the massed sound of the drums, is that the band only contains one drummer and three percussionists. This is the real Mercury concert experience, with an adoring audience singing along, and an indication as to why Mercury is such a huge star in her native Brazil. ~ Chris Nickson One of the most accomplished artists to come out of Brazil in the '90s, Daniela Mercury combines the percolating percussion of her native Bahia with the fever of rock & roll. Although she has yet to achieve any real success in the United States, she is a bona fide superstar in Brazil, and in her live shows, she boasts the pyrotechnical self-assuredness of a pop star like Ricky Martin. Surrounded by a solid core of swinging percussionists, she flexes her powerhouse vocal chords, aided by an electrifying horn section and a few backup vocalists. This concert album reveals Mercury in all her effervescent live glory, and it is especially recommended for listeners who are not familiar with her explosive style. Mercury is also a gifted composer of catchy hooks, as the opening track "Eletrica" amply demonstrates. And she spices the program up with selections by Brazil's most notorious songwriters, from Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil to newer sensation Carlinhos Brown.

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