September 17, 1969

Performer: Astrud Gilberto
Distributor: Infinity Entertainment Gr

Notes: 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

Brazilian vocalist Astrud Gilberto was a key figure in the bossa nova movement that moved beyond Brazil to sweep the world in the early-to-mid 1960s. As a featured vocalist on the landmark 1963 GETZ/GILBERTO release by American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz and Astrud's then-husband, guitarist/singer Joao Gilberto, the young lady from Bahia took the music world by storm, especially on the huge hit "Girl From Ipanema," destined to become a standard. Influenced as much by American "cool jazz" as by the Brazilian composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim whose work she interpreted, Gilberto had a sultry, low-key style that stood out amid the overblown pop productions of the era, and her blend of pop, jazz, and Brazilian sounds helped sow the first seeds of what we now know as "world music."

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