Simone

For the Latin World     This first release in the Hispanic market finally brought together Simone and Pablo Milanés. If you recall it, she has already recorded him a few times. Having previously done two recordings of “Yolanda” in … Continued

Ballads and Sambas     An excellent production showing two strong sides of Simone’s: ballads and sambas. Chiquinho de Moraes’s and Luizinho Avelar’s polished arrangements give new treatment to classic and new MPB songs. Among the special guests featured we … Continued

A Departure   For the first time in 11 years, a Simone album does not include a song by Sueli Costa. This in no way affected the overall quality of Sedução. The repertoire included a nice rendition of Cazuza’s “Codinome … Continued

Paulinho da Viola Comes By     A Sérgio de Carvalho production, Delírios, Delícias featured arrangements by Lincoln Olivetti, Dori Caymmi, Djavan, Eduardo Souto Neto, Luiz Avelar and Chiquinho de Moraes. Guest musicians included Cristóvão Bastos, Djavan, Márcio Montarroyos, Paulinho … Continued

Uneven     Another Mazola production, this was an unfortunate release. With ups and downs in the repertoire, Corpo e Alma also showed a significant lack of Brazilian musicians — even though Roupa Nova did some background vocals. David Foster, … Continued

Great Arrangements     The repertoire here, produced by Mazola, is excellent, including songs by João Bosco, Chico Buarque, Sueli Costa, Ivan Lins and the super sensual return with Roberto Carlos and Erasmo Carlos’s “Eu Preciso de Você.” Simone displays … Continued

Special Guests     After their first encounter in Vício, Simone and Tom Jobim shine together in two duets this time. The homage to Chico Mendes is a live recording uniting Simone and Caprichosos de Pilares. Close your eyes and … Continued

Strong Repertoire     As her last album for EMI-Odeon, Simone concentrated more on a repertoire with songs by Ivan Lins/Vítor Martins and Gonzaga, Jr. — half of the album. Ângela Maria’s guest appearance in “Estrela da Canção” was a … Continued

Remixes     Even though the music selection is good, Liberdade was a mere collection with remixed recordings. The only new track was “Liberdade, Liberdade/O Amanhã,” a live recording produced by Sérgio Carvalho. This is a release for collectors.   … Continued

Stardom!     If some people thought that Face A Face had not yet made Simone a big star in Brazilian popular music, Pedaços came to disband any doubts about her name. A highly anticipated release because of the tremendous … Continued

Pop and New   A pop album and full of brand new songs, Seda Pura was supposed to take Simone into new directions. One can’t blame her for trying. I confess that when I first listened to the album, I was not … Continued