Author Archives: Egídio Leitão

Feliz Navidad   Captilazing on the success of the Brazilian release 25 De Dezembro, Simone releases that album with some songs in Spanish. Interesting to note that in the Spanish version of “What a Wonderful World,” Simone sings one phrase … Continued

More Sambas     This is Simone’s second live recording. Here we have some songs from her previous Brazilian release, Café Com Leite, and also various other classic sambas from the Brazilian songbook. A special section is dedicated to Paulinho … Continued

A Martinho da Vila Songbook     Finally the CD Simone had long wanted to make with Martinho da Vila songs. In her own words, “thank you for this great trip that you and your co-songwriters have given me. It … Continued

For Lovers     An excellent Bebu Silvetti production, who also wrote the arrangements, Dos Enamoradas only has the unfortunate mixture of some Brazilian songs added along with the original project. Blame it on the recording label to think about … Continued

A Polished Production     Except for the two songs in Portuguese, all others were produced by Bebu Silvetti, who also shared the arrangements with Mariano Rocca and Marcelo Vitale. With very romantic selections and arrangements, La Distancia contains some … Continued

Fifth Spanish-Language Album     Simone’s highly anticipated fifth release in Spanish was disappointing. Production was full of ups and downs, and the final result was weak. The Spanish version of Willie Nelson’s “Crazy,” which gives the release its title, … Continued

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 Superlative Album!     A superlative album! It is nearly impossible to describe the repertoire quality and performances in this release. More than a collection of hits (all new recordings), Sou Eu is arguably Simone’s best album. Singing old … 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

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

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