Red Hot + Rio CD

RED HOT + RIO, which raises money for AIDS research and relief, is a tribute to Brazilian bossa nova music. About half the tracks on RED HOT + RIO were written by Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Now this is an interesting project; Brazilian standards and newly-composed music interpreted or transfigured by the old masters, rock stars and cutting-edge '90s musicians - with all the proceeds going to fight the spread of AIDS. What is so remarkable about this album is how wholeheartedly the younger musicians relate to the cruising Brazilian ethos, often without taking the edge off their own idioms. That results in some delightful surprise teamings; rock's George Michael's astoundingly authentic leap into the spirit of "Desafinado" in tandem with Astrud Gilberto, PM Dawn's fusion with Airto and Floria Purim on "Non-Fiction Burning, "and retro-rock band Stereolab's quirky Moog-laced meeting with the fanciful flute of Herbie Mann on "One Note Samba/Surfboard." Another high point - singers Cesaria Evora and Caetano Veloso teaming up with Yellow Magic Orchestra keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto for a pounding, high-tech yet emotional "E Preciso Perdoar." One of the most beautiful compositions is also one of the newest; multi-instrumentalist Money Mark's echt-Brazilian "Use Your Head" that leads off the album. There are very few misfires; one is a lame "Aguas de Marco" where the Talking Heads' David Byrne again proves that he shouldn't be let anywhere near Latin music. A few of the tracks are donations made before the project's conception (Milton Nascimento's lovely vocalise "Dancing...") and there is a touching duet between Antonio Carlos Jobim and Sting on "How Insensitive." As a final production touch, some of the tracks are separated by brief collages of sound that serve as grungy interludes. Anyone with open ears, an adventurous spirit, and a bent for Brazilian music should sample this album. ~ Richard S. Ginell
The album features collaborations between pop and alternative-rock stars and modern Brazilian musicians whose styles range from cutting edge to conventional. The resulting amalgam of bossa nova, hip-hop, samba, pop and too many other genres to mention makes for an idiosyncratic tribute to Jobim, the late godfather of bossa nova.
Highlights include such once-in-a-lifetime alliances as the incomparably soulful Cape Verdean diva Cesaria Evora singing with Brazil's Caetano Veloso, backed by Ryuichi Sakamoto's atmospheric keyboards (on "E Preciso Perdoar"); and David Byrne's no-frills vocals converging with Marisa Monte's graceful voice on a Talking Headsy version of Jobim's classic "Waters of March." The lyrics to the latter song are especially poignant and prophetic: "It's a sliver of glass, it is life, it's the sun/It is night, it is death, it's a trap, it's a gun/The oak when it blooms, a fox in the brush/The knot in the wood, the song of a thrush."Entertainment Weekly (10/18/96, p.82) - "...an inspired, modern-sounding tribute, though few of the artists match the subtle beauty of Jobim's melodies..." - Rating: B+
The Beat (V.16 #1 1997, p.60) - "...there is enough great material and inventiveness to ensure that RED HOT + RIO is never far from the short-list stack..."