Caetano Veloso Foreign Sound CD

A FOREIGN SOUND is the second English-language recording by the man who has, over the last 40 years, become Brazil's most consistently inventive and accomplished musical ambassador. Whereas 1971's CAETANO VELOSO, the artist's first English language record, was a love letter, recorded in exile, to his then-fascist-run native country, 2004's A FOREIGN SOUND is a love letter, recorded in Brazil, to the music of North America. More than just a showcase for Veloso's prodigious talents as an arranger, interpreter, musician, and singer, this 22-track collection is a grand homage to the depth and breadth of the 20th-century American songbook.

The range of material here is impressive, with particular attention to standards by Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, and Rogers & Hart. "The Man I Love," "So in Love," and a remarkable, a cappela version of "Love for Sale," are performed with Veloso's typical sensitivity to nuance. But it is the choice of cuts such as Dylan's "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic," and Nirvana's "Come As You Are" that really surprise, revealing Veloso's inspired range and the elasticity of the term "classic." Whether backed by an intimate combo or a string section, Veloso's interpretations integrate bossa nova, jazz, and the Tropicalismo elements he has been honing since the early 1960s, but with a

Sings American Standards & Contemporary Pop Songs.

Recorded at AR Estudio, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Includes liner notes by Caetano Veloso.

Personnel: Caetano Veloso (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); Moreno Veloso (acoustic guitar, cello, surdo); Lula Galvao, Luis Brasil (acoustic guitar); Dadi (electric guitar, steel guitar, electric bass, music box); Dari Moraes (electric ...