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 an impeccable refinement and subtlety that testify to his seasoned musicianship and vision.

Caetano records 23 American hits varying from Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Paul Anka, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin to Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and even Nirvana. Higlights include: "So in Love", "Cry Me A River", "Sophisticated Lady", "Come As You Are" and the bonus track "Love Me Tender".

This edition includes an extra cut, "Love Me Tender."

CD contains 1 bonus track.

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

Personnel includes: Caetano Veloso (vocals, acoustic guitar, steel-string guitar); Jaques Morelenbaum (arranger, conductor, cello); Luiz Brasil, Moreno Veloso (acoustic guitar, cello); Dadi (acoustic steel guitar, electric guitar, electric bass); Lula Galvao (acoustic guitar); Davi Moraes (electric guitar, electric bass, drums); Pedro Sa, Ricardo Silveira (electric guitar); Leo Gandelman (alto saxophone); Zeca Assumpcao, Jorge Helder (double bass; Carlos Bala, Marcelo Costa (drums); Carlinhos Brown, Orlando Costa (percussion); DJ CIA (scratches).

Producers include: Caetano Veloso, Jaques Morelenbaum.



Entertainment Weekly (4/9/04, p.86) - "[Veloso] applies his velvety tones and samba-studded acoustic guitar to [American pop standards]....The results exude enough ardor to rate as classical themselves." - Rating: A
Q (p.121) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[O]ne thing's for sure, American music has rarely sounded so foreign."
Down Beat (p.66) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 - "These short performances move back and forth from Jacques Morelenbaum's lush, sometimes dissonant arrangements to the electronic experiments of Moreno Veloso and his crew."