Search - Carmen Miranda :: Brazilian Bombshell: 25 Hits (1939-47)

The real Carmen Miranda!

Luiz De Lima | Hayward, California United States | 01/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am glad to hear a CD with Carmen Miranda singing with the Bando da Lua, the band that made her famous and that she insisted in bringing to Hollywood, when she was invited to work in this country. Beautiful!This is her true Brazilian face before her music was [influenced] by fancy Hollywood orchestrations that had very little - better say, nothing - to do with authentic samba and Brazilian rhythms. Great CD by the best paid (believe or not) Holywood actress of her time. God bless you "pequena notavel"!"

Carmen, Carmen, Carmen

Are El | 07/19/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I realy looked forward to this recording and when it came I p ut the CD on and was somewhat disapointed. The selection of songs seemed to be almost the same from one song to another because of the background music, in most of the musical numbers It was boreing and I was sad over this because I know Carmen Miranda from the Motion Picture Musicals. I felt The old standby songs..#4 Co,Co,Co,Co,Co,Co,Ro,#5 I,Yi,Yi,Yi,Yi,Like You Very Much,#23 Tico-Tico was enjoyable because of being familar with them. The #12 song was fun, I heard this for the first time.I perked up and really enjoyed #24 & #25 because it was a full orchestra backing her up. Just like in the Movies and it made me very happy listening to them. Too bad the whole album wasn't with a full orchestra background. But then hollywood really does it up and when you hear it different it's not as grand. Nevertheless, I would recommend this to others and maybe the more I play this CD, the more I will like it. Numbers #24 & #25 will fill you with the glamor and excitement of this wonderful woman. I wish there was an album of just the hollywood songs on it with Caugat and the other orchestra's giving her that wonderful backup she is intitled to."

I Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi I LIKE HER VERY MUCH !!!!

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 03/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Carmen Miranda possessed a natural charm and wit about her that made her songs amusing and thoroughly enjoyable both at the same time. Oh sure, in retrospect her costumes and some of her songs also have that campy feel to them; but she's great entertainment nonetheless and you will enjoy this album.



The CD starts with the ethnic Brazilian "Mama Eu Quero (I Want My Mama)" from the film Down Argentine Way; and Carmen sings this number to perfection with a male backup chorus. The guitars shine on this number, too! "South American Way" is also from Down Argentine Way; Carmen sings this with great sensitivity and the guitars again carry the bulk of the musical arrangement. The male chorus again backs up Carmen very well.



Then there's the classic and witty ballad entitled "I Yi, Yi, Yi Yi (I Like You Very Much)" written by the great Harry Warren with Mack Gordon. This playful and relentlessly joyous number will make you want to jump up and dance wherever you are--a great love ballad that's a lot of fun, too! Harry Warren and Mack Gordon collaborated again to write the next song entitled "Chica Chica Boom Chic;" Carmen sings this passionately with a lot of drums and percussion to carry the musical arrangement. The Brazilian beat is infectiously catchy even all these decades later. Great!



Other great numbers on this CD include "A Week-End In Havana" by Warren and Gordon; Carmen sings this well and infuses it with a playful romantic flavor that few Latin American artists could ever do. "A Week-End In Havana" comes from the film Weekend In Havana; and you also get another song from the same film entitled "The Man With The Lollipop Song." Carmen sings this to perfection with a lush musical arrangement and an awesome male chorus, too.



One special treat is Carmen performing "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" in Portuguese; this surprise treatment of an American standard works very well! Carmen belts this one out passionately and she makes the lyrics fit so nicely into the musical arrangement. Excellent! "Tico Tico" is a South American standard that Carmen bats out with so much high octane energy you'd better fasten your seat belts before you listen to this track!



The CD ends beautifully with Carmen collaborating with The Andrews Sisters for two great numbers entitled "The Matador" and "Cuanto Le Gusta." Although Carmen did a few numbers with The Andrews Sisters, their work together flows so well that it's a crime that they didn't work together much more often. For "The Matador" the Andrews Sisters start off the song and then there's a back and forth duet between Carmen Miranda and The Andrews Sisters. Oooh, how they harmonize so well! Last but certainly not least, "Cuanto Le Gusta" begins with a great musical flourish and again Carmen and The Andrews Sisters do a magnificent duet to make this a very special track to end the CD.



The liner notes give you an excellent essay about Carmen's life and career written by Peter Dempsey; and you get the song credits, too. The cover art is good, too.



Carmen Miranda's memory may have faded somewhat because of the passage of time but don't let that stop you from getting this terrific CD. Even if you've never seen any of the films Carmen was in you can easily enjoy this marvelous CD. The digital remastering by Martin Haskell reflects hard work, too.



I heartily recommend this for fans of Carmen Miranda; and fans of the carefree musicals from the late 1930s and 1940s will love this CD. People who enjoy Latin American music from that era will also want to pick up this CD.

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