Search - Lenine :: Acústico MTV

THE Lenine release to buy

A Slight Delay | NJ, USA | 03/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Lenine courtesy of a PBS special that aired ages back, featuring music from Lenine, Daude, Zelia Duncan, Cascabulho, and others. While I subsequently tracked down CD's from many of the artists featured, it's Lenine who I keep coming back to. His sound is something totally unique; it's very much rooted in Brazil, but transcends musical and national boundries at the same time.



He is also unique in that his sound evolves by leaps and bounds with each release. One upshot of that is that in challenging himself, he constantly challenges his audience as well. Past releases have cannibalized elements of samba, folk, funk, metal, and practically anything else that can be thrown into the blender. He's close in spirit to the Tropicalistas, though his sound takes their experiments very much to the next level.



The disc is full of surprises from start ("O Atirador," penned by Lulu Santos) to finish (Lenine's own hit "Jack Soul Brasileiro," which has cropped up on a few releases). The arrangements vary greatly from their original versions, but they always gain something over the originals. "Hoje eu Queiro Sair So" has more in common with Daude's later cover version than with Lenine's own original; "O Homem Dos Olhos de Raio X" abandons the future funk of the Living Color-backed original in favor of something still looser and more old-school sounding; "A Medida da Paixao" features a haunting guest appearance by Richard Bona.



I could list more great qualities of the individual tracks, but really, you're better off hearing the disc on your own and discovering something new for yourself, whether you're an old fan or not. Incidentally, if you fall into the latter category (ie. you're new to the artist), I'd recommend starting here rather than with the Six Degrees-issued Best Of. It's a good collection, but it will end up being redundant if you decide that you like Lenine's music--you'll end up wanting the back catalog. And on the strength of this set, I think that's a very strong possibility.



On the other hand, if you're a long-time fan, the CD is essential to trace Lenine's evolution, and just might be an indication of where he's headed next."