Search - Astrud Gilberto :: September 17 1969

The Queen of Bossa Nova's last great album

02/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"'September 17, 1969' surged out of Gilberto's catalog just as the decade was drawing to a close. In my opinion, it represents her last great work. 'I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do' (1970), 'Gilberto With Stanley Turrentine' (1971) and 'Now' (1972) were all decent, but then from 1973 onward, her nosedive was painfully evident. Next came the strange disco-themed 'That Girl From Ipanema' (1977), and the okay 'James Last Orchestra' (1987). The heavenly New-Age-inspired 'Temperance' (1997) is the closest she's come to an exciting record since, and although 'Jungle' (2002) is nice too, neither that, nor any of her albums after the '60s have thrilled me in the same way.



'September 17, 1969' is like a weird melting pot of different pop songs fused into a warm, vibrant, unpredictable quilt of music and voice. Even if Astrud's vocals are not 100% good, she still makes her interpretations work somehow. 'Let Go,' 'Beginnings,' and 'Summer Sweet 1 & 2' are some of the numerous highlights (especially 'Beginnings,' with its closing samples of other songs on the LP!) And one can't forget her cover of The Doors's 'Light My Fire,' a slow, wispy rendition that saves you from some of the less interesting slow songs on the second half of the album; it's a version that's both funny and creepy at the same time. Kind of like this whole album. It's a keeper!"

A bold attempt at new styes that works (sorta).

M. Zabaroff | London, UK | 04/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike the other reviewer (see The Kid's review) I think her best album is the one with Stanley Turrentine. That works on every level. Here Astrud trying to sing soft rock is a challenge because I don't feel she is comfortable with both the musical style nor the lyrics. To sing rock is a completely different mind-set. You have to have some history with it to feel and know how to sing it. Therefore her attempt at some of the phrasing is not quite there. So why 4 stars? Because having said all that I find the album so warm and almost innocent that it is hard to resist. Again at odds with the other reviewer I think her best stuff on this is the songs from Let Go onwards. All those songs she sings beautifully and the arrangements are great. My only disappointment is when she goes from french to english on for instance Love Is Stronger...... (my favourite). The song starts off so seductively. I've had this on vinyl for years and copied it to cassette to listen to in my car. On a cold windy rainy day driving around listening to her sing that first verse in french was so beautiful, it created a warmth in the car that wasn't there before. When she crosses to english the warmth was/is still there but each time I listen I wish she hadn't switched to english. Same with Let Go. Her cover of Let's Have The Morning After is another highlight. I love Chicago's first album and so I'm very familiar with Beginnings. I like the way the song has been adapted to her roots without losing the feel of the original. I don't feel that works all that well with the next 3 songs but thanks to Astrud's artistry and softness they are always very listenable."