ALMOST the *Complete* Set
bordersj2 | Boston | 09/22/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"To be fair, Brazilectro is a franchise that has expanded in it's 5+ years of existence. This box set has the Brazilectro side ONLY; sessions 1 through 6 off the Audiopharm label. But this is in all honesty, STILL one heck of a package. That's 12 discs of tunes that more than showcases an evolution of a genre of music. The only parts missing to this is the break-away sister series titled "Brazilution", which is on the Ministry of Sound label, the Brazilectro DVD which came out last summer, and Brazilectro vol 7, which came out earlier this summer. Oh... and what I came to find out upon far closer examination... a few songs.
I can't possibly review all the music here (about 150 songs!). But I'll give a quick snapshot of what to expect. Brazilectro is more than just "Brazilian Inspired Club Tunes". Some complain that the cuts are not even Brazilian, and at times that is true. But the inspiration is usually pretty clear with them and there is a touch of Brasil in most of the cuts. Add to the general ambiance of traditional Brazilian folk, dance and Samba is a healthy dosage of nu-jazz and electronica. And some of the artists that have participated on Brazilectro are without question the best in the genre... around 150 songs and the highlights are Eli Goulart, Nicola Conte, Nuspirit Helsinki, Koop, Jazzanova, Truby Trio, Carla Alexander, Mondo Grosso, Yoshinori Sunahara, S-Tone Inc., Tom & Joyce, Marcos Valle, Zuco 103, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Ian Pooley, Victor Davies, Los Ladrones, Yukihiro Fukutomi, Chateau Flight, Paula Lima, Da Lata, Zimpala and... many many more. None of that includes what Brazilectro was probably most known for - KILLER original cuts and songs that were yet to be released... stuff that would show up months later on the 'in-style' compilations like "Hotel Costes" or the notable Nu-Bossa rip-off comps. Artists like Janice, SMith Brown & Grey, Justin and several others... You've got a mix of tunes that are clubby and energetic while others are slower and more romantic.
I recommend this to anyone that has never checked out this ground-breaking franchise. It's beautifully packaged and comes with a little booklet that IMO isn't terribly impressive, since it has the same snapshots found in the 6 releases, albeit chopped in a way that doesn't flow. The format of the discs in the box is like a mix of the soft digipack in Brazilectro 4 vs. volumes 5 and 6, but they retain the same color scheme of the originals on their covers; although the box set is obviously based off of Brazilectro volume 3; the one that would trigger the split of the franchise. So again, if you've never checked out Brazilectro, or if you just have one Brazilectro or if you have gotten volume 7 and loved it, then I would HIGHLY recommend picking up the box set, which is far cheaper than the individual releases; some of which are difficult to find now anyways (volume 2 in particular).
BUT.... Does it have faults? 2... First, the vinyl versions of the Brazilectros were the very best, because none of the songs were cut short on LP format. Meanwhile the cd versions had some songs that were chopped up (Arejar, Playback, etc.) quite a bit, and they're no different in the box set. Second, and perhaps most importantly and why I couldn't give this five stars... there are songs missing! Session 1, 5 and 6 are there in entirety but not volumes 2, 3, and 4. Session 2 is missing the Faze Action and Shawn Lee track, Session 3 missing the Mr. Hermano cut, and volume four missing the sleepy French opener "Jazz Mediterranee" by Henri Salvador. Otherwise this is a good box set, yet NOT the COMPLETE box set."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1