Thursday, January 24, 2008

Jorge Ben - Ben (1972)

I have this album since the first issue in 1972 and only with Loronix I could realize how important it was to my infatuation with this magical human creation called music. Not only for the great music inside, but also for the whole experience available on this nice piece. Think about a little kid with the age of 7, holding this awesome cover with the coolest guy with the greatest attitude ever seen on his short life. I remember to hold this cover when hearing this album thinking fantastic things about Jorge Ben, stupid things such like, "He is waiting for his payment after making this album", or "he just bought a new car and is waiting for it at the car agency". Anyway, Jorge Ben is great and I'm very happy to find this album after decades and have the chance to show it for our great community. Let's see.

This is Jorge Ben - Ben (1972), for Philips. I cannot say it is the best Jorge Ben album due my personal affairs explained before, but the reviews I could read today confirm that Ben is really worth checking. Jorge Ben delivers some of his most successful songs for the fist time here with everything based on "acoustic Samba" with Jorge Ben guitar in the foreground backed by a brass section with lots of bass and percussion. Personnel was not credited by Philips and Maestro Osmar Milito is in charge of arrangements on tracks 03 - Paz e Arroz, 04 - Moca and 11 - Taj Mahal, the song Rod Stewart used as the basis to his "Do You Think I'm Sexy?” a long story that I invite friends to discuss at comments section. Tracks include:

01 - Morre o Burro Fica o Homem (Jorge Ben)
02 - O Circo Chegou (Jorge Ben)
03 - Paz e Arroz (Jorge Ben)
04 - Moça (Jorge Ben)
05 - Domingo 23 (Jorge Ben)
06 - Fio Maravilha (Jorge Ben)
07 - Quem Cochicha o Rabo Espicha (Jorge Ben)
08 - Caramba (Jorge Ben)
09 - Que Nega É Essa (Jorge Ben)
10 - As Rosas Eram Todas Amarelas (Jorge Ben)
11 - Taj Mahal (Jorge Ben)