A SERGIO MENDES ALBUM WITH VERY LITTLE SERGIO MENDES
In the late sixties to mid-seventies, Sergio Mendes was the biggest cultural export of Brazil, introducing the world-at-large to samba and bossanova. An entire generation of children were weaned on Sergio Mendes records playing on their parents’ hi-fis. Those children are all grown up now, with children of their own. Almost four decades removed from the days when Brazilian music was truly exotic, this generation parties to the beats of acts like Fifty Cent, Pussy Cat Dolls and Black Eyed Peas. For them, Mais Que Nada is elevator music, or something you’d hear when you’re put on hold.
The music of Sergio Mendes is timeless. This new album is not.
In an effort to reach out to a newer, younger audience and remain relevant in the world of samplers and software, Sergio Mendes and the Powers-That-Be have released Timeless. In theory, this project takes the sun-kissed beach sounds of samba and collides it with the 21st Century urban world of hip-hop. It’s “laid back” meets “keeping it real.” In Theory.
To capture that new market, Timeless
features a veritable Rolodex of A-list guest collaborators - Black Eyed Peas, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, John Legend and Justin Timberlake just to name a few. It seems, though, that the guest stars overshadow the man whose name is on the album cover. The biggest scene-stealer is Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas who is also among the producers of the album and makes his presence known with a party pack of hip-hop loops driving the majority of tracks.
Mashing up loops with samba and bossanova isn’t a new concept. It’s been done before, notably in the 1996 compilation album Red Hot + Rio and more recently in excellent releases from Smoke City and Bossacucanova. Will.i.am doesn’t quite make the grade. His loops tend to be laconic and monotonous, utterly lacking in the simple elegance that permeates vintage Mendes. It feels dumbed down and comes off as uninspired. Don’t even get us started on his rapping.
Timeless isn’t a bad album, just underwhelming. There are a few bright spots, such as Please Baby Don’t, a syrupy, suave smoothie of a song that is carried effortlessly by the convincing vocals of John Legend and deserves to be inserted covertly into your girlfriend’s playlist. The title track Timeless, like Please Baby Don’t, is a new ballad written for the album. On this track, India Arie removes you from urban life and transports you to Brazil. In Samba Da Bencao, the rap is in Portuguese, fitting perfectly with the arrangement. Do the hip-hop in context and it works.
Oddly enough, it’s in the least hip-hop parts of this album that it shines. Perhaps that should serve as a warning against tampering with classics. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
