'The music of George Harrison, John Lennon,
Paul McCartney, Johann Sebastian Bach and Burt Bacahrach in Bossa Nova
style': that cover note just about sums this up - what more do you need to
know? What more is there to know? There's the obvious question as to
'why?', but I've asked that before and I know as far as these records go their
lips are sealed. I could ponder if those B's were deliberately chosen for their
pleasant alliteration, but does it matter any more than if it were 'Rammstein,
Rachmaninov and Radiohead Go Reggae'? Not really. It is what it is. Ah
well.
Mention 'Bossa Nova' to someone and like as not
what comes to mind will be that girl from Ipanema and her jazzy, laid back samba
soundtrack that epitomises the kind of blissed out summer most of us aspire to
but few actually experience. It's what I think of anyway, but instead of
delivering more of the same, arranger Alan Moorhouse takes some very broad brush Bossa Novas beat, laces them up in
bovver boots and lets them clump out a backing track while a main melody is
honked out over the top of it on a too loud, too busy by half saxophone. Laid
back it is not.
Perhaps recognising that Bacharach's tunes lend
themselves best to this approach, they make up five of the twelve tracks whilst
Bach gets three, but in truth all sound much the same when they're set upon in
this heavy handed, over egged manner. And fair play, with not one single nod to
reverence, even Johann gets put through the same mangle as the rest of them with
much the same outcome - that is, one that doesn't work too well and just ends up
as awkward, stiff and uncomfortable as size ten feet in size eight shoes. Being
essentially ethic music, Bossa Nova works best
when it's cooked up on its own terms and imbued with its own culture and
tradition - trying to force other genres into its parameters can work
with a bit of imagination, but imagination is in short supply on this thick
gloop of novelty cultural tourism that reminds me less of a sun kissed day at
the beach as the burned out husk of a pizza left in the oven for too long. Try
as I might, I simply can't see any merit in any of this and fans of any of those
B's are likely to feel equally let down by this one gimmick pony.
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