Live at the Expo '70

by Richard S. GinellThis live album from the prime of Sergio Mendes and his "classic" Brasil '66 lineup was released for the Japanese market only (although this reissue is now easily obtainable on the Web everywhere at sky-high import prices). The official reason that this album was a Japanese-only release was probably that all of these tunes (dating from "Herb Alpert Presents" through "Ye-Me-Le") were available in the U.S. in polished studio versions. The unofficial reason may be that the two female singers in the band, Lani Hall and Karen Philipp, were not in their best form on this gig. On-stage live in Osaka, Japan, the smooth vocal blend from the L.A. studios was nowhere to be heard. Some obvious pitch problems were not corrected by re-recording, and their timbres clash, the latter effect exacerbated by the placing of each singer on a separate stereo channel (Hall on the left, Philipp on the right). Yet there is much to be said for this once-difficult-to-get release. It's an honest record, catching the sextet au naturel without the backing orchestrations of the studio records, no longer at the mercy of the airplay stopwatch and ready to groove. It's a rare chance to hear Mendes stretch out at some length on acoustic grand piano during this period, revealing that his roots as a player were and are more attuned to mainstream American jazz than strictly Brazilian idioms. The arrangements sometimes follow the contours of the studio versions for awhile, then veer away for some serious, extended jamming ("Day Tripper," "Scarborough Fair"). The vocalists do have their moments; Hall gets off some passages of persuasive passion on "The Dock of the Bay," as does the earthier-toned Philipp in spots. There is also a bonus track from the concert that's not on the original LP -- Marcos Valle's "Viola," which builds from a delicate opening to a simmering heat. "Live at the Expo '70" is not to be confused with another, musically superior import, In Concert, which was recorded only two years later with Brasil '77 but was not included in A&M Japan's 2006 Mendes CD reissue project.