Bossa'n Beatles

by Philip JandovskýOn this album Rita Lee, in a very personal and inventive way, interprets 11 songs by the Beatles, her teenage idols. Perhaps the most impressive and surprising thing with this album is that Rita Lee actually succeeds in making these old Beatles songs, some of which have been played almost to death over the years, sound fresh, interesting, and new. The Brazilian style that has been added to the songs (some more than others) doesn't at any point sound forced or out of place, and the arrangements and production by Roberto de Carvalho are both superb. The general style of the album is a rather gentle, bossa nova-inspired way of performing, but the opening track is a very upbeat bossa rock version of "A Hard Days Night." The third track, a version of "If I Fell," is performed in a modern bossa nova style. The fourth track is a gentle interpretation of "All My Loving," which is followed by an absolutely great version of "In My Life." The ninth track, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," has been given a distinct touch of forro, with the genre's indispensable accordion and all. The album ends in a great crescendo with a brilliant version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." Somewhat ironically, that track is the only one to which a distinctly Brazilian touch has not been added. Also, at the end of the album there are three so-called bonus tracks, which are nothing else but "Here, There and Everywhere," "In My Life," and "If I Fell," performed again by Rita Lee in the same way as earlier on the album, but this time with Portugues lyrics (the version of "If I Fell" heard here was a hit in Brazil). On the whole, one would imagine it impossible to make a more inventive or better Beatles interpretation album than this one. [The Portuguese version of this album was titled Aqui, Ali, Em Qualquer Lugar.]