Rating:
Genre:
Latin
Release Date: 01/23/2007
During his long career, spanning five decades,
Caetano Veloso has managed to sustain a remarkable consistency, year after year composing beautiful, inventive, and very often simply ingenious music. His previous album,
A Foreign Sound, where
Caetano interpreted classics from the American popular music scene, was widely applauded abroad and especially in the U.S., but Brazilian listeners were much less impressed. And truth be told, by
Caetano's own high standards and with the exception of a few songs, like the
reggae-
rap version of
Bob Dylan's
"It's Alright Ma," A Foreign Sound lacked much of
Caetano's usual inspiration.
Cê, though much lighter and unpretentious, suffers from the same lack of lucid inspiration that has always been the trademark of
Caetano. It is not in anyway a bad album, but after having been spoiled with
Caetano's unique brand of musical magic and brilliance for so long,
Cê just doesn't excite. For the recording,
Caetano teamed up with a trio of young musicians, thus forming a traditional
rock band relying on an electric guitar, a bass, drums, and the occasional keyboards. The sound is finely tuned and further helped by the excellent production by
Caetano's son
Moreno and
Pedro Sá. The music ranges from the light, carefree
punk-pop of tracks like
"Outro" and
"Odeio" to the laid-back, sentimental
"Não Me Arrependo" and
"Minhas Lágrimas." "Musa Híbrida" is an interesting mix of
samba and
rock, with a touch of '70s
funk. On
"Não Me Arrependo," Caetano uses influence from both
Lou Reed and
Peninha, and it is perhaps the most melodically impressive song on the album. On
"O Herói," Caetano, in a talking voice, recites the lyrics over a sparse and slightly
hip-hop-inspired
rock groove. The gentle and sweet
"Um Sonho" is another highlight.
Cê is an enjoyable, finely crafted, and elegantly executed album, but at the same time very far from
Caetano's best.
~Philip Jandovský, All Music Guide
;)
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