Elis Elis Regina

Classic Brazilian Bossa and Jazz album by the queen Elis Regina and featuring arrangements by Roberto Menescal and Erlon Chaves. Originally released in 1969, this is the 1998 Brazilian reissue.

Elis Regina was one of the most ferociously talented singers to emerge from Brazil. A perfectionist who was frequently dissatisfied, Regina drove herself and members of her band relentlessly, leading to her being dubbed "Hurricane" and "Little Pepper" by musicians and journalists. Her tempestuous nature aside, she commanded the respect of Brazil's leading songwriters, who lined up for the chance to have her record one of their songs, and for much of her short life was the country's most popular female vocalist.

It's not her very best, but this solid 1974 studio session has great songs by Nascimento, Joao Bosco, and Gilberto Gil, plus a rare recording of "Na Batucada da Vida" by Ary Barroso. It includes complete Portuguese lyrics.

Released after Regina's successful show Transversal Do Tempo, the album's concept was to portray the perplexity in the face of Brazil's complexity. Its biggest hit was Milton Nascimento's "Morro Velho," but "Fascinação," "Sinal Fechado," "Deus Lhe Pague," "O Rancho Da Goiabada," "Saudosa Maloca," "Querelas Do Brasil," and "Cartomante" also were successful. Arrangements/piano by César Camargo Mariano.

Compilation album, published posthumously in Brazil, performed by singer Elis Regina (Porto Alegre, 1945-1982), considered the best Brazilian singer of all time. Her voice and personality on stage became an innovative performer, able to drag her audience with the deployment of various emotions where each song demands it. Her early death at 36 years (due to a combination of alcohol and drug overdose) foiled a career that was definitely meant to be brilliant.

Elis has been considered the best Brazilian singer of all time only surpassed by singer Tim Maia. This album was arguably the most successful of his career, and is recognized as one of the most representative of Brazilian popular music. The idea for the album came out of that Elis developed alone one season titled 'False brilhante' (from late 1975 to early 1977), which reached over 1,200 performances. With part of the repertoire she performed this record was made.

This is a fun album that sees Elis taking herself a bit less seriously than would be the case in years to come. Beginning with the beautiful photo on the album cover, it’s sunshine all the way through. Recorded and released in 1970, it sits on a precipice of musical history sort of like the proverbial time capsule left for the extra-terrestrials to tell them about contemporary MPB. With consistently interesting and flawless arrangements from Erlon Chaves, Elis rips through a repertoire of songs that couldn’t get much better spanning Bossa Nova, Jovem Guarda, Brazilian Soul and Tropicália and spinning them into a weirdly unified whole.

Oozing with samba rhythms and bossa nova sensuality, Elis takes listeners to the lounges of Brazil with such classics as "Aguas de Marco" and "Triste." Regina is intimately romantic and charismatically mysterious, and early into the album it's easy to see how an entire country could fall in love with her.