Ive Mendes Magnetism

Sérgio Mendes is the 1983 studio album by Sérgio Mendes on A&M Records, his first Top 40 album in nearly a decade and a half, and was accompanied by his biggest chart single ever, "Never Gonna Let You Go", a song written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil that reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Sergio Mendes spent the '70s straying very far from his Brazilian roots. The Sergio Mendes album from 1975 is very much in the smooth soul/quiet storm bag and Magic Lady from 1979 is a straight disco record. Neither of the records are the disasters you might have already pegged them as. Sergio Mendes is actually a small pleasure and Magic Lady, while overly smooth, isn't an embarrassment. The best part about Sergio Mendes is the sweetly harmonizing vocals of Bonnie Bowden and Sondra Catton and the laid-back groove that percolates throughout the album. The songs are all covers. Some like the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" or Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free" have interesting arrangements, while some like Stevie Wonder's "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" have hackneyed or meandering arrangements…

Three original Atlantic LPs by the biggest Bossa Nova star of the '60s - 34 tracks of Latin jazz-pop crammed into one 2-CD set! Pele is Mendes' accompanying music to the documentary about the soccer star; the other two LPs bring you live performances of Black Orpheus Medley; Samba De Jose; Noa Noa , and more and studio versions of I Say a Little Prayer; May Favorite Things; Comin' Home Baby, and more!

After bouncing around Philips, Atlantic, and Capitol playing Brazilian jazz or searching for an ideal blend of Brazilian and American pop, Sergio Mendes struck gold on his first try at A&M (then not much more than the home of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and the Baja Marimba Band). He came up with a marvelously sleek, sexy formula: dual American female voices singing in English and Portuguese over a nifty three-man bossa nova rhythm/vocal section and Mendes' distinctly jazz-oriented piano, performing tight, infectious arrangements of carefully chosen tunes from Brazil, the U.S., and the U.K. The hit was Jorge Ben's "Mas Que Nada," given a catchy, tight bossa nova arrangement with the voice of Lani Hall soaring above the swinging rhythm section…

This two-fer from WEA International features a pair of out of print Sergio Mendes LPs: Great Arrival and Beat of Brazil. Originally issued on Atlantic Records in 1966 and 1967, respectively, these 22 easy listening, Latin pop songs include "Monday, Monday," "Desafinado," "Garôta de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema)," and "Here's That Rainy Day." This is a nice sampler of familiar items that should satisfy the needs of casual fans.

Sérgio Mendes & Bossa Rio's Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (1964) is a true milestone in the evolution of Brazilian instrumental music post-bossa nova. Infinitely sophisticated, but still full of swing, Bossa Rio (Tiao Neto, bass; Edison Machado, batteries, Edson Maciel, Raul de Souza and Hector Costita, metals) deal here with the reinvention of bossa classics and original songs.