Recovery Bulling

Ella Abraca Jobim or Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook is a 1981 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, devoted to the songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was reissued on CD in 1991, although the CD version does not include the song "Don't Ever Go Away". Though it is subtitled as such, this album is not usually considered part of Fitzgerald's 'Songbook' series, the last of the 'Songbook' albums having been recorded in 1964. It was Fitzgerald's first album of music devoted to a single composer since 1972's Ella Loves Cole, and it was her only album recorded entirely in the bossa nova style, though she had been singing Jobim's songs since the mid-1960s.

The end of the military dictatorship in Brazil left the country lost in its references and opened way for a period of wild hedonism. Realce, one of Gilberto Gil's most disco-influenced albums, is a document of that period. Released in LP format in 1979, it had the disco ideology expressed in several songs like "Realce" (which became slang for a dangerous drug frequently consumed in those places), "Sarara Miolo" (also a danceable tune, finds room for social criticism through black pride, where Gil reproaches the use of straightening and discoloring of hair by his brothers and sisters), "Marina" (featuring Dorival Caymmi), and "Toda Menina Baiana" (a hybrid of disco and Bahian samba).

Within a refined setting of easy listening pop ballads and lightly funky up-tempo selections produced by Al McKay, Henderson proves himself an assured vocalist with mastery of clarity and phrasing. The problem here is the material isn't challenging enough – it's often formulaic and derivative of other early-'80s releases. Even a contribution from Stevie Wonder, "Crush on You," wanders into oblivion. But the singer's debonair tone and elegant, polished diction makes the weaker sound stronger. A perfect example is the mid-tempo "I'd Rather Be Gone," which suffers from a sleepy melody and clichéd rhythm arrangement.