Brazilian Hits and Funky Classics

How can these songs be so funky and at the same time so filled with saudade? This whole album makes me want to dance and dance, and go back in a time machine to the late 70s in Brazil, shaking it in a thong with beautiful men who whisper sweet promises in my ear in Portuguese. Ben is a master at layering sound, and his voice is so rich and rough at the same time that it pulls at your heartstrings and makes you feel sexy simultaneously.It'll make you want to learn Portuguese just to sing along.

short review: A great cd and well worth the money. Great performances, great production and great sound.longer review: I dont think this cd was meant to represent Jorge's entire career best, just one beautiful & inspiring part of it. A gem within the crown of his career.I enjoyed this cd alot. It has very upbeat & joyfully danceable tracks. I am not familiar with Jorge's earlier work, and do not speak portuguese, but this cd sounds very fine to me. Its from the funky 70's, but sounds timelessly fun. This collection complements many of my other brazilian records from other time periods including the 40s, 50s, 60s, 80s, 90s, & 00. All so different, yet all having that underlying brazilian musical style that unifies them all.One track on this collection gave Rod Stewart the underlying melody/rhythm for his "do you think im sexy" "hit" of the 70's. One might think "big deal" to that influence and say "Rod's song doesnt appeal to me anyway." Fine by me. However, hearing Jorge's original was quite enjoyable & beautiful in its original context. The layers of sound in Jorge's style are very appealing to me. Yet he makes it seem so easy.Both, Brazilian & US American music, have been influenced by each other, and by many other countries/peoples, over the years. This album further builds on that fact. Noone is an island when it comes to artistic ideas & influences.A Brazilian cd to appeal to the mind, heart, ear, & feet of the listener(especially me!)...enjoy

This collection concentrates on late 70's/early 80's Ben. This is not considered to be his best period (60s to late 70s). Not that this collection is bad, but this won't do as a Jorge Ben best-of.