Adriana Calcanhotto - Público - Ao Vivo (2000)

Adriana Calcanhotto is by and by establishing herself more firmly in MPB -- not in pop music, where she is already strongly validated. Always a bit uneasy in the landscape of contemporary pop grooves, she always tried a timid approach to MPB on her albums. For her fifth solo release, she chose to record a live performance where she accompanied herself on the violão, almost alone. The album opens with the excellent "E o Mundo Não Se Acabou" (Assis Valente), where she emulates a little of Carmen Miranda's (one of Valente's most faithful interpreters, until the final deception with "Brasil Pandeiro") mannerisms. The opportune release of Manu Chao in Brazil helps to recall his "Clandestino" (1998), sung in Spanish. "Devolva-me" (1966) is a convincing recuperation of a cheesy hit by the Jovem Guarda duo Leno & Lilian. The poetry section is filled with a poem by the Portuguese Mário de Sá Carneiro (with music by her) and another by Waly Salomão, a retrospective of the century. On this album, Calcanhotto re-recorded "Versos" (which had been released by Maria Bethânia in her classic Âmbar) and the previous hits "Esquadros" (1992), "Cariocas" (1994), "Vambora" (1998), and "Vamos Comer Caetano" (1998, with a resounding drum sequence). One of the most beautiful songs is "Dona de Castelo," a nostalgic canção by Jards Macalé/Waly Salomão, theme song of the 1996 film Doces Poderes (Lúcia Murat). This is an album one can call an MPB release with no remorse -- and a very good MPB release.