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Ain't Much F*ckin' with Jorge Ben

kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
edited September 2007 in Strut Central
In an effort to contribute to the feel-good-let's talk-about-records around here since last week...Not much ever recorded is fucking with Jorge Ben's prime. Jesus. I've had his records for years, and seriously loved him. But, this week was when things went NEXT LEVEL.Beautiful day out yesterday. Went on a roadtrip with the wife to New Bedford to check out an artist's open studio (her) and the whaling museum (me- melville fan.)Spent a while listening to La Tabua de Esmerelda, and as the final track comes on, the lady confesses that she's been listening to track 12, Cinco Minutos, on repeat in the car of late. Hot damn does she have good taste!Anyway, that whole album is one of the most unique musical experiences I've ever heard. It's obviously got Ben's samba sound...but, at times, I feel like the arrangements anticipate so much of the overwrought indie-rock that people have been fawning over for the last few years. There are choruses of people singing, cellos wailing, horns blowing. It is an intensely BEAUTIFUL record, that thanks to Ben's completely unique vocals, manages to be playful and joyful amidst some seriously HEAVY sounds.I broke it out a few times this summer on weekends alone on the porch, just to let it wash over me. It is just such a life-affirming record.nothing sounds like it that I've ever heard, and listening to it this past week (thanks for the Record Day Rip, Jonny Paychex) has reaffirmed Jorge Ben's place in the PANTHEON, along with Curtis, The Band, and a small handful of others.(and, to close, track 4 on AfricaBrasil is the sexiest fucking dance song ever, and it makes me horny as FUCK whenever I play it out in a room crowded full of women.)
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  • JLRJLR 3,835 Posts
    It is just such a life-affirming record.

    INNER DUSTYGROOVE REVIEWER IS OUT

  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
    It is just such a life-affirming record!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    INNER DUSTYGROOVE REVIEWER IS OUT


    Fixed that for you.
  • UMADUMAD 187 Posts
    In an effort to contribute to the feel-good-let's talk-about-records around here since last week...

    Not much ever recorded is fucking with Jorge Ben's prime. Jesus. I've had his records for years, and seriously loved him. But, this week was when things went NEXT LEVEL.

    Beautiful day out yesterday. Went on a roadtrip with the wife to New Bedford to check out an artist's open studio (her) and the whaling museum (me- melville fan.)

    Spent a while listening to La Tabua de Esmerelda, and as the final track comes on, the lady confesses that she's been listening to track 12, Cinco Minutos, on repeat in the car of late. Hot damn does she have good taste!

    Anyway, that whole album is one of the most unique musical experiences I've ever heard. It's obviously got Ben's samba sound...but, at times, I feel like the arrangements anticipate so much of the overwrought indie-rock that people have been fawning over for the last few years.

    There are choruses of people singing, cellos wailing, horns blowing. It is an intensely BEAUTIFUL record, that thanks to Ben's completely unique vocals, manages to be playful and joyful amidst some seriously HEAVY sounds.

    I broke it out a few times this summer on weekends alone on the porch, just to let it wash over me. It is just such a life-affirming record.

    nothing sounds like it that I've ever heard, and listening to it this past week (thanks for the Record Day Rip, Jonny Paychex) has reaffirmed Jorge Ben's place in the PANTHEON, along with Curtis, The Band, and a small handful of others.

    (and, to close, track 4 on AfricaBrasil is the sexiest fucking dance song ever, and it makes me horny as FUCK whenever I play it out in a room crowded full of women.)

    I discovered A Tabua at a time when I was feeling very jaded about music on some "nothing can shock me", "I've heard it all" type shit. Obviously this is a very silly and factually insupportable attitude, because there's ALL KINDS of crazy shit out there that I've never heard, but sometimes you need that one record to smack you out of your complacency and remind you how fucking breathtaking and emotional a good record can be. I think this is the number one record (other than maybe Bobby Babylon or the first Bill Withers album) that never fails to elicit requests for a burned copy every time I play it at the office. It stops people in their tracks.
  • tripledoubletripledouble 7,636 Posts


    Spent a while listening to La Tabua de Esmerelda, and as the final track comes on, the lady confesses that she's been listening to track 12, Cinco Minutos, on repeat in the car of late. Hot damn does she have good taste!
    LOVE that Track! love JORGE ben!

    i need to find negro lindo. anyone got one for me?
  • asprinasprin 1,765 Posts
    In an effort to contribute to the feel-good-let's talk-about-records around here since last week...

    Not much ever recorded is fucking with Jorge Ben's prime. Jesus. I've had his records for years, and seriously loved him. But, this week was when things went NEXT LEVEL.

    Beautiful day out yesterday. Went on a roadtrip with the wife to New Bedford to check out an artist's open studio (her) and the whaling museum (me- melville fan.)

    Spent a while listening to La Tabua de Esmerelda, and as the final track comes on, the lady confesses that she's been listening to track 12, Cinco Minutos, on repeat in the car of late. Hot damn does she have good taste!

    Anyway, that whole album is one of the most unique musical experiences I've ever heard. It's obviously got Ben's samba sound...but, at times, I feel like the arrangements anticipate so much of the overwrought indie-rock that people have been fawning over for the last few years.

    There are choruses of people singing, cellos wailing, horns blowing. It is an intensely BEAUTIFUL record, that thanks to Ben's completely unique vocals, manages to be playful and joyful amidst some seriously HEAVY sounds.

    I broke it out a few times this summer on weekends alone on the porch, just to let it wash over me. It is just such a life-affirming record.

    nothing sounds like it that I've ever heard, and listening to it this past week (thanks for the Record Day Rip, Jonny Paychex) has reaffirmed Jorge Ben's place in the PANTHEON, along with Curtis, The Band, and a small handful of others.

    (and, to close, track 4 on AfricaBrasil is the sexiest fucking dance song ever, and it makes me horny as FUCK whenever I play it out in a room crowded full of women.)

    I Fully and absolutely vouch for this post and all that's contained in it. That record always takes me to a whole nother place and is one of the few albums I will listen from start to finish.
  • gravelheadwrapgravelheadwrap corn 948 Posts
    In an effort to contribute to the feel-good-let's talk-about-records around here since last week...

    Not much ever recorded is fucking with Jorge Ben's prime. Jesus. I've had his records for years, and seriously loved him. But, this week was when things went NEXT LEVEL.

    Beautiful day out yesterday. Went on a roadtrip with the wife to New Bedford to check out an artist's open studio (her) and the whaling museum (me- melville fan.)

    Spent a while listening to La Tabua de Esmerelda, and as the final track comes on, the lady confesses that she's been listening to track 12, Cinco Minutos, on repeat in the car of late. Hot damn does she have good taste!

    Anyway, that whole album is one of the most unique musical experiences I've ever heard. It's obviously got Ben's samba sound...but, at times, I feel like the arrangements anticipate so much of the overwrought indie-rock that people have been fawning over for the last few years.

    There are choruses of people singing, cellos wailing, horns blowing. It is an intensely BEAUTIFUL record, that thanks to Ben's completely unique vocals, manages to be playful and joyful amidst some seriously HEAVY sounds.

    I broke it out a few times this summer on weekends alone on the porch, just to let it wash over me. It is just such a life-affirming record.

    nothing sounds like it that I've ever heard, and listening to it this past week (thanks for the Record Day Rip, Jonny Paychex) has reaffirmed Jorge Ben's place in the PANTHEON, along with Curtis, The Band, and a small handful of others.

    (and, to close, track 4 on AfricaBrasil is the sexiest fucking dance song ever, and it makes me horny as FUCK whenever I play it out in a room crowded full of women.)

    I Fully and absolutely vouch for this post and all that's contained in it. That record always takes me to a whole nother place and is one of the few albums I will listen from start to finish.





    Africa Brasil and La Tabua de Esmeralda were very good to me this summer and past summers. I don't think I ever get sick of either. I'm feeling extra good about Africa Brasil because I recently dug up a real nice copy in good condition for way cheap. Say goodbye to mp3s finally. I love a lot of his other albums, but those two are the truth!
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts
    Here's an LP that I really love which I feel may
    be somewhat slept-on, at least for how good it is:



    It can be found for quite cheap and I play it only slightly
    less than TABUA DE ESMERALDA ...
  • WoimsahWoimsah 1,734 Posts
    I got to give it a whirl. I'm a man myself.
  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
    My avatar is Jorge Ben, and my location is a quote from "Menina Mulher De Pele Preta".

    Yes, I celebrate the man. There's something about his voice and songwriting on those 60s/70s LPs that hits me hard. I only understand about 5-10% of what he's singing about, but to me there's kind of a bittersweet feeling to the melodies in a lot of his songs that resonates with me. And yes, it's sexy too. I always try to sneak in some Ben when I play out.
  • Skip DrinkwaterSkip Drinkwater 1,694 Posts
    Co-sign. I'm a big fan of his '68-'76 period. Not a bad LP in the bunch. The 3rd track on Tabua de Esmerelda has been killing me lately. His vocals are killer on that song. Plus a female chorus, string section, and dub effects. Truly next level.
  • BreakSelfBreakSelf 2,925 Posts
    Does anybody know if the Jorge Ben Live in Japan collection ever came out on wax? It has a version of "Oba, la Vem Ela" on it that absolutely slays me.
  • wholewheatwholewheat 437 Posts
    Here's an LP that I really love which I feel may
    be somewhat slept-on, at least for how good it is:



    It can be found for quite cheap and I play it only slightly
    less than TABUA DE ESMERALDA ...

    While I think A Tabua de Esmeralda is a few notches above this record (and most other records out there), I have to agree that it seems to fall by the wayside in discussions about Jorge Ben's peak-era records. A very good album indeed and it surprises me that it almost never comes up in these threads.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    Here's an LP that I really love which I feel may
    be somewhat slept-on, at least for how good it is:



    It can be found for quite cheap and I play it only slightly
    less than TABUA DE ESMERALDA ...

    While I think A Tabua de Esmeralda is a few notches above this record (and most other records out there), I have to agree that it seems to fall by the wayside in discussions about Jorge Ben's peak-era records. A very good album indeed and it surprises me that it almost never comes up in these threads.

    Which one are you guys talking about? The pic's not showing up...
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts
    The pic's not showing up...

    Solta o Pavao

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    The pic's not showing up...

    Solta o Pavao

    Ah... I have that one, but have to admit to not having gotten to know it as well as most of the other ones from the era. I really like the self-titled one, which also has some of my all-time favorite cover art:

  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    Does anybody know if the Jorge Ben Live in Japan collection ever came out on wax? It has a version of "Oba, la Vem Ela" on it that absolutely slays me.

    I'd really love to hear that version - one of my favourite songs ever. Any chance of an MP3 hook up of that track?
  • BreakSelfBreakSelf 2,925 Posts
    Does anybody know if the Jorge Ben Live in Japan collection ever came out on wax? It has a version of "Oba, la Vem Ela" on it that absolutely slays me.

    I'd really love to hear that version - one of my favourite songs ever. Any chance of an MP3 hook up of that track?

    ENJOY!

    05 oba la vem ela.mp3 - 7.68MB
  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    The arrangements and collision of genres on his late 60s-mid 70s records make them so essential, but I have to say there's also a soaring, unearthly quality to his vocals that stands out all the more on the earlier records with the more straight-ahead samba backing.

    Wilson Simonal comes close to getting me to that place with a few tracks ("Madelena" comes to mind), but Jorge's definitely in a class of his own.
  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    When these Jorge Ben threads come up, I'm always curious: How many of the people in this thread speak Portuguese? My guess would be "not many." And in most other cases I don't really think about it, because non-fluent dudes who start threads on, you know, Turkish crunk or whatever, usually just say "Shit is dope!", maybe post a snippet, and keep it moving. But Jorge Ben appreciation always seems to run much much deeper, with his records having serious, central resonace--like, some Stevie-level shit--with a lot of people, most of whom I have to assume do not actually understand the words that he is saying.

    Now, myself, I don't need to speak the language to know that "shit is dope!" (or heavy! or joyous! or crazy! etc.), and I'm very capable of very real love based purely on sonics, but if I don't understand the language in which a record is sung, then that record is always going to hit a wall with regard to how much it really means to me. And I've always assumed that this was the case for most other folks, too, but Jorge Ben seems to be a remarkably consistent exception. Why is that?
  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    That's an interesting point... I'll sidestep it a little or exempt myself from answering directly by saying that it sometimes creates a wall for me in appreciating vocals/lyrics when I DO understand what the singer's going off about.

    I generally like to think of vocals as just another instrument that can take me to an emotional place I can inhabit with my own thoughts and experiences. A plaintive wail at the end of an Al Green song means so much more to me than the preceding lyrics about God/his girlfriend/whatever.

    On a related note, my enjoyment on some of the metal I listen to might hinge on not being able to understand what they're saying. I'm into the Ukrainian group Drudkh, but from what I understand their politics are extremely reactionary (the opposite of mine). If I understood the words, it might stop me from listening to them -- or at least create some distance between me and the delicisiouly grim mood their music, icomprehensible vocals included, create for me.
  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    Does anybody know if the Jorge Ben Live in Japan collection ever came out on wax? It has a version of "Oba, la Vem Ela" on it that absolutely slays me.

    I'd really love to hear that version - one of my favourite songs ever. Any chance of an MP3 hook up of that track?

    Twenty two people got there before me but I got it. A beautiful stripped down killer version - none of the lushness of the better known one but what a song. Thank you, mate.
  • JoeMojoJoeMojo 720 Posts


    Spent a while listening to La Tabua de Esmerelda, and as the final track comes on, the lady confesses that she's been listening to track 12, Cinco Minutos, on repeat in the car of late. Hot damn does she have good taste!
    LOVE that Track! love JORGE ben!


    i need to find negro lindo. anyone got one for me?

    Ahh shit, I have a couple extra copies but they're in the storage locker... I'll see if I can dig one out next time I'm on the mainland. Although I'm in Atlanta right now at random...
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    When these Jorge Ben threads come up, I'm always curious: How many of the people in this thread speak Portuguese? My guess would be "not many." And in most other cases I don't really think about it, because non-fluent dudes who start threads on, you know, Turkish crunk or whatever, usually just say "Shit is dope!", maybe post a snippet, and keep it moving. But Jorge Ben appreciation always seems to run much much deeper, with his records having serious, central resonace--like, some Stevie-level shit--with a lot of people, most of whom I have to assume do not actually understand the words that he is saying.

    Now, myself, I don't need to speak the language to know that "shit is dope!" (or heavy! or joyous! or crazy! etc.), and I'm very capable of very real love based purely on sonics, but if I don't understand the language in which a record is sung, then that record is always going to hit a wall with regard to how much it really means to me. And I've always assumed that this was the case for most other folks, too, but Jorge Ben seems to be a remarkably consistent exception. Why is that?

    I've tried to run Jorge Ben lyrics (all available on his website) through translators, and suffice to say he is on some too-deep-for-Babelfish type schitt.

    However, it has helped me understand enough of what the songs are about - at their core - for me to feel it on a greater level than the language barrier might have otherwise allowed.
  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    I kind of like not knowing what he's saying; I can give my own meaning to the words and believe it's more profound or playful than what he's actually saying. I usually skip "Brother" on A Tabua... because, compared to the rest of the record, it feels like he's imposing on me. Or maybe it's me imposing on the music and denying him his own voice--like: "Go back to being unintelligible now so I can stay in my dream world."
  • tonyphronetonyphrone 1,500 Posts
    this thread put me on to Africa Brasil

    Is La Tabua de Esmeralda on that level?
  • On_the_Red_ClayOn_the_Red_Clay 1,728 Posts
    I think James hit the nail on the head (what's new ) when he suggested Jorge Ben is "on some Stevie-type shit". He is in the same league as Stevie, Curtis, etc in that he manages to convey something universal in his music.

    b/w

    Breakshelf, lets press up some 45s of that live version - Gorgeous.
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    I kind of like not knowing what he's saying

    I feel this way about most non-English LPs...that way I can treat the voice as just another instrument and if the lyrics are corny, it wont get in the way in my enjoying them, like on "Ponta de Lanca Africano", I would prefer that I not know he is singing "Kick the ball, kick the ball" and singing about soccer...
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts
    like on "Ponta de Lanca Africano", I would prefer that I not know he is singing "Kick the ball, kick the ball" and singing about soccer...

    And conversely, I'm thrilled to have just learned that!
  • rkwparkrkwpark 915 Posts
    Does anybody know if the Jorge Ben Live in Japan collection ever came out on wax? It has a version of "Oba, la Vem Ela" on it that absolutely slays me.

    I'd really love to hear that version - one of my favourite songs ever. Any chance of an MP3 hook up of that track?

    is this live w/ trio mocoto?
  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    "Brother" on A Tabua...

    that's the only song on there that gets on my nerves

    I've noticed that Ben's lyrics tend to be pretty simple compared to a lot of the MPB I listen to, hence easier to understand w/o being fluent. Also, Ben's website has (or used to have) almost all his lyrics posted up, and if I'm lacking lyric inserts or whatever, I'll go in and print out the lyrics to an entire record and sometimes read along while I'm listening, which makes it a lot easier for me to understand as I'm not fluent (I actually do this with a lot of the big MPB figures)
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