Sergio Mendes

By and large, this Collectables Classics series, compiling a slew of albums on X amount of CDs and dropping them in a wooden box, is a problematic exercise and is of dubious worth. It leaves too much to chance. However, this collection of Sergio Mendes' early, pre-A&M and later, post-A&M material, doesn't fall into that category completely. This five-disc whopper contains no less than nine individual albums by the Brazilian bandleader, composer, pianist, and arranger who recorded before and after his million-selling albums for A&M with Atlantic. Musically, this material is mostly top-notch. It includes albums such as Mendes' American debut with his Brasil '65 group, In Person at El Matador, and his post-A&M 1968 instrumental classic Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things as well as the 1977 soundtrack for the film Pele. But those three LPs are on two CDs in the same jewel box! Elsewhere it's more orderly, such as on the disc than includes a pair of 1966 albums, The Great Arrival and Bully!, or the pairing of The Swinger from Rio (also from 1966; it featured a new reading of "Girl from Ipanema" with its composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim playing guitar) and The Beat of Brazil from 1967 (with arrangements by Jobim). The final disc in this set pairs two Elektra albums from the '70s, a self-titled disc from 1975 arranged by Dave Grusin (who also worked with Mendes way back on Favorite Things) and 1979's Magic Lady that featured the Tower of Power Horns, Tom Scott, Chuck Findley, and Michael Sembello. All told, Collectables Classics assembles the more eclectic sides of Mendes' career, showcasing his WEA output, but also revealing the strange and labyrinthine journey he'd made since coming to the U.S. in 1965 -- from exotic bossa nova progressions to the studied disco rhythms paired with Latin funk in the late '70s. The journey didn't end there, of course; Mendes has continued to record and arrange whenever he can. In the 21st century, dance music culture picked up on him via the sampling techniques of dozens -- if not hundreds -- of DJs internationally. In addition, interest in Mendes has been piqued by the general public once more because of his collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas on the single "Sexy," and his own Timeless album on Concord. This five-disc box offers a great deal for the more studied listener and of course for die-hard Mendes fans. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide