-->
Warning! Deleting this artist may remove other artists and scrobbles from your library - please handle this with caution! Note: You can view albums tagged as 'Various Artists' in your library here.
The term Various Artists is used in the record industry when numerous singers and musicians collaborate on a song or collection of songs. Most often on Last.fm, compilation album tracks appear under the name of Various Artists erroneously because the individual artist is not listed in the album's ID3 information. Read more on Last.fm
The film “Black Orpheus” and especially its soundtrack remain historically significant for basically introducing America to Brazil’s bossa nova sound, and it’s certainly easy to see what was exciting about this new sound in the busy and energetic carnival pieces and Luiz Bonfa’s achingly beautiful “Manha de Carnival” and the more lively “Samba de Orfeu,” two absolute highlights of the composer’s career. Those coming here seeking to be introduced to bossa nova should be advised that this is not the best place to begin with the genre, though, and there’s a couple of reasons why.
First, many of the carnival songs here are ripped directly from the film – crowd noises and all – and as such reflect only half of the “Black Orpheus” experience; simply put, you’d be better off watching the film, which is spellbinding in its own right. Furthermore, bossa nova as a genre was yet to go through its defining transformation, which largely happened in the music Joao Gilberto would make in the years immediately following the film (his collaborations with Stan Getz being especially important touchstones) and in Antonio Carlos Jobim, composer of half the songs here, continuing to grow as an artist, his work culminating in the 1967 masterpiece “Wave.” So while the “Black Orpheus” soundtrack is compelling and excellent as a portrait of Jobim as a developing artist and Bonfa at his absolute peak, it isn’t exactly the cultural landmark that it probably seemed like in 1959.
NOTE: I don’t mean to disrespect Luiz Bonfa by calling this his peak and rating it too low. You should check out the CD version of “Live in Rio 1959” that Smithsonian Folkways released in 2005 – it was recorded a few months before the songs here and is breathtaking, a more complete picture of the artist at the top of his game.