The Art of Amalia Rodrigues

Just finished watching documentary about great portuguese Fado singer Amalia Rodrigues.

What a beautiful and charismatic woman!

And by the way,great music too - I was vaguely familiar with Rodrigues and knew her face from postcards around Lisbon but never really knew how important she was for Fado (or Portugal,for that matter) until I saw this movie. Since Fado is basically very soulful music and touches some nerves common to every one of us,with subtitles you might end up reduced to tears as it happened to me - what a music,what a poetry,what a soulfulness! It was (for some reason) "Estranha forma di vida" ("Strange way of life") that really got me and I cried,than repeated scene and cried again in orgy of sado-masochism. Well,after all this crying it's wonder I am still capable or writing but in fact it was a happy bawling - I enjoyed the documentary very much and was very pleased with my new Lisbon shopping,will probably treat myself with some good crying few more times.

Extras include several concert performances and film scenes with Rodrigues singing,notably that amazing "Barco Negro" that made her into international star. Even now,after all this time its still a hair rising moment,when she soars with that powerful voice everyone keeps their breath.

Documentary was very good - best of all,it completely avoided usual gossip stuff and focused exclusively on Amalia Rodrigues early success and rise from poor background into international superstar where she continued happily ever after,ending with all kinds of medals,awards and government bowing to her.By all accounts (and her own candid admission) she wasn't exactly bundle of joy - no wonder,since Fado songs are often mournful - and possibly spending a lifetime singing sad songs does it for you,appears whatever private depressions and sadness she might have had off stage,once she stepped under the lights she was at least closer to happiness. Towards the end of her life,as she got older,she actually cheered up a bit and during interviews looks relaxed,honest,lucid and even witty. Unfortunately this documentary was finished just right after her ultimate passing so she never saw it,but its in print ever since and its a really strong and respectful tribute to great music legend. She is a symbol of Portugal in a very much same way Edith Piaf represents France.

"Facile" by Mina

Interesting because it returns Mina in acoustic territory - not that she haven't already been there million times during her long career - this studio album is built around idea of gentle and simple acoustic background and it works surprisingly well. Since way too many of her albums in the last few decades were overproduced,it actually comes as a breath of fresh air to hear Mina singing without thundering rock guitars or synthesizers competing for listener's attention. This stripped-down approach unfortunately also clearly shows that magnificent voice is not what it was long ago and although she can sing circles around everybody in the business,at least to my ears it shows signs of wear & tear.

(Attention: it is very possible that every crack in the voice was intentional as expression,who knows?)

Otherwise lady sounds good and it's good to hear her again,although this album hardly brings anything really new - any of her countless compilations has her classics set in the stone decades ago and most of my italian friends don't really care for her recent work.

"Caramella" by Mina

Italian music icon who is now pushing 70 and still releasing albums on annual basis - you might either admire her determination or write her off as somebody who don't know when to stop.

Long ago,back in early 1960s Mina was symbol of happy and high spirited italian music - later,in 1970s she perfected another kind of image and since than is basically operating from her ice-queen throne as regal survivor and has immensely rich and mind-boggling back catalogue - visit any italian music shop and you would not know where to start exploring her discography.

Alas,since lady is not writing songs herself,she depends on "kindness of strangers",in other words new songwriters,arrangers and musicians - for decades she was something of a talent-scout and had uncanny ear to spot interesting new upcoming names. This also makes her albums hit and miss affairs - sometimes she would be inspired,other times simply not.

This new studio album titled "Caramella" unfortunately belongs to "not-so-hot" category for various reasons,main probably being that at this point Mina is simply not interested in pop music - musicianship and arrangements are brilliant and my guess this album will be more admired by musicians than audience. Everything sounds very slow,melancholic and a bit depressing - there are three duets here but as we know,today people don't even stand next to each other in the recording studio,what is the difference in having Seal or Dalai Lama as duet partner? There is a bit of lounge-jazz here and some aggressive rock guitars there,unexpected piece of dark & creepy music called "La Clessidra" that is actually quite good - at least shows that Mina is still ready to experiment and stretch wings instead of repeating herself - but ultimately the overall impression is of a tired and worn out singer who fights with the Windmills.

For hard-core collectors who need to buy everything she ever recorded.

Aafje Heynis

Years ago I got a nice present,CD by dutch contra alto Aafje Heynis - as it usually happens,I didn't get it at first and find her too serious and wooden (I must have been in completely different world back than) but eventually the right moment came (probably after I heard her contemporary,Kathleen Ferrier so I became familiar with this kind of music) and suddenly I re-discovered Heynis again,this time around thinking how lovely and beautiful she is.

Heynis belongs to post-WW2 generation of classical singers in The Netherlands and made nice little career out of singing Bach and other ultra-serious works - her recordings are not easy to find these days,but if you see them,grab them immediately,it's my recommendation. She has recorded for "Phillips" label through 1960s and lot of her music was on vinyl LP recordings,so look out for them in second-hand record stores - I have for example found unexpected recording where she sings title role in Gluck's "Orpheo et Eurydice" (1962) and she is absolutely stunning.

If you know Kathleen Ferrier,it's kind of very similar kind of voice - Heynis sounds very serious,committed and sincere. I wouldn't be surprised if she was deeply religious person in personal life,because her singing has very spiritual quality,very very lovely and calm at the same time. Perhaps what I like best about her music & singing is that she was recording classical work but not in theatrical way,hers was reflective and serene,slightly melancholic way and that is why it sounds timeless today.

To hear her serious,lovely voice soaring while backed only with church organ on some of Bach sacred songs is pure Heaven.

Too often I find today's recorded classical music simply gimmicky so it helps to look back at Aafje Heynis and remember what real quality really is,it's simply timeless.

Medieval Lives by Terry Jones

You know how school teachers can (and they often do) make history the most boring thing ever - well,here is a little,short and sweet book that would thrill anybody who was ever been bored in a school. Some 200 pages with very funny stories and anecdotes about real people in medieval times,as opposite to myths and legends later fabricated centuries later. Forget (almost) everything you have ever heard about Knights and dirty peasants and damsel in distress and such things - they wouldn't know what are you talking about,and as for knight's chivalry,well it appears it was only for the books - in reality it was the rule of the sword,kill now,pray later. In fact,if you have enough money to pay monks,they can pray for you so you can avoid the nuisance.

The book is cleverly divided in several chapters,each dealing with typical character ("Peasant","Minstrel","Outlaw" and so on) - it's all written in a very nonchalant way with lots of completely off-the-wall observations which will make you laugh out loud. There is a lot of humor here but also a lot of sadness and brutality once you start reading between the lines,after all,no matter how serious or unserious things might have been,it always comes to the same point: powerful and rich men were controlling less fortunate creatures,way back and today. Just looking at the treatment of women in medieval times (burned,raped,kidnapped,robbed,hanged) it makes you wonder how did human race survived at all.

It's very clever little book (and I wouldn't mind even if it's three times longer,because it's really easy read) but of course I am aware that things that looks ridiculous to modern reader now were very serious matter back than. After all,just imagine that in a few centuries someone writes a book about us.

The Last Day (Nicholas Shrady)

Because work often brings me to Lisbon,I thought it would be good to learn a bit more about the towns history and this book was a thrill - informative,interesting and easy to read without too many technical details,it gives clear picture of Lisbon the way it was before that fateful day in 1755. when earthquake,tsunamis and fire literally destroyed the town and how it was subsequently rebuilt again with heroic efforts by certain Mr.Carvalho who was given full freedom by king of Portugal,way too scared to act himself.

Sure,along the way Carvalho made many enemies and stepped on people's feet too often but you have to consider immense opposition from the church and aristocracy who opposed anything new,while he had to rebuilt city from the rumble of stones and along the way managed to get rid of Jesuits who brainwashed citizens into thinking that this was God's punishment and there is no sense in building anything new. Eventually King died and his successor was religious fanatic who punished Carvahlo and restored church but although Carvahlo died in exile,his work is remembered and when we walk through marble streets of Lisbon centre,we appreciate this - there simply wouldn't be any Lisbon the way it is today if not for him.

Nicholas Shrady writes very well and connects our reactions to natural catastrophes than and now - he also points that way back than as well as today,God's punishment is still used as explanation to these catastrophes. Listening to words of Archbishop of New Orleans ("We have reached a depth of immorality that we have never reached before") after recent devastations of hurricanes in that area,you would think we are still in old Lisbon and Jesuits are preaching their thundering sermons.

Somewhere in there there is also a short and interesting history of Lisbon itself,which gives you very good picture of the place it was before the disaster,how it depended on colonies in Brazil (and why this wealth never actually helped the country but was spent elsewhere) and what happened since.

The book starts at ends with same day,November 01, (the day of earthquake) clearly making a point in comparing the town than and now.

Blonde Venus (1932)

Later in life Dietrich dismissed her early Hollywood movies as "kitsch" and apparently she was thinking about this one.

The main problem with "Blonde Venus" is that it goes on forever and ever,when I start checking my watch it's not a good sign. I won't even mention words like "unconvincing" or "unreal" because apparently that was not Josef von Sternberg's idea of the movie in the first place.

Interestingly,the very first thing we see on the screen is a naked front body of a girl swimming nude in a lake,I wonder am I the only one who noticed this,it is done very tastefully and goes in a flash,I bet cinema goers at the time were surprised.

Script is rambling - the idea was to show off Dietrich as good german housewife who loves her husband and sings lullabies to her son,than out of necessity she return to her theatre roots and becomes a vamp who prostitutes herself to save sick husband. Any similarities with real people or situations are accidental,I suppose. What a coincidence,in reality Dietrich really was a german housewife who cooked sausages for husband and made career of playing vamps on the screen. Alas,she is totally fake as screen housewife and suddenly comes to life as a vamp - she might act caring mother who baths her child but it's not real,when she appears as glitzy saloon singer and puts hands on her hips,suddenly Dietrich comes to life. Because she is so totally in command of her vamp persona,it makes even less sense to make Dietrich character meekly return to her husband and family life,practically begging him to take her back - from the moment she start "making money" to her subsequent international success as femme fatale,she is absolutely her own woman and no one can tame her. But the script and production code of the time insisted she has to return to kitchen (because woman is only happy when sewing her husband's socks?) so to our embarrassment Blonde Venus capitulates,leaves her stage costumes & freedom and goes back to a idiotic husband who don't deserve her in the first place. It's almost painful to watch the end where beautiful Dietrich is lobotomized into return to the kitchen.

Herbert Marshall plays sick husband who takes money wife gives him without much asking but later changes his mind and becomes very jealous & self-righteous when it suits him,just to show who is real master of the house and to put suddenly confident Dietrich in her place.

Carry Grant is completely wasted here as a rich customer who falls in love with Dietrich and showers her with money - his role is bland and acting not better,to be honest,but somehow you forget him the moment he leaves the screen (in fact,even when he is on). He is simply not important here at all.

Unexpected threat is the sudden appearance of Hattie Mc Daniel who plays (what else) a maid who helps Dietrich to hide from policemen.In just few years Mc Daniel will be the first afro-american actress to win Academy Award for her role in "Gone with the Wind" so it's a joy to see her here.

I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

I enjoyed "I walked with a Zombie" even more than "Cat people" - everything from the acting to a creepy atmosphere and things that go boo in the night was just perfect and my toes were curling with pleasure as I was lost in this story. Sure,it is old-fashioned but after all it was made in 1943. and that's the beauty of it - I absolutely love these old classics and what struck me interesting is how exciting and effective they were with minimum technical wizardry - it seems that today people rely way too much on special effects but forgot the importance of good story,after all if the story is half-baked everything else collapses.

Not here - the main character is the nurse who is interviewed for a new job (while snow heavily falls outside of the office) somewhere in Caribbean and goes there just to fond truly creepy atmosphere in the family house owned by two brothers who eventually fight for her attention. It has more than a touch of "Jane Eyre" in it's story and everything is very simple but very good - the "zombie" in the movie is actually character of Jessica who does not utter even one word!

Tom Conway plays elegant and suave Mr.Holland and he is very good - he was also in "Cat People" - the strange thing in this movie is his mother who was all wrong for the role. I was watching this slim "mother" thinking she looks very unconvincing as mother of two grown-up sons until later I found out the actress Edith Barrett was only 36 (which makes her younger than her screen sons) oh well,never mind.

Marcelo Costa (Portugal)

Remember what was the most thrilling thing about Michael Boublè when he first started - it was the simple fact that in the business overcrowded with clowns,drug-addicts and half-naked starlets suddenly there was someone who could actually sing and had taste to look back on classy catalogue of real pop songs. What a relief,a singer who can actually sing.

Marcelo Costa is portuguese answer to Michael Boublè - fresh young singer with enthusiastic assurance and youthful swagger - whoever selected songs for his album did very good job,since Costa is presented in the best possible light,without a trace of bubble gum in sight,only classy pop ballads with occasional swing number thrown in to change the rhythm.

Although portuguese critics are ready to call him "jazz singer" my guess is that Costa (who is only 26 at the time of this album's release) will eventually turn to pop later,because music here is simply too good and too sophisticated to be sell in large doses - it's a very good album full of variety (ten originals,three covers) but sad truth is that mass audience is not buying sophistication and people want fluff.

From the seductive opening "A Rosa Que Te Dei" to Eurovision cover "Esta Balada Que Te Dou" and beyond,it is a very strong pop album with jazzy orchestration and young Costa sings his heart out,in all honesty he is up there with Michael Boublè and the only difference between them is that canadian guy has bigger industry behind him.