familiar voices and familiar music
i will focus on the brasil part in this review. as other reviewers have noted, joao was at his finest on some amoroso tracks but the production is unbearable at times.
the voices on brasil are familiar to anyone who is a fan of brazilian music: gilberto gil, caetano veloso, joao gilberto, and maria bethania are among the greatest superstars all time of brazilian music individually. and on this album they all come together to play joao gilberto's style of music. i'm not sure about bethania but gil and caetano were avid joao fans. however they had never tried to replicate his sound. tropicalia's musical influences certainly included joao but were nothing like his music. in this 1981 release, we here straight bossa nova. joao plays beautifully. the production at times is not optimal but at other times is excellent. hearing gil and caetano sing in such a restrained, soft fashion is impressive considering the vocals that they had used in their career up to that point.
anyways, this album certainly pays tribute to brasil and brazilian music. disse alguem, the simons and marks jazz standard all of me in portuguese lyrics, is the one exception. the vocals are stunning, the bossa rhythms crisp and refreshing, the sound soft as can be. this is one of my favorite albums.

Fantastic CD
Fantastic CD. Great orchestrations and concept. Wonderful songs. Singer creates a nice mood and has interesting rhythmic concept of deliberately not staying exactly with the beat at times.

Beauty
Joao Gilberto (b. 1931) first came on to the scene with his debut album of 1958 titled "Chega de Saudade", introducing a new style of jazz samba called bossa nova. Gilberto is credited as the innovator of the bossa nova sound that sprung to life out of Brazil. We all likely own the 1965 classic Getz/Gilberto album, featuring his then wife Astrud on vocals along with Stan Getz and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

This album is good to own because you get two albums for the price of one, Gilberto's "Amoroso" (1976) and "Brasil" (1981). These albums showcase Joao in his prime, vibrant and full of life. "Brasil" is a much more accessible album to listen to than the previous selection, and showcases fellow Brazilian musicians Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. What an album to relax to and forget about life.

Bossa Nova rocks
This cd was the first of many brazilian bossa novas I've bought. I heard the Girl from Ipanema on a complilation jazz cd and was hooked then. I don't aggree w/ the above reviewers who don't like the orchestral arrangements? Are you nuts? This album is fantastic! Its actually two albums, and I love every song. I grew up listening to mostly r/b and this style is second only to that for me.
I had never heard music so beautiful as in (portueguese'.) One of my professors suggested that I give a listen to international music, boy was she right.
I have migraines so I put on Joao/Astrud/Stan Getz to relax and release the pain. They are all so soothing and enjoyable. I also suggest you get" Getz/Gilberto: live at Carnegie Hall" Astrud appears on it as well. Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, "Brazilian Romance" all by Verve records.

A masterpiece PLUS a great album
As many reviewers have said, tracks 9-14 are worth the price of the album. These tracks are simply astonishing. I first heard three or four of them over the internet and on various mix CDs that my friends had. I was drawn to "Aquarela do Brasil" and "Disse Alguem" especially, and you could tell that it was the same session. I told myself I had to find such an album. (You see Mr. Record Company, many file sharers do go out and buy CDs!)

Wasn't I suprised to find the Brasil album (tracks 9-14) together with Amoroso (1-8). Maybe I'm a little more used to sappy strings than some other people, but they don't bother me so much. Heck, as long as I can hear Joao's voz e violao, I'm a happy man.

If the somewhat negative reviews of the first half of the CD are making some of you hesitant to purchase this wonderful music, I need only remind you that some people buy a disc for only one song. Well, here you're gonna find six wonderful ones for sure, and maybe a few more, depending on your taste in strings.