| Is Elis & Tom, Special Edition, Worth the Trouble? |
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| 2004 - September 2004 |
| Friday, 17 September 2004 08:54 |
 How many people will
want to pay for a DVD-CD combo when
their equipment is capable of playing only the CD? It's wonderful
to know that a superior version is available. But until the rest of
us are sufficiently equipped, Philips and Trama would be well
advised to bring out a stand-alone CD with the bonus track.
The story of the recording is also well known. In 1974, Elis celebrated ten years at Phonogram (Philips' record division). She had been very good for the record company, and her reward was a trip to Los Angeles, to record with Tom Jobim. On 2 February 1974, Elis and then-husband Cesar Camargo Mariano flew to LA. With them came Elis' son João Marcello Bôscoli (now president of Trama), producer Aloysio de Oliveira (the eternal mediator between Brazil and USA), and musicians Hélio Delmiro (guitar), Luizão (bass), and Paulo Braga (drums). The recordings took place between 22 February and 9 March. Tom wasn't enamored of the idea of Cesar writing the arrangements and playing electric piano, but he put up with both, although he would have preferred Claus Ogerman and acoustic piano. Aloysio saw to it that Elis and Tom got through the recording sessions without walking out or sending each other to hell. Among the musicians who participated in the recordings without being given credit in the original LP were guitarist Oscar Castro Neves, flutist Hubert Laws, and saxofonist Jerome Richardson, as well as the now forgotten session strings—two violins, two violas, a cello and a bass. Thirty years later, Cesar Camargo Mariano spent three months remixing the epocal 8-track tapes in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. The new edition includes a stereo CD and a DVD-Audio. In content they are identical, with the exception of a bonus of "Fotografia" (alternate take) and "Bonita"—available, disappointingly, only on the DVD. And there's the rub: to buy or not to buy? Most of us already have a serviceable copy of Elis & Tom. Whether most of us have a DVD player with 5.1 surround-sound speakers I can't say. I don't. The only DVD player (rarely used, I might add) in my possession resides on my trusty old Mac G4 Cube. It plays only DVD-Video. That leaves the CD, whose sound is nothing short of glorious. Glorious, but without the bonus recordings. It's one of those irritating marketing ploys. How many people (not counting the diehard Elis fans, of whom there must be several legions) will want to pay for a DVD-CD combo when their equipment is capable of playing only the CD (glorious sound and all)? It's wonderful to know that a superior version is available. But until the rest of us are sufficiently equipped, Philips and Trama would be well advised to bring out a stand-alone CD that includes the bonus track. The good news is that Trama is currently hard at work on the DVD-Video edition of Elis & Tom. That disc promises to feature films from various sources. Elis Regina & Antonio
Carlos Jobim: Elis & Tom 01. Águas de Março
(Antonio Carlos Jobim) DVD bonus The writer publishes the online magazine of Brazilian music and culture Daniella Thompson on Brazil and the website Musica Brasiliensis - http://www.brazzil.com/daniv - where she can be contacted. Copyright © 2004 Daniella Thompson. All rights reserved. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |