OST ~ "Ragtime" (1981)

Sobrinho de Alfred Newman (1900-1970), um compositor reconhecido em Hollywood pelas muitas bandas-sonoras que compôs para o cinema, Randy Newman ficará na história da música mais por causa dos seus discos de música popular do que propriamente pela meia-dúzia de vezes que se aventurou por trilhos cinemáticos. “Ragtime” é a excepção que confirma a regra: uma banda-sonora arrebatadora que confere ao filme (1981) de Milos Forman (1932-2018) uma força enorme. Valeu-lhe a nomeação para dois óscares de Hollywood (música e canção, "One More Hour"), mas perderia para Vangelis (“Chariots of Fire”) e Burt Bacharach (“Arthur’s Theme”), respectivamente.

J.J. CALE: "Shades"

Original released on LP Mercury 6302 .210

(NETHERLANDS, 1980)

From 1981, this was J.J. Cale's sixth album (following the succinctly titled "Number 5", and returning to his tradition of single-word album titles). Though Cale didn't use one constant band throughout the album, it's got a remarkably unified feeling. This is in part due to the great musicians on hand (pianist Bill Payne, drummers Jim Keltner and Russ Kunkel, and guitarist James Burton among others), but primarily to Cale himself. His songs and his overal approach to music are all-encompassing; the seductive and laid-back grooves his rhythm sections empower are written into the very fabric of the songs. "Carry On," "Pack My Jack"-these are songs of simple, sturdy strengths, succinctly written and concisely rendered. There are never any stray notes or decorative filigrees. Friendly and inviting, "Shades" sounds good in any season and at any time of day (and may be some of the best hangover cure music around). (in AllMusic)

DUO OURO NEGRO: "Blackground" (II)

Edição original em LP Orfeu DASPEAT 401

(PORTUGAL, 1981)

The GRATEFUL DEAD Live 1980: "Reckoning"

Original released on Double LP Arista A2L-8604

(US 1981, April 1)

In the fall of 1980, the Grateful Dead played a series of shows at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco and Radio City Music Hall in New York City (venues considerably smaller than they had grown accustomed to) for the purpose of filming and recording. The group opened these special concerts with a special acoustic set at which Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir played acoustic guitars, Brent Mydland played piano, and drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart played reduced kits. (Phil Lesh stuck to his electric bass, but at a modest volume.) Also special was the set list, as demonstrated by the track list on this album drawn from the shows. A batch of old folk and country tunes never before included on a Grateful Dead album make up half of the 16 songs, mixed in with originals. (And actually, three of those originals, "Cassidy," "To Lay Me Down," and "Bird Song," only appeared previously on Garcia or Weir solo albums.) The music deliberately harks back to a period most Deadheads weren't around for, the band's origins in the folk, bluegrass, and country groups Garcia led in Palo Alto, CA, in the early '60s, culminating in Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, the band that went electric and became the Warlocks, renamed the Grateful Dead. Garcia in particular seems comfortable with this material, and he takes two-thirds of the lead vocals, with Weir spelling him every couple of tracks, usually with a song at least slightly more uptempo (although, for example, his version of "The Race Is On" has none of the breakneck pace of George Jones' original). Of the bandmembers, Garcia is the one who has shown the most affection for the Grateful Dead's folk and country roots, continually reintroducing them either with the band or in his side projects, and his ease with such selections as "Jack-A-Roe" and "Deep Elem Blues" is apparent. At the same time, the juxtaposition of such traditional material with originals by Garcia and his lyric partner Robert Hunter, such as the lead-off song, "Dire Wolf," and the closer, "Ripple," emphasizes the songwriters' deliberate effort to evoke and reshape the folk idiom in their compositions. The Grateful Dead have released numerous live albums, but this one takes a different approach, and it will appeal especially to the many fans of "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty". (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

The GRATEFUL DEAD Live 1980: "Dead Set"

Original released on Double LP Arista A2L-8606

(US 1981, August 26)

The Grateful Dead mined two separate double-album sets from their 15th anniversary shows at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco and Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Because of the special nature of these shows - which included the first acoustic sets that the band had played in almost a decade - "Reckoning" was taken from the unplugged performances, and this title was culled from the electric ones. These were the first live albums that the band had issued since the "Steal Your Face" debacle four years prior, as well as the earliest to feature Brent Mydland (keyboards). More so than any previous live Grateful Dead album, "Dead Set" attempts to simulate a typical Dead concert - including a somewhat abbreviated percussion solo ("drums") and free-form instrumental ("space") section. However, because the album is compiled from a number of different concerts, there is not the firmly established continuity that a single performance provides. This was further compounded on domestic U.S. compact disc pressings - as the ("space") section was judiciously edited to enable the contents to fit onto a single CD. In 2000, a remastered edition was issued in Japan, and the original running order was restored and once again spread over two discs. The set list mixes older and more established favorites such as "Loser," "Candyman," and "Deal" with newer ones ("Fire on the Mountain," "Feel Like a Stranger," and the rarely performed Phil Lesh [bass] composition "Passenger.") Unfortunately, the time limitations inherent in vinyl prohibited the use of any extended improvisation or song couplings. The band also documented their October 31st show - at Radio City Music Hall - as a live closed-circuit television special. From that performance, the band's very first home video - also called "Dead Set" - was compiled, which includes a few of the acoustic performances as well. (Lindsay Planer in AllMusic)

SÉRGIO GODINHO: "Canto Da Boca"

Edição original em LP Philips 6330066

(PORTUGAL, 12 de Setembro de 1981)

OST: "Kilas, o Mau da Fita"

Edição original em LP Philips 6330056

(PORTUGAL, 25 de Fevereiro de 1981)

Na memória da obra de José Fonseca e Costa (1933-2015), "Kilas, o Mau da Fita" constitui uma referência incontornável - na sua origem está a vontade de recuperar e transfigurar toda uma tradição cómica que passa pelo teatro de revista. Quando relembramos a obra de José Fonseca e Costa, pensamos desde logo no seu empenho em revisitar momentos críticos da história de Portugal e também no gosto em explorar os territórios do melodrama. E pensamos também no seu sentido de humor - precisamente à maneira de "Kilas, o Mau da Fita". Alguns dos momentos mais célebres da comédia cinematográfica portuguesa, em particular nas décadas de 1930/40, estão ligados à tradição do teatro de revista. "Kilas, o Mau da Fita" é um filme que acredita na possibilidade de revisitar essa tradição. As personagens vivem tanto das suas componentes cómicas como da personalidade dos respectivos intérpretes. Não admira, por isso, que este tenha sido um filme que conferiu especial evidência aos nomes principais do seu elenco - em particular, como é óbvio, Mário Viegas no papel do Kilas e também Lia Gama, transfigurando-se e cantando como Pepsi Rita.

Uma comédia divertida que é também uma sátira a um certo meio português e ao comportamento machista que nele reina. Kilas, numa das mais populares interpretações de Mário Viegas, é um marginal "à portuguesa", e os seus modos imitam os dos gangsters de cinema. "Kilas, o Mau da Fita" foi um grande sucesso comercial na viragem dos anos 70 para os 80. A banda sonora, aqui apresentada, tem assinatura de Sérgio Godinho. Para a história, o filme ficou também como um dos maiores sucessos de sempre da produção cinematográfica portuguesa. Estreado em Fevereiro de 1981, foi de facto um fenómeno que pôs toda a gente a falar do cinema em Portugal. De memórias suadas, carne mole, medos medíocres, vícios e nicotina, surge Kilas - aturdido pela pequenês do físico, tacão alto a deitar figura, de arrogância por medida. Entre tipos marginais e mitos precários de uma farsa passional, eis a criatura mais popular e característica deste filme português. Estilizada por José Fonseca e Costa em "Kilas, o Mau da Fita" - um dos maiores sucessos no pós-25 de Abril.

PETER GREEN: "SAME OLD BLUES"

Peter Green (born Peter Allen Greenbaum, 29 October 1946, in Bethnal Green, London) is a British blues-rock guitarist and founder of the band Fleetwood Mac. A figurehead in the British blues movement, Green inspired B. B. King to say, «He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.» Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page have both lauded his guitar playing as well. Green's playing was marked with a distinctive vibrato and economy of style. Though he played other guitars, he is best known for deriving a unique tone from his 1959 Gibson Les Paul - a result of the magnet of his guitar's neck pickup being accidentally reversed to produce an 'out of phase' sound. The Les Paul would come to be referred to as Green's "magic guitar" but Green told Guitar Player in 2000 that «I never had a magic one. Mine wasn't magic...It just barely worked.» Green was ranked 38th in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" (in Wikipedia)

This double CD set reunites the essential songs Peter Green recorded in his first comeback after being diagnosed with schizophrenia in the early seventies (he spent all the mid seventies in treatments and inside a psychiatric institution in London). After 6 albums ("In the Skies", 1979; "Little Dreamer, 1980; "Whatcha Gonna Do?, 1981; "Portrait", 1981; "White Sky", 1982 and "Kolors", 1983), he suffered a relapse and went down again, until 1990.

PETER GREEN: "Watcha Gonna Do?"

Original released on LP Creole 6.24600

(GERMANY, March 1981)

The third album that Peter Green made after he launched a comeback in the late '70s, "Whatcha Gonna Do?" was a disappointment on several levels. It was a sluggish record, often with something of a going-through-the-motions feel. While Green's blues-rock guitar chops remained intact, they were executed with less fire, force, and imagination than they had been in his best work. Most disturbingly, there often seemed to be a conscious effort to move Green's sound toward mainstream soul-funk, as well as to add some uncomfortably incorporated reggae rhythms. It's an unmemorable album, but for all that, not a terrible one. You can hear Green's natural affinity for R&B in both his fluid guitar and earthy vocals on some of the better songs, like "Trying to Hit My Head Against the Wall," "Like a Hot Tomato," and "Lost My Love" (the last of which, like early Fleetwood Mac's cover of Little Willie John's "Need Your Love So Bad," makes clear Green's overlooked love of sentimental '50s American R&B/proto-soul). These would be quite acceptable from a blues-rock journeyman, but Green was cursed, perhaps, by the shadow of his greater achievements and by listeners' knowledge that he had been capable of delivering more inspirational goods. (Richie Unterberger in AllMusic)

"Pennies From Heaven For You And Me"

Original released on double LP Warner Bros 2HW 3639
(US, 1981)

«I want to live in a world where the songs come true», says Arthur, the sheet music salesman in “Pennies From Heaven”. «There must be someplace where the songs are for real».

And here they are, the songs that lit up his life and made sweet melodies of his fondest dreams. Songs that still say, in their happy bounce and seductive rhythm, that the world needs to put on its dancing shoes.

We all have some such melody in our hearts. Music that brings back a special moment, an enchanted memory, or a minute or two of magic when workaday troubles fade into love and kisses. Where a silvery moon rides high in a velvet sky – forever.

It was Arthur’s misfortune to place too much trust in a world where the songs don’t always come true. We live our real lives well and truly on this side of the rainbow. But some part of us, like Arthur, refuses to be earthbound. We put on the music. Our feet tap. Our fingers click. The smiles come. Our hearts lift…

And for a while, the songs come true. Pennies turn once again from small change that buys next to nothing into glistening little dreams that freshen up our oldest and deepest yearnings. Listen to them tinkle and chink!

“PENNIES FROM HEAVEN”, in fact. Little coins which fill a pocketful of dreams. The one place where, as Arthur insists,
«The songs are for real».
Dennis Potter, author of “PENNIES FROM HEAVEN”

A long time ago
A million years BC
The best things in life
Were absolutely free
But no one appreciated
A sky that was always blue
And no one congratulated
A moon that was always new
So it was planned that
they would vanish now and then
And you must pay
before you get them back again
That's what storms were made for
And you shouldn't be afraid for
Every time it rains it rains
Pennies from heaven
Don't you know each cloud contains
Pennies from heaven
You'll find yor fortune falling
All over town
Be sure that your umbrella
is upside down
Trade them for a package
of sunshine and flowers
If you want the things you love
You must have showers
So when you hear it thunder
Don't run under a tree
There'll be pennies from heaven
for you and me

ART GARFUNKEL: "Scissors Cut"

Original released on LP Columbia FC 37392

(US, April 1981)

After the disappointment of "Fate for Breakfast", Art Garfunkel returned to old friends for his fifth solo album, co-producing with Roy Halee, who had worked with Simon & Garfunkel and on Garfunkel's debut album, "Angel Clare", and singing several songs written by Jimmy Webb, who had written nearly all the songs on Garfunkel's third album, "Watermark". But though "Scissors Cut" came closer to the sound of a good Garfunkel album, material remained a problem. "A Heart in New York," the LP's sole American chart single, was second-rate, as were many of the other compositions, Garfunkel scored a surprise number one hit in Great Britain with the Mike Batt-written and produced "Bright Eyes," the theme from the movie "Watership Down", but that wasn't enough to make the album on the whole a success, Garfunkel then re-teamed with Paul Simon for a world concert tour, and it was five years before he was back in record stores with the seasonal release "The Animals' Christmas" and nearly seven years before his next regular solo album, "Lefty". (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

MEN AT WORK: "Business As Usual"

Original released on LP CBS SBP 237700

(AUSTRALIA 1981, November 9)

"Business as Usual" became a surprise international hit on the basis of "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under," two excellent singles that merged straight-ahead pop/rock hooks with a quirky new wave production and an offbeat sense of humor. Colin Hay's keening vocals uncannily recall Sting, and the band's rhythmic pulse and phased guitars also bring to mind a bar band version of the Police. And that helps make the remainder of "Business as Usual" enjoyable. There's a fair amount of filler on the record, but "Be Good Johnny," "I Can See It in Your Eyes," and "Down by the Sea" are all fine new wave pop songs, making "Business as Usual" one of the more enjoyable mainstream-oriented efforts of the era. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)