Reviews
Seu Jorge
Cru
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Have you seen The Life Aquatic? If you have, you certainly will remember Seu Jorge's role in that movie. He was the guy on the ship who basically only had the function to sing classic songs like Life On Mars, Starman, Rebel Rebel, etc. He did these covers acoustically, in his native tongue of Portugese. For many this was the highlight of the movie. I honestly think the soundtrack might have sold more and been better received than the movie itself. Seu Jorge has an outstanding voice, and as soon as I heard of this album I was desperate to hear it. However, it took a few months before I was able to get my hands on it. What does one expect from an artist who is most famous for Bowie covers on the soundtrack to a Wes Anderson film? I didn't really know. "Cru" as you might surmise goes a lot further than Bowie covers, and yet manages to still encompass what made so many people fall in love with his music from the movie in the first place. Whether it is a chill, tranquill samba like "Tive Razao (It Was Right)", or whether it is the more visceral "Chatterton" which finds Seu Jorge sounding like an entirely different more intense artist "Cru" excels and might be my surprise album of the year.
The vast majority of the album is in Portugese, which might be a stumbling block for some although let me tell you I never even thought twice about it personally. Jorge can sing in english as well, and does so beautifully on "Don't", but I almost prefer that he sings in Portugese even though I don't have a clue what he is saying it just sounds right. I have no other albums that I can directly compare it, albeit I am sure they exist I just haven't heard this style of music before. Let's just say if you were to put this album on next time you had your girl come over, and let it go, that it would probably be advantageous;) To the songs.
The album opens with some festive guitar, and Seu Jorge just going "oh-yo-yo" a few times. It is nearly impossible to not get a groove going on listening to this opening. I really like starting with "Tive Razao", because Jorge knew most of his new listeners would have been brought in by A Life Aquatic and this song is very true to the form he showed in that movie eventhough it is an original. I am completely oblivious to what Jorge is saying and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. He just has such great energy, and this is just music that makes your soul feel good. You can't feel down hearing this.
"Chatterton" is a cover of someone I don't know name Serge Gainsbourg. This song has heavy synth, big bass, and some high pitched squeaking sound effect I can't quite place. It might be my favourite, partly because it stands out as so different from the remainder of the alum. Jorge snarls through his lyrics here, sounding almost carnal compared to the other tracks. Against the frantic sounding, wild background it is really an amusing listen. I wish I knew what he was saying a bit just because I imagine the lyrics are rather intense. Jorge even keeps the coughing that transpires from him mutating his voice so much in the track which is a neat touch. This would be the first time I put something non English on my best of 2005 comp, and this track has a good chance of getting that title.
The only straight English track here is a cover of Elvis Presley's "Don't". It is easy to pick up in the style of the song that it is an Elvis, but Jorge manages makes it his own. Taking the guitar and the background and completely removing Elvis's trademarks and replacing it with his own ideas. But vocally, Jorge delivers in a style that has a subtle familiarty to Elvis himself. But and sure this is blasphemous I prefer the song in this context. Elvis was just a bit of a ham to me, please forgive me for bashing a legend but that is my opinion. One thing you'll notice about Jorge not singing in his native tongue is that everything sounds more fragile. As in he sounds a bit vulnerable and less confident in himself than he does in the Portugese songs. I am fairly sure he is aware of this and that is part of what makes this cover work as well as it does.
I feel a touch bumbling trying to explain why I love this album so much. So i'll only do one last song, "Bem Querer". If this reviews fails in explaining the sound, then send me a message on the forums and i'll send you some songs if you can't find it yourself. This song is more the type I could see people dancing too, opening with some heavy bass, some moraccas, handclaps, and a little bit of electric guitar. The backdrop is a complex mix yet it never tries to take away from the vocals. Jorge is a very accomplished showman. I heard him compared to Nick Drake in the pitchfork review and while that is a stretch to imagine I could see it. Basically, the comparison is a compliment to the type of talented performer Jorge is. The beginning of the song is a bit of a trick however, you might dance to this but it would be slow intimate dancing if you did. It almost has a lounge quality to it at times and surprisingly I mean that in a good way.
I'm not sure I made the case I wanted to make to hear "Cru". The language barrier, and relative in experience with this style of music leaves me a bit short of words. What I can say is that Seu Jorge has one of the most spectacular voices in the music world, his ability to excel in multiples styles, and the freshness of hearing this type of world music using new instruments and sounds I don't normally come across are all part of the reason why "Cru" was my surprise album of the year. Now if you are a hard rock guy this isn't going to be for you. So if you have a really open mind to music, and want to try something out that you won't find yourself just trying to compare to things you've heard before check out "Fru". I know I am glad I did.
Songs to download: "Tive Razao", "Mania De Peitao", "Chatterton", "Bem Querer", "Don't", "Una Mujer"
Score: 8.95
I worry that perhaps his lyrics are horrible and I am scoring somethign this high that has him talking about his johnson the entire time. But I am just going to have to take that leap of faith that he isn't.
- Dan