ivan lins: a noite

album rating: ★★★★☆

Genre

MPB and jazz-pop. A Noite draws on samba, choro, and Brazilian folk alongside the jazz-inflected pop that defines the EMI period, with harmonica contributions from Mauricio Einhorn adding a distinctive tonal colour to several songs.

Release

Released in 1979 by Odeon/EMI Brasil, on a gatefold LP with a cardboard inner sleeve containing lyrics and credits. It was Ivan Lins's seventh studio album.

Production

Produced by Mariozinho Rocha, with Eduardo Souto Neto as artistic producer. All arrangements and conducting by Gilson Peranzzetta, who also played electric piano, accordion, and piano throughout. Ivan Lins contributed piano, acoustic guitar, clarinet, and lead vocals. 

Reception

A Noite was warmly received as a continuation and consolidation of the artistic direction established with Somos Todos Iguais Nesta Noite (1977). AllMusic praised the EMI years as Lins's most commercially and artistically productive period. The album was reissued multiple times and remains a favourite among collectors of 1970s Brazilian music.

Ivan Lins

Ivan Guimarães Lins (born June 16, 1945, Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian singer, pianist, and songwriter, the most covered Brazilian artist abroad and one of the most internationally influential composers in the history of MPB. A self-taught pianist and chemical engineering graduate, he had his first hit with "Madalena," recorded by Elis Regina in 1970. His distinctive harmonic language — at once refined and accessible, shaped by jazz, bossa nova, and samba — earned him a global following spanning jazz and pop. Among the artists who have covered his songs are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Sting, the Manhattan Transfer, Patti Austin, and Barbra Streisand. His album "Dinorah, Dinorah," from Somos Todos Iguais Nesta Noite, won a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Arrangement in 1981 as recorded by George Benson; "Velas" won the same prize in 1982 as recorded by Quincy Jones; and in 2004 Sting won the Grammy for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance with Lins's "She Walks This Earth." His Cantando Histórias (2005) made him the first Brazilian artist to win the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year. He divides his time between Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon.

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começar de novo

the manhattan transfer: extensions

 

album rating: ★★★★☆

Genre

Vocal jazz, jazz fusion, and pop. Extensions marked a pivotal turn in the group's history, embracing jazz fusion and the technique of vocalese — in which lyrics are set to pre-existing instrumental jazz solos — with the guidance of vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks, who wrote the words for "Birdland." 

Release

Released on October 31, 1979, by Atlantic Records. It was the group's fifth studio album and the first to feature Cheryl Bentyne, who had replaced Laurel Massé following a serious car accident in early 1979. The album was dedicated to jazz vocalist Eddie Jefferson (1919–1979), the originator of vocalese, who had been murdered shortly before its release.

Production

Produced by Jay Graydon. Arrangements were shared among Graydon, David Foster, Greg Mathieson, Michael Omartian, Phil Mattson, Gene Puerling, and Clare Fischer. Session musicians included the core of what would become Toto. Basic tracks were recorded at Dawnbreaker Studios, San Fernando, California; overdubs and mixing at Garden Rake Studios, Studio City, California; mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Studios, Hollywood. Costume design was by Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Reception

The album reached number 55 on the Billboard Top LP's chart. "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone" reached number 30 on the Hot 100 and number 12 on the Disco chart. "Birdland" — the group's cover of Joe Zawinul's Weather Report composition, with lyrics by Jon Hendricks and vocal arrangement by Janis Siegel — became the most played jazz record of 1980 and won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance and the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices, both in 1981.

The Manhattan Transfer

The Manhattan Transfer were an American vocal group formed in New York City on October 1, 1972, by founder Tim Hauser (1941–2014), who assembled the classic lineup with Janis Siegel, Alan Paul, and Laurel Massé — later replaced by Cheryl Bentyne. The group signed to Atlantic Records in 1974 and built a unique career straddling jazz, pop, swing, R&B, and vocalese. In 1981 they became the first group in history to win Grammy Awards in both the pop and jazz categories in the same year. Their 1985 album Vocalese received twelve Grammy nominations — the most ever for a single album at the time. Over their career they accumulated ten Grammy Awards from twenty nominations and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. 

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birdland

twilight zone/twilight tone

alan sorrenti: l.a. & n.y.

album rating: ★★★★☆

Genre

Italo-disco and pop. Divided structurally into two halves — an L.A. Side and a N.Y. Side — the album reflects the two production teams and cities involved in its creation. The L.A. Side draws on the polished, melodic West Coast AOR sound; the N.Y. Side is more disco-oriented, with lush string writing and a fuller orchestral palette.

Release

Released on June 1, 1979, by EMI Italiana in Italy and Decca Records internationally. The cover design was by Cesare Zucca; outfits were by Gianni Versace.

Production

The L.A. Side was produced, engineered, and arranged by Jay Graydon. The N.Y. Side was produced and arranged by Brad Baker and Lance Quinn, with executive production by Robert Drake. Mastered at Masterdisk, New York City.

Reception

The lead single "Tu sei l'unica donna per me" reached number one in Italy and Switzerland, number two in Austria and Belgium, and number thirteen in West Germany — becoming the best-selling Italian single of 1979. It won the Festivalbar that year and has since been covered in multiple languages. The album's success propelled Sorrenti to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with "Non so che darei," with which he finished sixth but scored one of that year's highest post-contest sales in continental Europe and Scandinavia.

Alan Sorrenti

Alan Sorrenti (born December 9, 1950, Naples, Italy) is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer. Born to an Italian father and a Welsh mother, he spent much of his childhood in Aberystwyth, Wales, becoming fluent in both Italian and English — an asset that shaped his bilingual performing career. He launched his recording career in 1972 with the progressive rock album Aria on Harvest Records, praised for its avant-garde style and collaboration with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty; it was later ranked among the hundred greatest Italian albums of all time by Rolling Stone Italia. A second progressive album followed in 1973 before he pivoted toward commercial pop and disco with Figli delle Stelle (1977) - a Festivalbar winner - and L.A. & N.Y. (1979). 

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tu sei l'unica donna per me

off-album tracks

ships

from the album one voice

bobby womack: roads of life

album rating: ★★★★★

Genre

Soul and quiet storm, with disco and R&B influences. The album navigates between mid-tempo groove-driven tracks, churchy ballads, and disco-inflected numbers, representing a deliberate stylistic update from the Muscle Shoals-rooted Southern soul toward the polished, Los Angeles-flavoured sound then reshaping black popular music.

Release

Released in 1979 by Arista Records. 

Production

Produced by Bobby Womack and Patrick Moten — the Los Angeles-based keyboard player and producer who would go on to helm Womack's celebrated comeback album The Poet (1981). The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section, anchored by Barry Beckett on keyboards and Reggie Young on guitar, contributed to the sessions alongside Womack's brother Cecil. Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios on the River, Sheffield, Alabama, and Magic Wand Studios (Paramount), Los Angeles; mastered at Masterfonics, Nashville. The album was dedicated to Womack's infant son Truth, who died at four months old in June 1978.

Reception

Roads of Life reached number 55 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. Dismissed at the time by some critics as overly disco-tinged, it has been substantially reassessed since its CD reissue. Soul and Jazz and Funk described it as an overlooked masterpiece in the Womack canon, singling out "How Could You Break My Heart" as an all-time classic — a view confirmed when the track received a belated UK 12-inch release in 1987 following listener demand.

Bobby Womack

Bobby Womack (March 4, 1944, Cleveland, Ohio – June 27, 2014) was an American soul singer, songwriter, and guitarist who began his career performing gospel with his brothers before being mentored by Sam Cooke, under whose influence the group transformed into the R&B act the Valentinos. Their 1964 song "It's All Over Now" became the Rolling Stones' first UK number one. His most celebrated solo run spans Communication (1971) through Facts of Life (1973), and he scored the blaxploitation film Across 110th Street (1972). He also played guitar for Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, and Sly Stone. His commercial revival came with The Poet (1981). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

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how could you break my heart?

give it up

i honestly love you

roberto carlos [1979]

album rating: ★★★★★

Genre

Latin pop and romantic ballad. The album follows the format Carlos had refined throughout the 1970s: an annual December release combining original compositions with cover versions.

Release

Released in December 1979 by CBS Records, in both Portuguese and Spanish-language versions. Known popularly as Meu Querido, Meu Velho, Meu Amigo, after the album's most celebrated track.

Production

Produced by Roberto Carlos. The majority of the compositions were written or co-written by Roberto Carlos and Erasmo Carlos, his longtime creative partner. Recorded at CBS Studios, New York City; Filmways/Heider Studios, Los Angeles; and A&M Studios, Los Angeles.

Reception

The album sold approximately 200,000 copies in Brazil — a strong figure for the period — and performed well across Latin America. The track "Meu Querido, Meu Velho, Meu Amigo," co-written by Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos as a tribute to old friendship, became one of the most beloved songs in the Brazilian popular music canon, recorded by dozens of artists and adopted as an anthem for Father's Day across the Portuguese-speaking world. 

Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos Braga (born April 19, 1941, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, Brazil) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist widely known as "O Rei" — The King — regarded as one of the most successful Latin music artists of all time. He rose to prominence in the 1960s as a leader of the Jovem Guarda movement alongside Erasmo Carlos and Wanderléa, transforming Brazilian pop with a rock and roll-derived sound. From the late 1960s onward he evolved into a romantic balladeer of pan-Latin reach, releasing an album every December from 1967 to 1996 without interruption. He has sold over 120 million records worldwide, accumulated over 100 gold and platinum discs, and placed three songs at number one on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks. His accolades include a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance for Roberto Carlos 1988, the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2004), the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award (2015), and the title of Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year (2015). His 1965 and 1971 self-titled albums are both inductees of the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame.

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me conte a sua história

desabafo

desahogo

desabafo, spanish version

meu querido, meu velho, meu amigo

off-album track

ma quale idea

from single

faíscas do xiabre: in memoriam

album rating: ★★★★☆

Genre

Galician traditional music. The album presents a programme of traditional Galician pieces - foliadas, muiñeiras, alalás, and jotas - played on "gaita" (galician bagpipe) and frame drum. It documented recordings of the traditional music of the Salnés and Ulla valleys.

Release

Released in 1979 by Guimbarda, the Spanish independent label that during the late 1970s published some of the most significant recordings of the Galician, Basque, and Catalan folk revivals. It was the group's first and only album. Guest musicians Antón Seoane and Rodrigo Romaní - who would shortly become founding members of Milladoiro - contributed to the sessions.

Production

Self-produced by Faíscas do Xiabre.

Reception

"In Memoriam" is considered a beautiful and important document of Galician traditional music from the period of the Galician folk revival of the late 1970s. The album's title reflects its commemorative spirit towards a repertoire of traditional music then at risk of disappearing. Is regarded as a foundational document of the Galician folk revival, valued for its ethnographic significance: a direct, unmediated recording of living "gaiteiro" tradition at a pivotal moment in Galicia's cultural reawakening. Its importance lies in its cultural and historical significance. It remains a collector's item, treasured by enthusiasts of Galician traditional music.Its  four members - Nando Casal, Moncho García Rei, and Xosé Vicente Ferreirós - went on to become permanent founding members of Milladoiro.

Faíscas do Xiabre

Faíscas do Xiabre was a quartet of traditional Galician music formed at the beginning of the 1970s in Catoira, active until 1979. Their core members - Xosé V. Ferreirós (gaita, bagpipes), Fernando 'Nando' Casal and Ramón García Rei 'Moncho' - spent years touring Galicia playing at fiestas and traditional festivals, always in close contact with the old "gaiteiros" (bagpipers) who were heirs to the living tradition: Os Campaneiros, Os Irmáns Graceiras, Os Areeiras and Os Rosales.The group took their name from the Serra do Xiabre, the mountain range overlooking the Arousa estuary near Catoira. At the beginning of 1979 they published their first and only album, for which they had the collaboration of Antón Seoane and Rodrigo Romaní, just before three of their members joined those two musicians to create the folk group Milladoiro. The three who did - Ferreirós, Casal, and García Rei - are the only musicians who have remained in Milladoiro from its founding on 15 May 1979 to the present day.

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foliada de luxán

lucio dalla [1979]

album rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: Canzone d'autore / Italian pop / soft rock. The self-titled album of 1979 marks the high point of what is widely considered the most creative period in the career of Lucio Dalla (Bologna, 1943 – Montreux, 2012), Italy's most idiosyncratic and beloved singer-songwriter of the second half of the twentieth century. It was the second album for which Dalla wrote both words and music himself — a decisive step taken after the end of his celebrated creative partnership with poet Roberto Roversi. The album contains several of his most enduring songs: the anthemic new year meditation 'L'anno che verrà', the intimate character portrait 'Anna e Marco', the atmospheric 'Milano', the melancholic 'Stella di mare' and the duet 'Cosa sarà', written with singer-songwriter Ron. Dalla's vocal style — at once warm, rough, operatic and conversational — and his capacity to blend experimental impulses with broad popular accessibility are both at their peak here. The album is accompanied by minimal but thoughtful orchestration, with synthesizers, pedal steel guitar and a small ensemble.

Label: RCA Italiana (Italy), released February 1979.

Producer: Alessandro Colombini. Mixed by Alessandro Colombini and engineer Ezio De Rosa.

Recording studio: Not individually specified in publicly available sources; recorded in Italy.

Critical reception: Lucio Dalla is consistently regarded as Dalla's masterpiece and one of the greatest Italian albums ever recorded. Rate Your Music rates it among the best albums of 1979 worldwide. Discogs reviewers have called it 'a masterpiece, the best of Lucio Dalla and one of the most beautiful Italian albums of all time, one of those albums everyone should hear at least once.' AllMusic considers it among his finest works. 'L'anno che verrà' has become one of the most beloved Italian popular songs of the twentieth century.

Commercial success: The album was a massive commercial success in Italy, where 'L'anno che verrà' became an enormous hit. It represented the commercial confirmation of Dalla's popularity and is one of the best-selling Italian albums of its era. It has been consistently reissued and remastered, most recently in a 2019 anniversary edition.

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