Review Summary: Non-English album you should hear
Until last week my interest in exploring music written in a language other than English was rather limited. I have got to say I quite enjoy understanding the message an artist tries to convey in their songs. That changed once I’ve heard Jorge Ben where the music and the mere sound of the words was enough for me to be sold. The timing of my first listen to A Tabua de Emseralda could not have been better. The album has a very summery and warm feeling, something I am apparently unable to experience come end of June in the UK, meaning that this record might be the closest glimpse of summer I get this year.
So just to give you very short background, Jorge Ben is a Brazilian folk singer and a guitarist that has been primarily active in the 1960s and 1970s.
But now onto the music itself.
One of the first things that hits you after hearing the opening track is how rhythmic and melodic Jorge Ben’s guitar playing is. The rhythm and the groove in his play is something you don’t really hear from European and American musicians. One way of describing it is rock drenched in samba. This style of playing is present throughout the whole album, all topped with incredibly catchy vocals. The verses and choruses are memorable even for someone who doesn’t speak Portuguese. Jorge Ben’s catchiest hooks are very simple yet can be very refreshing for someone who is primarily used to hearing music in English.
The overall sound of the album can be described as, simply put – organic. This is very evident in one of the highlights of the album, Errare Humanum Est. Jorge Ben’s passionate singing coupled with soft female backing vocals and almost indigenous-like sounding music behind them gives the song a truly genuine and soothing vibe. The magic of the album is primarily created by Jorge Ben’s vocals and his guitar. Occasionally, however, we do hear synths and strings like on the track Zumbi where the latter emphasize the group-sung chorus and give the song slightly more of a band sound compared to a lot of other tracks which feel more individual oriented. That is not to say that Jorge Ben’s more solo sounding tracks are not impressive. Instead, the diversity in this aspect only adds to the overall quality of the album.
Perhaps the weakest moment of this record is Brother which is the only song sung in English. The track contains a series of repetitive verses and choruses in which Jorge Ben re-emphasizes the line “Jesus Christ is my lord”. The music and the overall melody of the song is up to par with the other tracks on the album, however, the lyrics can get repetitive after a few listens.
All in all, A Tabua de Esmeralda is a very pleasant and uplifting listen. It is an album which is bound to make you feel better, whether you were feeling down or were already having a great day. It doesn’t matter, it works anytime. I don’t know much about Brazil but if the sound of this album is of any indication of how life might be there then one thing is for sure – I have to visit one day.
