Song of the Week: Take It Easy, My Brother Charles
Jorge Ben
Take It Easy, My Brother Charles
If there is a compilation to get you in the summer mood (lets be optimistic here) then it’s this splendid Soul Jazz Tropicalia album from a few years back.
Obviously, I could have selected anything on here from Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, Gal Costa, Caetano Velosa et.al. but I’ve chosen Jorge Ben’s contribution – simply because I’ve been pathetically amused by the stuffiness of the title (‘Charles’) versus the informality of the actual song lyrics (always ‘Charlie’) since I first heard it. Yes I know, small things for small minds…
‘Take It Easy, My Brother Charles’, Jorge Ben, 1969 from Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound, Soul Jazz, 2005
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Tags: song of the week
May 8th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I’ve got this album. I love it. I love Tropicalia. Os Mutantes are a particular favourite. Brazil in the 60s – like a dream.
May 8th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I love all this stuff there’s some great Blue Note comps from the same era
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Brazil-Vol-2-Latin-Groove/dp/B00000B81N/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1241778414&sr=8-2
Vol 2 is probably better than Vol 1 and worth it just for the latin version of Also Sprach Zarathustra
May 8th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I’ve got a couple of the Blue Note albums from that series, PM, and they are all very good. Don’t have the Latin ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ though – clearly a problem that I’m going to have to address.
May 8th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Wow, that was GRAND.
May 11th, 2009 at 3:39 am
I love that! It definitely puts me in the right mood. I hope you’ve had a graet weekend. Cheers!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Glad you both liked it. I do recommend checking out more music from the ‘Tropicalia movement’ if you haven’t already done so. It’s perfect cheery summer music.