Here
Nascimento strips his normally expansive resources way down and basically uses just his own voice and guitar,
Herbie Hancock's acoustic piano and synthesized bass, and
Naná Vasconcelos' percussion, with occasional self-overdubs and choral interjections. For strict jazz fans, then, this release has an unusually high quota of interest;
Hancock -- who is in inspired, affectionate form throughout -- gets lots of solo space, and we hear more of
Nascimento's own driving, idiosyncratic guitar than usual. The songs, in collaboration with
Nascimento's perennial lyricist
Fernando Brant and others, overflow with
Nascimento's unquenchable life force, having never abandoned the peace-and-love core of the '60s. For openers,
Nascimento delivers a touching note to actor
River Phoenix well before the latter's tragically early death. There is also an hypnotic, revolving, vocalese version of "La Bamba," and he revisits earlier tunes like "San Vicente" and "Sock Ball, Marbles." This is unusually intimate
Nascimento, but no less full and rich in impact. ~ Richard S. Ginell