From Library Journal
Two new books on popular music present contrasting approaches to the diverse world of Hispanic music. Aparicio's (Spanish and American culture, Univ. of Michigan) work, aimed at an academic audience, deals with salsa and Puerto Rican culture in a feminist context. McGowan, targeting a general audience, presents a comprehensive history of popular music in Brazil. Aparicio analyzes salsa, boleros, and other popular musical forms in terms of cultural issues (race, gender, class), drawing on her own experiences, and those of typical listeners, to explore these issues. Readers may find their views on salsa altered by reading this book. A recommended choice for academic Hispanic studies collections and for music collections with a strong Hispanic emphasis. McGowan and Pessanha here update their original edition (Billboard Bks., 1991), bringing their extensive experience writing on Brazilian popular music for Billboard and other magazines to this extensive survey covering local jazz and rock as well as better-known forms. The accessible writing style and lavish use of illustrations help achieve the authors' goal of inspiring interest in this music. Updates cover recent music and musicians, provide more social analysis, and expand the discography to 1000 titles, adding much to the original edition. The best work on the topic, this is recommended for both academic and public library music collections.?James E. Ross, WLN, Seattle
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Review
"Well informed, written in plain language and smartly illustrated, The Brazilian Sound quickly became a reference book after it was published in 1991. With the recent publication of a revised and expanded edition, the good just got better...The Brazilian Sound is an informative primer, clearly designed to be useful to the curious beginner, but also substantive enough to capture and hold the attention of the initiated. This new edition retains the easy-to-read quality of the original while adding not only new artists throughout but also historical and social context to the music.... For anyone interested in exploring the vast world of Brazilian music, The Brazilian Sound will serve nicely as a smart and practical road map." --Jazziz, February 2009
"An excellent resource on some of the most popular music in Brazil.... Clearly written and offering information valuable for understanding Brazilian music in general.... Anyone interested in the evolution of Brazilian popular music and some of its most prolific artists of the past centuries will appreciate this title. Summing Up: Highly recommended." --Choice, June 2009
“[T]his book has been revised and expanded again to be bigger and better than the previous highly praised incarnations. Ten years on, the music is still evolving, with many new artists and hybridizations, and McGowan and Pessanha are certainly keeping up with the changes. Their book features new coverage of funk, rap, and hip-hop and profiles new samba artists as well as artists on the rise in electronic dance music and other genres. Now that the Internet has made it easier to find and explore once-exotic musical genres, people looking for information about all the kinds of music in Brazil will love this book. Lavishly illustrated with 175 black-and-white photos, 12 maps, and 12 figures, it covers the remarkable breadth of Brazilian music in a highly readable, lively manner. Highly recommended for all public libraries and world music collections, even those owning an earlier edition."
— Library Journal