Customer Reviews

Prelude 40th Edition

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Good music by a great artist, using a unique style. Easy listening music that anyone would enjoy - I have admired him for years.

From note-one to note-last, this is a masterpiece. It can be headphone music, background music, party music, dinner music or sexy time music - it fits all moments. If you are coming here from a background of Electronica, Ambient, Trip-hop - you'll get this. Think - Moon Safari, think - Simple Things, but made with a Bosa Nova sexy, instrumental and zero electronics. It is a fantastic record! And though, "Also Sprach Zarathurstra" will always be the defining track here - the rest of the album is equally groove-tastic. This is a lousy review I'm writing - but it is my sincere hope that if you're afraid of the words Jazz, Instrumental, Fusion or Bosa Nova - that you might brave your way to giving this a listen, I have a feeling - you'll be glad you did.

Some magic from Brazilia. Deodato is an excellent arranger. I have nearly all his work on LP or CD. This is one of his best work. Also Sprach... and Baubles, bangles and beads are marvelous. Close your eyes, grab a liquer and up to Copacabana!

The music reminds me of background soundtrack from our local 70s tv shows, never figured out who made it until i listened to this disc. im more into jazz-rock-fusion but this album didnt disappoint me. keep listening to it and youll keep on discovering new sounds. ESSENTIAL truly.

Most Americans had never heard of Eumir Deodato when he burst on the scene in 1972 with his smashing American debut, Prelude.
OK, his take on Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra got the airplay, and it is an excellent interpretation, but there is a wealth of other good tunes to be heard on Prelude, too.
I like the Spirit Of Summer as well as Carly and Carole which had both been previously released in Brazil with different arrangements. The keyboard work on the latter is stunning.
I also like Baubles, Bangles, and Beads in the full version that features the soaring guitar of John Tropea in the interlude. I actually heard a truncated Muzak version once in an elevator that cuts the heart from the song. If you've heard only that one, you are missing out.
I'm not quite so fond of Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun as are some other reviewers, but I do find that the driving keyboard and blaring horns on September 13 give Prelude a strong closing statement.
There seems to be a strong unanimity among the reviewers as to the quality of the CD, so anyone who is new to the music of Deodato can order this with the confidence that he/she is bound to enjoy it. Its a pity that there are no bonus tracks, but Prelude still gets my strongest recommendation.

si eres amante del jazz, y tienes tus oidos bien pulidos para escuchar diferentes rangos y grandes niveles musicales, ve a la tienda mas cercana de discos y adquierelo, (si lo encuentras en vinyl, y claro, bien cuidado, no dudes en comprarlo) te vas a sorprender con los grandes musicos que colaboran en este disco.

It appears that the reviewers of this album disagree primarily on the issue of which cut is best. I'll put my bet on Prelude To The Afternoon of a Faun although I understand why several chose Also Sprach Zarathrustra. The latter is in may ways more inventive especially in its rhythm but the former has the most emotional punch. What is most fascinating is the Deodato's arrangement in both cases sounds as if it could have been the original.

This is jazz with a Brazilan sense that makes "high art" music accessible to those who would never be caught in an orchestra's concert hall.

It appears that the reviewers of this album disagree primarily on the issue of which cut is best. I'll put my bet on Prelude To The Afternoon of a Faun although I understand why serveral chose Also Sprach Zarathrustra. The latter is in may ways more inventive but the former has the most emotional punch. What is most fascinating is the Deodato's arrangement in both cases sounds as if it could have been the original.

This is jazz with a Brazilan sense that makes "high art" music accessible to those who would never be caught in an orchestra's concert hall.

Brazilian jazz keyboardist Eumir Deodato scored one of the great success stories of 70's instrumental rock with this 1972 album that combines the classical orchestral flourishes with jazz and rock. His lush arrangement of Debussy's "Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun" is quite top-notch, as are his own trio of originals ("Spirit Of Summer"; "Carly And Carole", "September 13") and the Wright/Forrest "Baubles, Bangles, And Beads" (based on themes of Alexander Borodin.

Of course, the big track on the CD is his nine-minute adaptation of Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra", the work that became internationally famous in its original classical form in 1968, when director Stanley Kubrick used it in his sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Using the famous "Dawn" sequence, with its brass fanfare, and then using it to weave a set of jazz-rock permutations, Deodato comes up with one of the great rock instrumentals of all times. It also won him a much-deserved Grammy in 1973 for Best Pop Instrumental, and hit #2 on the American singles chart (#7 in England) in an abridged version.

A very worthy album PRELUDE is. Take a listen.

One of my early exposures to music from Brazil was a jazz musician named Eumir Deodato. Someone recommended that I pick up "Prelude". Trusting this friends advice, I quickly ran out to the store to buy this album. This is a rare album that I have owned on record, cassette and CD at different times.

The highlight of this disc is the opening rendition of Strausss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra". This is the funkiest rendition of classical music I have ever heard. They rock through the number.

This all-star line up features luminaries such as Stanley Clarke, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Ray Barretto and Airto Moreira among others. This is some classic material.

They also cover the "Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" from the Broadway show Kismet. There are also three original compositions. The first track is the deepest on this album. It remains one of my all-time favorite tracks. The rest of the album is good but not quite up to this level.

"Prelude" is an album at once excessive and tacky. It is overindulgent but artistically valid. The music was recorded in 1972 and yet nearly three decades later. It's a time piece that still rings true.