Bom Tempo Brasil (Remixed)

Album Review

Proof positive that both Concord and Sergio Mendes are swinging for the fences on Bom Tempo is this collection of remixes; it was released simultaneously with the album. The roster of producers includes Paul Oakenfold (whose thumping rework of "Maracatu Atomico" starts things off with a bang), Chuckie, Cutmore, Nicola Conte, Paul Harris, Moto Blanco, Bimbo Jones, and Roger Sanchez, among others. These range all over the place musically and sonically. The tunes were chosen either off the album or were songs Mendes recorded at some point in his career. Some of the standouts on this 12-track, nearly hourlong set include Conte's "Só Tinha de Ser com Você" with the inimitable Gracinha Leporace on vocals; the Afro-electro remake of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Waters of March" with Zap Mama singing in French; the four-on-the-floor, horns-in-your-face take on Stevie Wonder's "The Real Thing" (the lone cover on Bom Tempo) by the Bimbo Jones duo; a fist-pumping, anthemic "Emorio" by Oakenfold; and the futuristic electro and hip-hop on "Mas Que Nada" by the NERVO sisters. Where Bom Tempo sought to reach mainstream listeners in droves, this remix set is is aimed straight at club audiences.