That's a young mug shot of Chico Buarque on the cover, but the album's a later effort from the 90s – and one that really holds us rapt with the brilliance of Chico's mature songwriting and performance! The record's part of that ever-growing legacy that may well make Buarque one of the consistently strongest talents to emerge from Brazil in the 60s – material that holds onto everything that made him great at the start, but which also sounds quite different than that period, too – in a way that a rare few (maybe even just Caetano Veloso) can pull off this well. Chico grabs us beautifully with every word he sings, and the arrangements have the same understated brilliance of his performance – on titles that include "Paratodos", "Romance", "Outra Noite", "Sobre Todas As Coisas", "Tempo E Artista", "A Foto Da Capa", and "Piano Na Mangueira". Amazing package, too – comes in a hardcover book-style jacket, with a bonus 45 page book that also includes full color images, with lots of vintage photos, plus notes on the record in Portuguese! The whole thing's sort of an update of the old Abril Cultural style of the 70s – brought into the CD generation. CD

A Christmas album from Ivan Lins – done in a warmly soulful style that's still very much in the best traditions of his music. The album was produced and arranged by Nelson Ayres, who's working in the same territory as Gilson Perenzatta on earlier records – but perhaps in a style that has a slightly more modern finish. Ivan's vocals are still as lovely as ever, as are the moods of his songs – and titles include "Noite Feliz", "Festas", "O De Casa", "Natal De Criancas", "Adeste Fideles", and "Um Natal Brasileiro". CD

A great one from Brazilian soul singer Tim Maia – an album that's sung almost entirely in English, and which shows Maia really maturing into one hell of an international star! The set's got some great mellow grooves – tracks that would be right at home in the New Jersey scene of the early 70s – especially given their laidback execution, and honest, heartfelt lyrics – as well as the relatively spare, stripped-down instrumentation – which really leaves a lot of room for Tim's great vocals! Guitar is used wonderfully – in that spare-tripping style you'd find on obscure harmony soul singles of a few years before – and titles include "To Fall In Love", "With No One Else Around", "To Fall In Love", "I Love You Girl", "Let's Have A Ball Tonight", and "Day By Day". Amazing package, too – comes in a hardcover book-style jacket, with a bonus 45 page book that also includes full color images, with lots of vintage photos, plus notes on the record in Portuguese! The whole thing's sort of an update of the old Abril Cultural style of the 70s – brought into the CD generation. CD