76. Astrud Gilberto — Beach Samba (1967)

That’s no beach!

1. Some truly poor editing in this entry in the 1001. The book beckons: “Who can resist an album that opens with ‘Stay…and we’ll make sex with music,’ Astrud Gilbert’s invitation on the opening track of [this album]?” Except that’s totally not the lyric…it’s “Stay, and we’ll make such sweet music.” C’mon now, editors + critics. Get it together.
2. That said, I do find it hard to resist this album. Allmusic’s review considers it a lesser of her 60’s output, but as I’m unlikely to get more Gilberto in this list, I’m happy to have what I have. Astrud Gilberto’s voice (which we’ve already heard in “Girl from Ipanema”) is soft, soothing, playful, ethereal. These tunes are all laid back beach bossa nova that anybody would enjoy throwing on in the background of a sunny summer day. This is happy stuff.
3. Gilberto’s got a distinct voice that does what it does well very well, but doesn’t offer a ton; not much in the way of range or dynamism. As such, the album kind of blends together, but I prefer to think of it more like a swirling dreamlike experience. “Stay” is a fantastic opening track; “Beach Samba” is a wordless delight; “Canoeiro” rolls the Portguese lyrics into a snaking rhythm. A real standout is “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice,” a duet with her then-six-year-old son. It’s a very pleasant album! It didn’t have to be so nice.

One Essential Song:

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