A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness

Album Review

This record has always been a bit of a disappointment, not because it isn't good but because given the personnel involved it isn't better than it actually is — it's sort of the bossa nova equivalent of those various Chess Records "super-blues" mega-sessions between Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and whoever else on the roster was still standing in 1967-1968; or perhaps more accurately, the W.C. Fields/Mae West co-starring Western satire My Little Chickadee, in that the two masters of the double-entendre seldom seem to interact and, when they do, disappoint, even though the movie is fun. There are some places where Astrud Gilberto and Walter Wanderley seem to be on the same page and aware of each other's gifts and respective presence, as on "Nega Du Cabelo Duro," the second half of "Goodbye Sadness (Tristeza)," and the beautifully moody rendition of "Call Me," and the rest is a good representation of either artist's work, just a letdown from both of them. [The Japanese edition (and subsequent U.S. mini-LP format reissue) contains a pair of bonus tracks, "The Sadness of After" and "Who Needs Forever," that are better collaborations — especially the latter, with a beautiful virtuoso instrumental break — than much of what was on the original LP.]