Hand picked records important to the history of Soul Strut.
It was hard to find a definitive Astrud Gilberto album to write about for the Archive. The opinion on her vocal style and output has been divisive. I chose this record because it has a couple cuts that fall into the vinyl DJ realm. September 17, 1969 was Gilberto tackling cover songs that got the groovy 60s treatment with very minimal bossa. The best of the bunch is her cover of Chicago's "Beginnings". While not a crazy deviation from the original, her sultry, whispering vocals and the funky picked bass lines differentiate it enough. Her version of "Light My Fire" is nothing to sneeze at either. The breezy "Summer Sweet" could pass for a Stereolab tune and is 60s easy listening bliss. Her follow up, 1971's with Turrentine on CTI produced by Deodato, is a better record in my opinion, but this one is more relevant to the crate digger contingent.
ASTRUD GILBERTO UNDER-/UNAPPRECIATION
LIGHT MY FIRE...WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE VERSION??
PRIVATE MIND GARDEN SUMMERTIME JOINTS