Elis Regina - Elis (1966)

Elis Regina, who died in 1982, was, of course, the premier interpreter of Brazilian popular song in the 1960s and 1970s. She did definitive versions of the work of composers Gilberto Gil and Antonio Carlos Jobim, just to name two.

 I would rate her as one of the greatest popular singers of the past forty years, on a par with Dusty Springfield for sure, and much more exciting. "Elis" dates from 1966 and is a fine example of her early style. This album is worth owning if only for her incredible version of Gilberto Gil's "Roda" ("Circle") which cuts Gil's more laid-back original. Also included here is a version of Gil's "Lunik 9" which compares well with his recording.

This is a fantastic album. It's especially notable for the fact that in 1966, 21-year-old Elis Regina sought to use her already-considerable popularity and influence to popularize a bunch of then-unknown (in Brazil) songwriting talent on the order of Gilberto Gil, Edu Lobo, Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso and Chico Buarque--that's to say, almost the whole upper-crust of the great MPB generation.

Tracklist:

A1	Roda	2:35
A2	Samba Em Paz	2:03
A3	Pra Dizer Adeus	3:48
A4	Estatuinha	2:29
A5	Veleiro	3:10
A6	Boa Palavra	4:20
B1	Lunik 9	3:13
B2	Tem Mais Samba	2:33
B3	Sonho De Maria	3:20
B4	Tereza Sabe Sambar	3:30
B5	Carinhoso	3:57
B6	Canção Do Sal	2:56

Elis Regina - Elis (1966)
(192 kbps, cover art included)