The Album Club: "Movimento" by Madredeus
 

http://www.trollheart.com/movimento.jpg

"The greatest album ever created", said MicShazam. Are we going to make him eat his words, or bow down before his musical majesty? Have your say here.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4Wa1kuGqTBsqUotSg42Mas

Youtube playlist that is missing 1 song and might not be in the proper order: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKqT...wFXi_JW1mV3WOT

That might have been slight hyperbole, but I do love it to death :D

Sorry to cut be so curt but it’s like this: The music was pretty good but the vocals were horrible. Unlistenable.

1/5 Stars lowest rating

Madredeus- Moviemento (2001)

Best Tracks: Anseio (Fuga Appressada), Ecos Da Catedral, Tarde-Por Favor

Weakest Tracks: O Segredo Do Futuro, Pulpitacao

First of all, while I love some good folk music, my interest in World Music varies. It starts out great with the album’s best track, Anseio. The second track is also decent as you can hear the folk influences. It seems to go downhill after that though. I mean it isn’t a terrible album, but I wouldn’t call it the greatest album in the history of civilization, sorry, Mic.

The album does end on a good note with Tarde, Por Favor. I like the use of chimes in the song. If the album had been in that vein I might have been able to give it a better rating. As it is, I have to say it’s pretty meh, especially in the middle.

Rating: 4/10.

The Word has spoken.

PS- I listened to the album on Spotify and, after the album ended, it played a track called O Pastor from 1990. That was pretty impressive actually. Maybe you chose the wrong Madredeus album to spotlight, Mic.

Holy crap, that bad? Unlistenable? Can't say I have anything against that reaction, but I personally really, really like the vocalist here. I actually did expect some to take issue with the vocals, but I expected something more along the lines of "meh, she's boring".

Oh well. Now I'm just looking forward to see whether this will be downright divise or what.

When I picked it, it was particularly because to me, there's several very strong songs on the first half of the album, plus I really like how it subtly changes style on the second half.

I also knew when I picked it that the album is quite a mouthful at 77 minutes of acoustic guitar and possibly divisive vocals.

The album of their that got me into the group, and that is probably what everyone will tell you to listen to, is the album O Paraiso.

I chose Movimiento instead since I really dig the dark vibe of the album and had a sort of fascination with it at the time.
A few days ago, I sat through the whole thing, listening to it on my stereo attentively, and I really do love it to bits.

I don't want to be too repetitive, but I feel like I should stress that I know how the album is probably quite a mouthful and not the most immediately persuasive choice I could have made. It's meant somewhat as a challenge and a curveball.

Listened to this twice, and frankly, that's more time than I can spare for something like this. I also have no desire to hear it a third time. My overriding feeling was of being bored, and then also being somewhat depressed. It seems to be the same basic thing over and over again, some woman wailing over acoustic guitar - I think not in English, which doesn't help - and I didn't notice much in the way of variety or change in any of the songs. Of which there are too many. Sixteen on an album like this is asking too much of the listener without some sort of variation or lightening of the mood.

Just bored. Sorry. Not for me.
5/10 and that's being generous.

I really like music with a melancholy feeling to it. I think a lot of albums that I love would be seen by a lot of people as these unbearable, drab, 70+ minute marathons of minor keys and morose vocals.

I love her voice (Teresa Salgueiro) and love lots of music in foreign languages. Personally, I quite enjoy the way Portugese sounds when sung. But then, I listen to voices as more of an instrument. I'm terrible at paying attention to lyrics.

Personally, I find a lot of interesting differences in the types of melodies and structures on this album, plus there's some nice - if admittedly very subtle - sonic variety. I can 100% understand feeling that it is too much of the same, but I've managed to sit and listen attentively to the entire thing front to back without getting bored.

That’s a pretty modest claim for “the greatest album ever created”

That was in response to TH saying there was too many tracks and that they are too samey. I'm just saying I get how one could find it dull, but I'm personally quite engaged by this album. Also, the best album thing was a slight exaggeration. It's not even the best album by this band, but it is an interesting one and one that I am quite fond of.

I'm halfway expecting everyone else in here to find it boring or unlistenable, but hey, whatever. That's the name of the game in the album club!

Madredeus - Movimento

Interesting group, interesting sound. Liking some of the tracks I heard here, I read up on them and realize that they are heavily influenced by pre-Columbus troubadour ballads and more obscure traditions. Seeing as I don't speak Portuguese, their lyrics are generally hard to discern but the themes are universal so I can appreciate the vibe. Not an album that will knock anyone's socks off, but they have great chemistry as a folk ensemble.

7 out of 10

Movimento - Madredeus

Yeah, I don't have much to say about this one other than it was okay, but I wouldn't listen to it again.

It wasn't terrible but it didn't pique my interest at all.

Two stars.

Straight away the instrumentation is lovely. It's warm, dark, and in brief moments a bit sinister. If it were stripped down to just an instrumental record I'd really enjoy it. That isn't to say that the vocals are entirely off-putting, I just generally gravitate toward non-vocal music. The non-English lyrics are a plus, creating an abstract quality like that of the stream-of-consciousness lyricism and asemantic vocals I so often enjoy from other artists.

My world music exposure is limited primarily to Hearts of Space broadcasts and the world-infused music of Dead Can Dance or the ethnic world electronica of Deep Forest, but I suppose the artist most similar to Madredeus in my experience would have to be the enigmatic and plaintive lo-fi melodies of Mus on albums like Dominar La Fame (Canciones 1996-2004) on the Avant Garden label and La Navel on Acuarela Discos. That said, the music of Madredeus is far more lush and full than the fragile melodies of Mus, and that is a great strength for the band. The subtle introduction of sparsely placed bells and plinking instruments to accompany the warm sounds of the cello and acoustic guitar really create an intimate atmosphere for the listener which is consistent throughout the record.

What is perhaps most impactful about this music is its beautiful organic quality. Even the electronic treatments, (perhaps that's a synth keyboard set to flute?), retain a natural authenticity which is sorely lacking in much of the overproduced contemporary music of the West. And while I was cautious and undecided about my position with regard to the vocals at the outset, by the third or fourth track it seems quite fitting and a well-suited complement to the album's folk-spirited sound.

I see that some members complained about the duration of the record. Clocking in at a generous 78 minutes, it is no small undertaking. But I love long-form atmospheric recordings which permit the listener to drift in and out of active and passive listening until the music becomes a sonic wallpaper to envelop the room. Movimento makes for a splendid 78-minute meditation.

I'd actually had a really rough morning, so this record served as a much-needed restorative cup of tea. Thank you!

8.5/10

The band is one singer, one acoustic bass player, two guitarists and one keyboard player, so that's what you are hearing.

As for the rest of your review: I'm glad you liked it! It's not that I don't appreciate all the other comments on the album, but it was nice to see someone actually say something positive and insightful about the album. I'm only human after all :laughing:

And I also agree the length of the album is not a problem. I personally enjoy a lot of quite lengthy albums. If I get into the groove and atmosphere of a really good album, then I like to just soak in it's feel for a good, long while.

I'll check out some of the artist names you mentioned.

I thought that overall the guitar was pleasant and accomplished. The vocalist reminded me of the Brazilian singer Juçara Marçal of Meta Meta crossed with Kate Bush. I think she's just serviceable and doesn't add much to the music outside of a few surprising melodic turns. Most of the time, the piano sounds a bit tacked on and unnecessary. The album serves really well as background music, as it's pretty inoffensive and the talented guitars give it a familiar vibe, but sitting back and focusing on the compositions makes it really obvious how unnecessarily derivative they are. There really isn't a lot here for me to dissect and there's not much here that makes me want to revisit it either. I'm not gonna lie though, when MicShazam said it was the best album ever recorded, I expected it to much much cheesier :laughing:. I might throw this on again if it were cut down to a 6 track EP or something like that, but I'm just not into it. I'll give it a neutral five with one point docked for overstaying the **** out of its welcome. That home stretch is brutal. 4/10.

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Liked the music but didn't care for the vocals.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
Same answer as the previous question.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Same answer as question 1.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
Didn't care for the vocals. They actually got in the way of the music for me.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
Most of it, yes.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
Stayed the same throughout.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
I understand a little bit of Portuguese but not enough to decipher the lyrics all the way through any of the songs.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Mostly, yes.

9. What did you think of the production?
It sounded quite good.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
Never heard of them before this.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
No.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
Listened twice. Had the same reaction to it after the second listen.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
No favorite.

14. And the one you liked least?
None of them stood out as being particularly bad.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
N/A

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
No. The vocals sunk the album for me. Don't care to hear any more.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Didn't know what to expect going into it.

18. Did the album end well?
Yes. I thought the album seemed to go on too long, though. I lost interest halfway into it.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
For my listening pleasure, I'd remove the vocals, make it an instrumental album and whittle it down to 8 or 9 tunes.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
It hung together well.

5/10

I don't really know what to say about this album. It's interesting enough, but the performances and songwriting are both just good enough, and nothing else about the album really jumps out at me. Fancy background music, perhaps if I understood the lyrics I'd enjoy it a bit more, but I don't really think so. It also doesn't help that every song sort of sounds exactly the same. 6/10

Circle X - Untitled EP
Madradeus - Movimento
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Oddments

I wasn't ever really saying it was literally the best album ever recorded in full seriousness. I was just poking fun at Elph a bit when he was running away from the club. Although I do think this album is very, very good.

Also; don't worry. Next time I might choose something so offensive to other member's tastes that I will be ejected from the album club. This time was no fun. People just thought it was dull, mostly.

This sounds like something I'd be down for.

Interesting choice, and completely new to me. I've listened to some traditional fado so that's probably my closest reference. Like MicShazam I dig hearing sung Portuguese, although it's taken me a long time and lots of listening to Brazilian Chôro to warm to it. Portuguese has a huge number of vowels and diphthongs which give the singing flow an uneven texture, especially compared to Spanish which is pretty much the direct opposite (having no dipthongs and all vowels of equal length).

For me this album has some great guitar and singing, and songs that are simple and sometimes great in their melancholia (especially Afinal - A Minha Cançáo). That brings me to the thing that often killed it for me:

The synth. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge synth fan, especially when it comes to synths sounding like synths, but those cheesy string sounds - fair enough if it's 80s pop but this isn't A Flock of Seagulls. It might seem petty but the synth really killed a lot of these tracks for me. Even so, there was enough here to still give this:
7/10

I wouldn't get discouraged, Mic. Everybody has different tastes. As long as you enjoy it, that's all that really matters.

Never thought about that difference between Portugese and Spanish. In fact, until about a year ago when I started listening to a lot of Portugese vocals, I had thought that it would sound basically exactly like Spanish. Interestingly, my parents visitet Lisbon for the first time this summer and they were very surprised by the language. My mom said it sounded like everyone was speaking Polish :laughing:

It is also interesting to me how differently people react to non-English vocals on this board. Personally, the more different sung languages are represented in my record collection, the better!

Oh and btw, I completely get what you say about the synths, but personally, I tend to like synthesizers and the fact that it does not convincingly register as real strings or horns here just adds to a particular kind of texture and charm for me. I take it as more of an interesting mix of soundscapes than a problem.

Oh I'm not discouraged as such. People even quite liked my previous pick. It's more that it makes for bad album club fodder when an album gets predominantly "meh" reactions. Something more uniformly loved, hated or more divisive really gets the club going. That's why I'll try to be less nice next time. With this album pick, I think I was trying too much to make it something tasteful and likeable.

Inb4 Batty with "I'd dip into her thong!" :laughing:

I can't really remember if the one who picked an album is supposed to review it or not, but here's some thoughts.

The album is long, that is true. 77 minutes and 16 seconds spread across 16 tracks, all roughly in the same style. I do often hear people bring up complaints about album length when talking about music, so it seems this is a pet peeve for many people. I've heard quite many people say that 40-45 minutes is ideal. To me, it doesn't really matter so much. I've got the option to skip or create a playlist. Or, as I often do with long albums - I can cut the album in two and focus on one half at a time. Many long albums could have been spread across two discs instead of one, and then perhaps fewer people would mind 70 minute albums. It is fairly rare that a record label allows bands to do so, since two CD's cost more to produce than one, obviously - but the sales price for one album remains the same.

Would this album benefit from being on 2 discs instead of 1? Sure, but any time I don't feel like taking in all 77 minutes, I'll just cut it in half. I treat long albums like a book. Put in a bookmark when you need a break, then continue later. No problem.

Now, I've mentioned before that this band is very important to me, and they are. Top 10 material, easily. The first album of theirs that I heard - O Paraiso - took less than two songs to blow my mind. It opened up a whole world for me. Since then, I've been getting into the related genre of fado in a big way, plus various other sorts of international folk music. It really does not happen often that the discovery of an artist expands your musical horizons that much, but Madredeus did for me.

This album is maybe not the easiest front-to-back listen in their discography, but like with movies and books, I don't expect an album to necessarily be breezy, fun and easy to appreciate. This album takes some patience for me. A bit of work. But I really, really appreciate the nuances of all of these arrangements when I do have the mental energy and patience to give it my full attention. I do not agree that the tracks all sound the same. They only do so if you don't really pay attention. I'm not saying this is music as complex and layered as old classical music, but it isn't exactly instant gratification either. I guess I don't mind an album asking me to sit down, shut up and pay attention.

Teresa Salgueiro has a wonderful voice with a lot of character to it. I've even got three of her solo albums, on top of the 10+ Madredeus albums I've got. I like this stuff, and I like it a lot.

Biggest highlights on this particular album:

Anseio (Fuga Apressada)
Ecos Na Catedral
Afinal - A Minha Cançao
O Labirinto Parado
O Olhar
A Quimera
A Capa Negra (Mano a Mano)
Palpitação
Tarde, Por Favor

8/10 - On one hand it has some of my favorite Madredeus songs, on the other hand, they have more consistent albums. Comparing it to the rest of their discography, it's a solid 8. I don't regret choosing it for the club over the other albums. That opening salvo of 5 amazing tracks in a row makes it the right choice.

You are. Meant to review your own album, I mean.

This album was full of perfectly nice songs, but damn was it a slog to listen through. But, to it's credit, I didn't skip any of the songs. I couldn't name you my favourite or least favourite song because it was consistently very decent, but I have a hard time saying I thought any of the tracks were truly fantastic.

The problem with an album like this is that it doesn't have much flow. No real diversion in tempo, style, pitch or anything. Just a consistent sound throughout, which makes it hard to rate. But I'll have to settle on a 6/10.

I like Folk Rock, Acid Folk/Psychedelic Folk and them some of my favorite genres. I also listen to a variety of world music, but not too familiar with all that is out there. I like Mic Shazam's picks. So this album had potential. However there was a snag, which was pointed out by other members. I think the synthesizer put a damper on things, it was thin and sometimes out of place. I imagine if you replace the synth with a real string section, a choir or maybe an ensemble of Portuguese guitarra that would had better choice, it would have blended in better.

Anseio (Fuga Apressada)I didn't like the synth on the first track, because the synth was a bit repetitive. It sounded like a analog synth, whether it was or not I am not sure. But if it was an analog the musician didn't use the instrument to its full potential.

Ecos na Catedral The synth pads on this is just OK, kinda thin sounding however step all over the toes of the other instruments. It mixed well with the other instruments.

Afinal - A Minha Canção The nylon guitar was a bit reminiscent of Genesis.

O Labirinto Parado I like the piano, the sound had a warmth to it. The track was a bit Wind & Wuthering-esque for me.

O Olhar The music on this track was a bit Al Stewart-ish.

Graça - A Última Ciência this was a good track.

A Vida Boa - This reminds me more of South American than Portuguese music.


I am stuck somewhere between rating it a 7/10 and an 8/10.

If you like the nylon guitar on the album check out Classic guitar players who perform the songs of Heitor Villa-Lobos and Antonio Lauro.