Ivete Sangalo
Reviewed on this page:
Banda Eva - Hora H - Beleza Rara - Banda Eva Ao Vivo - Você E Eu - Ivete Sangalo - Beat Beleza - Festa - Clube Carnavalesco Inocentes Em Progresso - MTV Ao Vivo - As Super Novas - Multishow Ao Vivo: Ivete No Maracanã - Pode Entrar
Formerly lead singer for Banda Eva, now a huge solo star, Bahia's own Ivete Sangalo sounds eerily like Daniela Mercury, not only in vocal timbre and pitch but also in her grounding in axé (a typically Brazilian hybrid of samba, pop, reggae and funk) and restless straying from same.
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Banda Eva (Banda Eva: 1993)
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Pra Abalar (Banda Eva: 1994)
I don't have this; the hits were "Flores" and "Alô, Paixão."
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Hora H (Banda Eva: 1995)
The big tunes are "Me Abraça" and "Manda Ver."
More ill-advised is an instrumental that sounds like a 70s fusion take on a 60s cop show theme ("Neguinho Blues").
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Beleza Rara (Banda Eva: 1996)
Somehow the group took a big step forward here, not just on the rip-roaring axé ("Levada Loca") but also on the romantic and pensive numbers.
Netinho guests on "Química Perfeita" (present in Portuguese and Spanish versions).
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Banda Eva Ao Vivo (Banda Eva: 1997)
More or less the hits from the previous four albums, run through at a rather hectic pace.
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Você E Eu (Banda Eva: 1998)
In the same mold as Beleza Rara, and on roughly the same level.
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Banda Eva Ao Vivo II (Banda Eva: 1999)
I don't know whether or not Sangalo is on this. (DBW)
Ivete Sangalo (Sangalo: 1999)
Even when Sangalo's just going through her paces, the results are impressive: "Destino" mixes twin lead guitars, cascading percussion and a reggae rhythm into a hugely compelling dance track; "Sa Marina," essentially a rewrite of "Spinning Wheel" (horns and all), whips itself into a giddy frenzy.
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Experimenta (Banda Eva: 2000)
With new lead singer Emanuelle Araujo.
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Beat Beleza (Sangalo: 2000)
On her second solo voyage, Sangalov does everything she does well - but not quite as well. There's high-speed axé ("Empurra-Empurra"), wistful romance (""), and sophisticated midtempo pop (""), lovingly put together, all buoyed by her lush vocals. But there's not as much surface pleasure or underlying depth as on the followup.
Whatever you do, make sure you don't miss the spacious, gloriously slinky "Me Deixe En Paz."
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 Festa (Sangalo: 2001)
Again, Sangalo refuses to stay in a box: "Ruas E Rios" opens with the sort of pitch-shifted vocal that would dominate 2008, then shifts into a kinetic, horn-backed groove; "Astral" is a nod to 80s electrofunk with an irresistable chanted chorus.
And again like Mercury, Sangalo is thoroughly convincing whether she's belting out a love song ("Meu Maior Presente," heady and heartrending) or just having fun ("O Grande Chefe"; the sly funk "Pop Zem"). On occasion she ranges so far afield she loses me (the coy, featherweight "Assimétrica") but more often she pulls off even the broadest stretches (the orchestrated ballad "Em Mim, Em Você") - generally the forgettable cuts are the just-plain-axé ("Aqui Vai Rolar"); the good-time title track, a huge hit single, is also one of the more conventional numbers.
Brian McKnight duets on a cover of his hit "Back At One."
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Clube Carnavalesco Inocentes Em Progresso (Sangalo: 2003)
"Ritmo Gostoso" is bright, shiny post-disco;
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MTV Ao Vivo (Sangalo: 2004)
Sangalo opens with a medley of the biggest Banda Eva hits, then rips through the solo material.
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As Super Novas (Sangalo: 2005)
"Poder" is a crazy but ultimately convincing melange of dance music tropes.
The power ballad "Quando A Chuva Passar" - the sort of tune I wish Olga Tañón would quit recording - is partly redeemed by a fleet string break.
With covers of "Soy Loco Por Tí America" and the Bolivian "Llorando Se Fue" (better known to worldwide audiences via the 1993 Kaoma version retitled "Lambada").
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Multishow Ao Vivo: Ivete No Maracanã (2007)
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 Pode Entrar (Sangalo: 2009)
Largely made up of duets with other Brazilian pop stars: Carlinhos Brown ("Quanto Ao Tempo"), Maria Bethânia ("Muito Obrigado Axé," written by Brown).
Again, formulas are messed with: Hawaiian guitars crop up on the love song "Teus Olhos" (with Marcelo Camelo); horn drive the pure pop "Vivir Com Amor";
surprisingly loud guitars are heard on the uptempo axé "Cadê Dalila."
While there's still stuff to get your pulse pounding ("Eu Tô Vendo") Sangalo's mostly in a mellow mood ("Brumário" with Lulu Santos; "Vale Mais") -
"Meu Maior Presente" is remade, about which I'm not complaining.
But too often, the tunes aren't particularly striking (the self-penned "Na Base Do Beijo" aside), though they're as well constructed and carefully rendered as before (the ballad "Agora Eu Já Sei").
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Multishow Ao Vivo: Ivete Sangalo No Madison Square Garden (Sangalo: 2011)
She's sure cranking out the live albums.
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In 2012, Sangalo collaborated on a live DVD/CD with Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.
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