Track Listing

1. Nem As Paredes Confesso
2. Maldicao
3. Fado Portugues
4. Ai Mouaria
5. Vou Dar De Beber A Dor
6. Barco Negro
7. Gaivota
8. Povo Que Lavas No Rio
9. Estranha Forma De Vida
10. Ha Festa Na Mouraria
11. Uma Casa Portuguesa
12. Lisboa Antiga
13. Coimbra
14. Maria Lisboa
15. Havemos De Ir A Viano
16. Primavera
17. Con Que Voz
18. Foi Deus

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11512 in Music
• Released on: 1998-09-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Amalia Rodrigues is the unchallenged queen of fado--the Portuguese equivalent of flamenco or blues--and one of the greatest singers on record. Her voice is rich and sinuous, with the soulful intensity of a Billie Holiday or Edith Piaf, but a warmth and sense of phrasing all her own. This retrospective ranges from her first recordings in 1952 up to 1970 and gives a superb picture of her work. The instrumentation is simple guitar and Portuguese mandolin, perfectly framing her aching laments and flowing melodies, like a gentler version of flamenco or a continental cousin of Cesaria Evora's morna. The songs include folk and popular material, but the emphasis is on the deep, passionate fado, and it doesn't get any better than this. --Elijah Wald

CD Description
Portugal's most beloved performer, Amalia Rodrigues is celebrated as the leading light of the spare, melancholy musicalstyle known as fado. Both a film actress and a musical icon, Rodrigues garnered attention with both her striking beautyand her deeply expressive voice. Starting out as a singer in Lisbon, Rodrigues moved on to the nightclubs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which led to her success as an international star.
This impressive 18-track disc compiles many of Rodrigues's finest recordings, with most tracks dating from her heyday in the 1950s and '60s. Highlights of THE ART OF AMALIARODRIGUES include the lilting, mournful classics "Nem As Paredes Confesso", "Lisboa Antigua", "Coimbra", and "Foi Deus", all of which feature beautifully minimal string backing and, of course, Rodrigues's plaintive and highly nuanced vocals. Hailed as the Queen of Fado and frequently cited as one of the best female singers in any genre, Rodrigues is well represented by this concise and carefully selected collection,which serves as an ideal introduction to her captivating and emotionally resonant music.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful beyond description
This collection, spanning 1952-1970, has the best of the legendary Amalia Rodrigues and her Portuguese fado songs of love, longing, sadness and the sea.

Amalia's voice is incredibly expressive; rich, pure, tender, mysterious and aching with feeling. The songs have such romantic depth and melancholic beauty they'll caress you like silk, bathe you like moonlight and pierce you like lightning.

Nothing, nothing can touch this.

What an 'Obson's!
Sorry for slipping into the vernacular: Hobson's Choice = voice.

Listening to this album is an incredible experience. I do not know any Portuguese, I have know idea what the lady is singing (although I can guess what she's singing about) but I am moved almost to tears by the emotion she brings to these songs, as if the words are being torn from her heart.

The quality and range of Amalia's voice are superb. The only comparison I can make is the poor one of a Portuguese Kathleen Ferrier, a poor comparison because Amalia is far less constrained by the conventions of classical singing. Then again maybe it's just the difference between Europeans and the uptight English.

When Amalia Rodrigues died the Portuguese government declared a state of national mourning - she surely deserved it.

cansancio
I am interested in acquiring this album. But I would like to know if it has been remastered, specially music restauration. I have The Art of Amalia Volume II. Would someone let me know what others have been remastered. I acquire another one of her albums but I did not like the music. Hope someone can help me. Thank you!