Written by Antonio Carlos Jobim & Vinicius De Moraes

 

“Garota De Ipanema,” aka “The Girl From Ipanema,” was a pivotal masterpiece in the history of popular music. “Garota De Ipanema” was written in 1962 by the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) while the Brazilian Portuguese lyrics were crafted by Brazilian poet Vinicius De Moraes (1913-1980). “Garota De Ipanema ,” with its irresistible Latin beat, smooth atmosphere and jazz-influenced chords, defined the bossa nova music genre to perfection. The first popular version was sung in 1964 by renown singer Astrud Gilberto (1940-2023) on the seminal album, Getz/Gilberto. That recording featured the legendary saxophonist Stan Getz and the great Brazilian singer/guitarist, Joao Gilberto. On “The Girl From Ipanema,” Astrud performed the English lyrics written by Norman Gimbel, while her then-husband, Gilberto, sang the original Brazilian Portuguese words. “Garota De Ipanema” went to #5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in July of 1964. In 1965, the song won a Grammy for Record Of The Year.

“The Girl From Ipanema” was one of the most covered songs of all time, probably second only to The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” Among the stars who recorded this amazing song were Frank Sinatra with the incomparable Tom Jobim, Amy Winehouse, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Pat Metheny and Andrea Bocelli, who sang “Garota De Ipanema” on his 2013 cd, Passione.

Bocelli’s 2013 rendition, produced and arranged by David Foster, is the Song of the Week.

Foster crafted an instrumental track that oozed class and sophistication. He centered his arrangement on the late Ramon Stagnaro’s trademark acoustic guitar. With the Hitman’s beautiful acoustic piano and the lush back-up of the orchestral arrangement written by William Ross, the Italian superstar showed here, and on the whole Passione record, his astonishing ability to walk into the pop world with confidence and give a vocal performance that’s a true singing master class. Bocelli highlighted his correct measure and soft, refined tone.

Passione was a worlwide hit, reaching #2 on Billboard Top 200 and was eventually certified gold.

To close this review, here are the words that Foster kindly sent about this special song:

“I really love Passione; it was a true labor of love for both Andrea and myself. ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ was a song I often played when I was 13 years old so it has always been very special to me. Andrea’s voice is so smooth on this track and his quick vibrato is flawless!”

• Lead Vocals: Andrea Bocelli
• Acoustic Guitar: Ramon Stagnaro
• Piano & Keyboards: David Foster
• Bass: Nathan East
• Drums: John Robinson
• Percussion: Rafael Padilla & Jochem van der Saag

• String Arrangement by Jorge Calandrelli
• Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça
É ela, menina, que vem e que passa
Num doce balanço a caminho do mar

Moça do corpo dourado, do Sol de Ipanema
O seu balançado é mais que um poema
É a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar

Ah, por que estou tão sozinho?
Ah, por que tudo é tão triste?
Ah, a beleza que existe
A beleza que não é só minha
Que também passa sozinha

Ah, se ela soubesse que quando ela passa
O mundo inteirinho se enche de graça
E fica mais lindo por causa do amor

Ah, por que estou tão sozinho?
Ah, por que tudo é tão triste?
Ah, a beleza que existe
A beleza que não é só minha
Que também passa sozinha

Ah, se ela soubesse que quando ela passa
O mundo inteirinho se enche de graça
E fica mais lindo por causa do amor
Por causa do amor
Por causa do amor

Written by Lee Ritenour

 

The Captain’s Journey, released in 1978, was Lee Ritenour’s sixth release coming right after the seminal Captain Fingers one year before. The legendary guitarist again assembled an amazing cast of musicians, singers and arrangers to deliver a fresh jazz/fusion masterpiece. David Foster was again on board for the project and arranged and played keyboards on a couple of tracks. One was a vocal rendition of Ritenour’s classic instrumental, “Morning Glory” featuring another Bill Champlin vocal after his fantastic job on the cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” on Captain Fingers. Foster arranged the song and played acoustic piano on it. A previous review of this song can be rediscovered in the archives.

This week, the spotlight is on another instrumental on Captain’s Journey titled “Matchmakers.”

Another Ritenour original, “Matchmakers” was a groovy number with a funky flavor thanks to a smoking rhythm section that included Steve Gadd on drums, Abe Laboriel on bass and Jay Graydon on rhythm guitar. Foster played the electric piano while the acoustic piano was handled by the great Dave Grusin who also wrote the catchy string arrangement and co-produced the album. With such a stellar cast backing him up Ritenour absolutely shone on “Matchmakers.” His fluid lead guitar performances and top-notch solos are totally sublime. He was also joined by another giant, Ernie Watts, who played the elegant tenor saxophone solo on the song. The Captain’s Journey was one of Rit’s higher chartings on Billboard’s Top 200, reaching #121. The album’s title-track was also the first of Rit’s 16 Grammy nominations.

Ritenour is still working these days on a new collaboration cd with Grusin titled Brazil. It’s planned release is at the end of May. Needless to say, this new pairing of two phenomenal talents will be a must have for the most refined music lovers.

• Electric Guitar: Lee Ritenour
• Acoustic Piano: Dave Grusin
• Electric Piano: David Foster
• Rhythm Guitar: Jay Graydon
• Drums: Steve Gadd
• Bass: Abe laboriel
• Tenor Saxophone: Ernie Watts
• Percussion: Steve Thornton & Sue Evans

• Rhythm Arrangement by Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin
• Strings Arrangement by Dave Grusin
• Produced by Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin

Lyrics

No Lyrics

Written by The Tubes

 

April 4th, 1983, saw the release of The Tubes’ now-classic Outside Inside album. David Foster was back in the producer’s chair after his successful work on The Completion Backward Principle for The Tubes a couple years before. Outside Inside became The Tubes’ biggest album ever, reaching #18 on Billboard’s Top 200. The San Francisco-based rockers were given their only Top Ten hit, “She’s A Beauty,” on Billboard’s Hot 100. “She’s A Beauty” was #1 on the mainstream Rock chart. The group had two other minor hit singles from the album, the irresistible, funky number, “Tip Of My Tongue,” and The Tubes’ cover of the soul/R&B classic, “The Monkey Time.” All those great songs sport fantastic production by Foster and were delivered by The Tubes with the help of a number of guest musicians including the Jerry Hey Horns, Bobby Kimball, Bill Champlin and Steve Lukather. If interested, you can find past reviews of those goodies in the archive section of this website.

On Outside Inside, The Tubes featured a number of fantastic album tracks showcasing their flamboyant and very personal style, satirical lyrics and sophisticted music. The main difference compared to their earlier albums was Foster’s approach to the various tracks, his meticolous work on the arrangements, his perfectionist touch, and the firm direction that brought the group into Toto’s pop/rock territory.

This time around, the review is a radio-friendly rock number titled “Theme Park.”

Written by the group, “Theme Park” was a good example of Foster’s musical influence on Outside Inside. The track was constructed on prominent keyboards and synths supporting Fee Waybill’s energetic vocal performance. The song had an ear-candy refrain and some awesome guitar work by Bill Spooner. Stuff got a bit crazy with some Frank Zappa influences towards the end of the song.

The Hitman kindly sent us a few thoughts about this song and his work with The Tubes:

“I Remember ‘Theme Park’ very well. I was so impressed with the great work that Mike Cotten did on the synth programming and the amazing drum groove that Prairie Prince played on this track. It’s really a great song and the whole band made contributions to it. The Tubes were so innovative in many different ways. My time working with the group was very valuable and I learned a lot from them.”

• Lead Vocals: Fee Waybill
• Drums: Prairie Prince
• Bass: Rick Anderson
• Keyboards & Vocals: Vince Velnick
• Keyboards: David Foster
• Synthesizers: Michael Cotten
• Guitars & Vocals: Bill Spooner & Roger Steen

• Produced by David Foster

Lyrics

I’m goin’ to the theme park
Lookin’ for a thrill
Gonna stay ’til they close it
‘Til I get my fill
Spinning on a Tilt-A-Whirl
Nothin’ like it in this world
Close your eyes and hold on tight
We can make it last all night

Can’t wait ’til the summer starts
Goin’ down to the theme park
Leave your cares in the parking lot
I lost my heart at the theme park
Can’t wait ’til the summer starts
Leave your cares in the parking lot
Down at the theme park

I’m sliding down the Matterhorn
I’m falling through the floor
Flying on a fantasy
Everyone can find a dream
Gonna make you feel so fine
Take a ride on love tonight

Can’t wait ’til the summer starts
Goin’ down to the theme park
Leave your cares in the parking lot
I lost my heart at the theme park
Can’t wait ’til the summer starts
Leave your cares in the parking lot
Down at the theme park

Written by Danny Kortchmar

 

Good News was the second and final album released in 1977 by pop/rock group Attitudes for George Harrison’s Dark Horse label. The group consisted of session aces with Jim Keltner on drums, Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Paul Stallworth on bass and a young Canadian prodigy named David Foster on keyboards. Both of Attitudes’ releases remained well-kept secrets to this day. The songs were extremely interesting with their unique mix of pop, rock and funk delivered by first-class musicianship. Recently, both albums were finally released on cd and a comprehensive Best Of was also put on the market giving fans the opportunity to listen to their catchy music. Good News was produced by noted engineer and guitarist, Jay Lewis, together with Attitudes. The album presents quite a few highlights that included “Promise Me The Moon,” a Kortchmar original that was the pick for this week.

“Promise Me The Moon” was a latin/rock number with jazzy overtones not far from the refined sounds of Little Feat or The Doobie Brothers. Kortchmar handled the lead vocals with the right energy and also played some great guitar with Lewis and guest Jay Graydon. Foster’s piano licks added some jazz/fusion flavor to the atmosphere. The groovin’ rhythm section of Stallworth and Keltner were reinforced here by Pat Murphy on congas to enhance the latin feel of the track.

Sax legend David Sanborn was evidently a fan of Attitudes. Sanborn covered both “Promise Me The Moon” and “In A Stranger’s Arms” on his next album which was also released in 1977 and titled Promise Me The Moon. Sanborn’s version was very close to Attitudes’ original and was delivered by top players including the great Hiram Bullock (1955-2008) on lead vocals and guitar. 

• Lead Vocal & Guitar: Danny Kortchmar
• Keyboards: David Foster
• Bass: Paul Stallworth
• Drums: Jim Keltner
• Background Vocals: Attitudes

• Produced by Jay Lewis & Attitudes

Lyrics

Can’t recall the color of her eyes
Though they have the power to paralyze
And I can’t recall the color of her hair
But I feel so all alone when she’s not there
What she said, it still echoes in my head

Won’t you promise me the moon?
Promise me that sunny day, though it’s way too soon
Make that promise anyway, promise me the moon
Promise me the stars above, though it’s way too soon
Promise all your love

So if in the night our ships collide
We cannot avoid it if we tried
But it seems like I can’t get no sleep
If I make a promise I can’t keep
What she said, it still echoes in my head

Won’t you promise me the moon?
Promise me that sunny day, though it’s way too soon
Make that promise anyway, promise me the moon
Promise me the stars above, though it’s way too soon
Promise all your love

What she said, it still echoes in my head

Written by Allee Willis, Franne Golde & Peter Noone

 

“God Knows” was a beautiful ballad co-written by the late, eminent lyricist, Allee Willis (1947-2019), with fellow songwriter, Franne Golde, and veteran UK singer/songwriter, Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits fame. The trio composed the song around 1978 and it was soon scouped up by Debby Boone for her sophomore Midstream album. Boone was extremely successful in 1977 with her breakthrough #1 hit, “You Light Up My Life.”

In May of 1978, “God Knows” became the second single to be released from the album. It would became a multi-format minor hit, reaching #74 on Billboard’s Hot 100, #22 on the Country chart and #14 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

In a recent interview, Boone talked about “God Knows”: “the reason why the single only reached #74 is that disc jockeys saw the title, ‘God Knows,’ coming from Pat Boone’s daughter, with his conservative image, which was true for me too, and determined it was a religious record and said ‘no’.”

A love song like “God Knows” probably felt right for Deniece Williams who covered it on her 1979 album, When Love Comes Calling. That song and a good portion of her album were produced by David Foster. Foster took great care of Williams’ superb voice and helped her yield a string of fantastic vocals that went into creating a superb soul/pop record. On “God Knows,” Williams’ gorgeous performance add a strong gospel-infused feel into the scenario of the song. A pristine musical arrangement was delivered by Foster with the help of luminaries including the amazing Jeff Porcaro (1954-1992) on drums, the awesome Steve Lukather on guitar and their former Toto bandmate, David Hungate on bass. Foster played his trademark keyboards and the track was embellished with lush strings and horns courtesy of Bill Meyers and Jerry Hey.

Around 1982, “God Knows” was also recorded by UK pop vocal group, The Nolans, on their Portrait album. It was a nice rendition although it does not compare to the versions by Boone or Williams.

• Lead Vocals: Deniece Williams
• Keyboards: David Foster
• Drums: Jeff Porcaro
• Guitar: Richard Feldman & Steve Lukather
• Bass: David Hungate
• Percussion: Paulinho DaCosta
• Backing Vocals: Bill Champlin & Deniece Williams

• Horn Arrangement by Jerry Hey
• String Arrangement by Bill Meyers
• Produced & Arranged by David Foster
• Co-Produced by Deniece Williams

Lyrics

Out of the pages of books that I’ve read
I can recall that somewhere someone said
If you don’t succeed, try again

So I’m coming to you with my heart in my hand
Using every ounce of strength that I have
Don’t turn me away

‘Cause I live and breathe you
God knows how much I need you
And I’ll never leave you
God knows I love you

Too insecure is lovers who fail
The princess and the white knight
Live in fairy tales or so the story goes

We read so right from the very start
But here we are both with broken hearts
Let’s not part this way

‘Cause I live and breathe you
God knows how much I need you
And I’ll never leave you
God knows I love you

Time ran away and took you by the hand
If I can’t bring you back, maybe time can

‘Cause I live and breathe you
God knows how much I need you
And I’ll never leave you
God knows how much I love you

God knows how much I love you
God knows how much I love you
God knows how much I love you