Live At Carnegie Hall [CD]

Without any warning whatsoever a new album appears out of nowhere featuring a likely and unlikely pair playing live at Carnegie Hall from some eight years ago. We need more nice surprises. Though many would make the connection between David Byrne and Caetano Veloso from Byrne's interest and work with South American music styles, many may not see the opposite connection. The cool latin jazz style of some of Veloso's best known work provides quite a stark contrast to Byrne's relatively thumping pop/rock songs. Nonetheless, in the liner notes Veloso praises Byrne for expanding Brazilian music's range into new realms, and particularly thanks him for exposing Tom Ze to the world. Though somehow the whole disparate collection comes together not quite perfectly, but perfectly enough for a great ride.

The set opens with an amazing set of six songs by Veloso. The crowd goes nuts after the first few bars of every song and Veloso nails each one with a finesse tantamount to his very deserved reputation. The backing musicians get introduced one by one throughout this first section. Then, almost shockingly, Veloso breaks into "The Revolution" from Byrne's "Look Into The Eyeball." Half way through the crowd freaks out again and Byrne joins Veloso for the last part of the song. Then Byrne takes over, with a mostly familar set. "Life During Wartime" surprisingly works in a stripped down acoustic arrangement. "God's Child," a song Byrne wrote and performed with the late Selena, stands out here as it does on his other recent released-way-too-late live recording from Austin City Limits.

Both performers come together for the last section of the set. They duet on a song they co-wrote, "Dreamworld: Marco de Canaveses" and interestingly on "(Nothing But) Flowers," and "Heaven." Byrne even sings in Portugese on the stunning "Um Canto de Afoxe para o Bloco de Ile," returning the favor for Veloso's English vocals. The set closes with two amazing songs: Veloso's "Terra" and Byrne's (Talking Heads') "Heaven." The backing instrumentation provides great texture throughout, including various percussion and cello. Overall, a great set that runs over an hour and ten minutes. Both Veloso and Byrne fans will fall over with joy.

Those who have signed up for Byrne's e-mailing list will have heard of this release already. In that message he said that "Record business nonsense" kept this album under wraps for almost a decade. He also claimed that he was very nervous that night and that "flubs" occur "here and there." Well, that's true, but none of them detract from the show as a whole. In the end, Veloso and Byrne come together and meld in ways many will not expect. The only complaint remains the incomprehensible time it took to finally release this great concert. May life throw more equally wonderful surprises our way.

David Byrne and Caetano Veloso both work in the upper register. They share a borderless sense of music, one minute in America, the next in Brazil. Pairing them in concert at Carnegie Hall --- a no-brainer.

Veloso's songs start in the ether; there's no thrust, no urgency. He's in the transportation business; his songs don't come to you, you come to them. And when you arrive, you're wrapped in his thoughts and moods.

Byrne's trickier. When he was the kingpin of Talking Heads, he wrote his share of off-kilter hits; he can, at will, get you dancing. But he's shy, maybe aloof, and diffident --- no one's more self-consciously cool than a New York art rocker.

My wife and I saw the 2004 Veloso-Byrne concert from about the tenth row. It was magic, spectacular right from the from start --- I think pretty much everyone there got that, and felt privileged, and went nuts with pleasure and gratitude after each song. A while back, we ran into Byrne at a gallery and asked about a CD. "Soon," he said. "Maybe." Well, what's eight years --- half as long as it takes for single malt to be drinkable.

Veloso begins the show. If you're new to him, you might not immediately grasp that Brazilians rank him in the Bob Dylan zone. Then the sweetness and sensitivity seduce you. Byrne's presence comes almost as a shock. But not really, because there's no band here, just cello and percussion --- the Talking Heads songs you know and love do rock, just more intimately. Byrne and Veloso do some duets. Byrne sings in Portuguese. The words really don't matter; this evening was really about an exploration of sound. Namely, about how many different ways you can achieve gorgeousness.

We live in the land of reality TV competitions; we can't help ourselves from asking who won. These guys are way beyond that. Serve this music with wine at dinner. And don't fail to savor it again, late in the evening; in the dark, it is the wine.

I remember when these two great musicians played Carnegie Hall 8 (eight!) years ago. I don't remember any comments at the time about the session being recorded for a CD. So when I first heard about this release, I was a little cynical, thinking "OK, they were both on the Nonesuch label about that time, now neither is, so they're just fulfilling some contractual obligations; maybe I won't buy it just on principle.".

Fast forward, and it was time to complete another amazon order, and I decided to add it. After all, I have been following both artists for several decades now, and after giving the CD just one spin, any cynicism I may have had got wiped away. Instead, I found myself at several points with goosebumps on my arms, something that has happened with each of them individually over the years.

Some might comment that this isn't a very likely collaboration, but it is. Byrne began his exploration of world and African diaspora music way back in the late 70s. Veloso, for his part, is one of the principal architects behind the Tropicalia movement, which, of course, started from the African diaspora perspective, but looked to American and British rock and roll, and blended it all together in a wonderful and thoroughly addictive (or as David Byrne says in the liner notes, "down the rabbit hole of Brazilian music") psychedelic mix.

If you have some familiarity with either or both of these musicians, but may not be aware that they've collaborated together or played each other's songs live over the years, the record will give you new insight into how they complement one another. For those of us who are more than familiar with both, it's another gem to add to the collection.