Entertainment Weekly - No. 838, p.144
"Brazilian actor/musician Jorge...makes a strong impression with this album of quirky samba-funk and delicate ballads...." -
Grade: B
Personnel: Seu Jorge (vocals); Mattieu Chedid (acoustic guitar); Pretinho DaSerrinha (cavaquinho); M. Zero (synthesizer); Edmundo Carneiro (percussion); Gringo DaParada, Robertinho Brant (background vocals).
Best known outside of Brazil as Knockout Ned from the lauded film CITY OF GOD and as the Bowie-inclined singing sailor in Wes Anderson's THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU, Seu Jorge proves that he can perform far more than ZIGGY STARDUST-era tunes with CRU. Jorge allows his deep, rich voice to take center stage on tracks sung mostly in Portuguese, backed by cavaquinho (the Brazilian variation on a ukulele), acoustic guitar, synthesizers, and a wide variety of percussion.
Songs range from the buoyant, lilting "Tive Razao" to a sinister update of Serge Gainsbourg's "Chatterton" (which is anchored by sinister vocals and an ominous bass-synth line) to the delicate, Joao Gilberto-like "Sao Gonca." Jorge stirs the stylistic mix even further with a beautiful English-language rendition of Lieber & Stoller's "Don't" that features only light drumming behind his delicate singing and acoustic-guitar playing. CRU is a wonderfully dynamic and assured first record.
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