by Richard S. Ginell
This is undoubtedly the equivalent of Gilberto Gil &Unplugged& -- Gil, his acoustic guitar, and a nonelectric five-piece band recorded live in a studio -- and it is a thoroughly musical triumph as Gil mesmerizes his attentive audience for some 74 minutes. He starts out with the nearly pure reggae of &A Novidade,& but before long, he establishes himself in a mostly consistent, loping set of intimate grooves thoroughly rooted in Brazil. Gil had a hand in writing all of this tuneful material except Anastacia Dominguinhos' &Tenho Sede,& Caetano Veloso's &Sampa,& and a left-field choice, Stevie Wonder's &The Secret Life of Plants,& which lends itself very well to Gil's bossa nova approach and proenvironmental position. It is not a complete live portrait of Gil, though; the astounding quickness and flexibility of his voice is fully vented only toward the end of the concert. The later Quanta Live album will give you a wider panorama of Gil's range.