As Dez Mais
As Dez Mais (Portuguese for The Top Ten) is the tenth studio album by Brazilian rock band Titãs, and their first cover album. It was released in 1999, selling more than 400,000 copies.[1] It was their last album with guitarist Marcelo Fromer, who died in 2001 just a few days before the first days of recordings of As Dez Mais' studio successor, A Melhor Banda de Todos os Tempos da Última Semana.
| As Dez Mais | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1999 | |||
| Recorded | June, July and August 1999 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 37:04 | |||
| Label | WEA Hollywood (US) | |||
| Producer | Jack Endino | |||
| Titãs chronology | ||||
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| Singles from As Dez Mais | ||||
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Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gostava Tanto de Você" (I Used to Like You So Much) | Edson Trindade | Tim Maia | 3:59 |
| 2. | "Sete Cidades" (Seven Cities) | Renato Russo | Legião Urbana | 3:26 |
| 3. | "Circo de Feras" (Circus of Beasts) | Tim | Xutos & Pontapés | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Rotina" (Routine) | Clemente Nascimento | Inocentes | 3:19 |
| 5. | "Querem Acabar Comigo" (They Want to Finish Me Off) | Roberto Carlos | Roberto Carlos | 3:39 |
| 6. | "Fuga nº II" (Escape nº II [2]) | Arnaldo Baptista, Rita Lee, Sérgio Dias | Os Mutantes | 4:35 |
| 7. | "Pelados em Santos" (Naked in Santos) | Dinho | Mamonas Assassinas | 3:29 |
| 8. | "Um Certo Alguém" (A Certain Someone) | Lulu Santos | Lulu Santos | 3:21 |
| 9. | "Ciúme" (Jealousy) | Roger Moreira | Ultraje a Rigor | 4:06 |
| 10. | "Aluga-se" (For Rent) | Cláudio Roberto, Raul Seixas | Raul Seixas | 3:20 |
Single
"Aluga-se" was released in 1999 as the thirteenth single by the band. The original song was composed and performed by Brazilian rock singer Raul Seixas, and it was featured on his 1980 album Abre-Te Sésamo.
Music video
The music video for the song shows the band performing it inside a night club crowded with young people drinking, dancing and smoking. At certain point, some of the band members are seen playing a card game of some sort, and then playing pool.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Folha de S.Paulo | |
Writing for Folha de S.Paulo, Lúcio Ribeiro panned the album, stating it was another commercial play by the band that "seems to have permanently given up composing new material to fill an album". He also said the group "annihilated" all ten tracks, turning "Rotina" in a "boring ska" and depriving "Pelados em Santos" of its debauchery.[4]
The band's position
Members Branco Mello (vocals), Nando Reis (vocals, bass) and Sérgio Britto (vocals, keyboards) commented: "Since 'Sonífera Ilha', a song made to be a hit, people mess around with us. We want to be TV stars [...] The guy who makes music just for selling doesn't exist. First, we do music for our entertainment. [...] This is independent from our will. We make a consuming product. Everyone has the right to say whatever they want, but, for us, the priority is artistic".[5]
Producer Jack Endino said that there are elements of pop in the band's two previous albums, the well-sold Acústico MTV and Volume Dois, and in all their seven albums released before Titanomaquia (first Titãs album produced by him).[6] He added:[6]
I'm a rocker, but I like good songs very much. If a song has a good feeling and good lyrics, rhythms, energy, intelligence and emotion, then it's not necessary that it has a 'wall of guitars'. Anyway, the concept for 'As Dez Mais' was not my idea. I did the best album I could, considering these were not Titãs songs. And I tell you I get very happy with the way this album sounds. I didn't want the 'strings' added to the songs, it wasn't my idea, but Eumir Deodato did a good job, specially on 'Fuga 2'. As a Titãs fan, I would have preferred new compositions by them, but that wasn't what the band wanted at that time.
Personnel
- Titãs
- Branco Mello - lead vocals on "Gostava Tanto de Você" and "Rotina", co-lead vocals on "Pelados em Santos"
- Paulo Miklos - lead vocals on "Fuga Nº 11" and "Um Certo Alguém", co-lead vocals on "Aluga-se", harmonica, mandolin, banjo, backing vocals
- Nando Reis - lead vocals on "Circo de Feras" and "Ciúmes", co-lead vocals on "Pelados em Santos", bass
- Sérgio Britto - lead vocals on "Sete Cidades" and "Querem Acabar Comigo", co-lead vocals on "Aluga-se", organ, piano, mellotron, wurlitzer, backing vocals
- Tony Bellotto - acoustic, electric and twelve string guitar
- Marcelo Fromer - acoustic and electric guitar
- Charles Gavin - drums
- Additional personnel
- Jack Endino - bass in "Um Certo Alguém", electronic drums arrangement in "Fuga n° II", guitar and backing vocals in "Aluga-se"
- Edu Morelenbaum - conducting
- Eumir Deodato - conducting
- Ricardo Imperatore - percussion
- Paschoal Perrota - violin and arrangement
- Cassia Menezes - cello
- Marcio Malard - cello
- Paula Prates - violin
- Ricardo Amado da Silva - violin
- Antonella Pareschi - violin
- Jesuina Passaroto - viola
- Bernard Marie Bessler - viola
- Daniel Garcia - saxophone, flute, saxophone solo in "Gostava Tanto de Você"
- Roberto Marques - trombone
- Altair Martins - trumpet, flugelhorn
- Ron Lawrence - viola
- N. Cenovia Cummins - violin
- Todd Reynolds - violin
- Richard Lucker - cello
- Maxine Neuman - cello
- Joyce Hammann - violin
- Robert Shaw - violin
- Stuart Mac Donald - tenor saxophone
- Jim Sisko - trumpet
- David Marriott, Jr. - trombone
- Technical personnel
- Bae arrangements: Jack Endino and Titãs
- String and brass arrangements: Eumir Deodato (except "Rotina" and "Ciúmes", by Titãs and Jack Endino)
- Studios: Iron Wood Studios (Seattle), Hanzeck Audio (Seattle), Avatar Studios (NY), Ar Estúdio (RJ), Blue Studio (RJ) e ARP Estúdio (SP)
- ExcExecutive production: Charles Gavin
- Artistic direction: Tom Capone
- Recording engineering (Seattle): Jack Endino e Kip Beelman
- Recording assistants (Seattle): Donn Devore, Kip Beelman e Floyd Reitsma
- Recording engineering (NY): Álvaro Alencar
- Recording assistant (NY): Gregg Gasperino
- Recording engineering (RJ): Álvaro Alencar
- Recording assistants (RJ): André Rattones e Luciano Tarta
- Recording engineering (SP): Roberto Marques
- Recording assistant (SP): Nelson Damascena
- Mixing: Studio X (Seattle)
- Mixing engineering: Jack Endino
- Mixing assistant: Sam Hofstedt
- Mastering engineering: George Marino and Jack Endino (at Sterling Sound, NY)
- Graphic coordination: Silvia Panella
- Cover: Desenho Brasa
- Photos: Rochelle Costi
- Photo assistant: Marcelo Zochio
- Costume design: Cristiane Mesquita and Lilian Varella
- Roadies: Sérgio Molina, Sombra Jones and Viça
References
- "Titãs history at Bravus.net". Archived from the original on 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- Also a pun on "fugue" — in Portuguese, "fuga" may mean "fugue" or "escape".
- Allmusic review
- Ribeiro, Lúcio (29 October 1999). ""As Dez Mais" tem pontos negativos e positivos". Folha de S.Paulo (25776): Ilustrada 18. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- Paiva, Marcelo Rubens (29 October 1999). ""Somos uma estatal gigante", diz Nando Reis". Folha de S.Paulo (25776): Ilustrada 18. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- Sarkis, Thiago Pinto Corrêa (4 January 2004). "Jack Endino - Entrevista exclusiva com o produtor do Nirvana". Whiplash.net. Retrieved 12 March 2015.