Miss Perfumado

1	Sodade 4:54
2	Bia 4:13
3	Cumpade Ciznone 3:16
4	Direito Di Nasce 4:42
5	Luz Dum Estrela 4:24
6	Angola 4:31
7	Miss Perfumado 4:31
8	Vida Tem Um Só Vida 5:38
9	Morabeza 4:23
10	Recordai 4:29
11	Lua Nha Testemunha 6:21
12	Barbinco 4:01
13	Tortura 4:00

Barnes & Noble

With so many excellent records to her credit, it's difficult to recommend just one album by the international star out of the Cape Verde Islands. Yet it was MISS PERFUMADO that propelled this 50-something grandmother to fame in France and then the rest of the world. Singing the sophisticated, stately maritime blues of her home country, the morna, Evora taps into a well of sorrow and loneliness that is so deep it becomes comforting. "Sodade" is something of a theme song not only for Evora but for the entire far-flung populace of Cape Verde; its heartbreaking mix of nostalgia and longing echoes with generations of countrymen who have left these arid rocks for a better life elsewhere. Established as a waystation for the West African slave trade by Portuguese traders, the islands now play host to lonely musical strains reminiscent of fado and Brazilian samba. Some consider Cape Verde, the first Afro-European Creole society, to be the beginning of the New World. As such Evora is a not-so-distant cousin to Billie Holiday, whose world-weary voice likewise transcends time and cirumstance. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Ravishing is the word that springs to the lips: one of those tiresome British understatements, but it'll have to do. Evora has the most glorious voice, the melodies are heartrendingly Portuguese, the guitar-runs have escaped from a fado recording. The classic piano and string group of Miss Perfumada help explain its near-bestselling status, the near-Brazilian rhythms add the zip that tops the whole thing off. ~ John Storm Roberts, Original Music, All Music Guide