The Best of Caetano Veloso

1	O Estrangeiro 6:16
2	Manhatã (Manhattan) 5:17
3	13 de Maio (May 13th) 3:37
4	Fina Estampa (Fine Figure) 2:37
5	Haiti 4:20
6	Baião da Penha 3:26
7	Cucurrucucu Paloma Live 4:01
8	Um Tom 2:31
9	Tradiçáo (Tradition) 5:57
10	Que Não Se Vê (Come Tu Mi Vuoi) (Cannot Be Seen ) ... As You Want Me 3:57
11	Michelangelo Antonioni 3:48
12	Itapuã 3:40
13	Onde O Rio É Mais Baiano (Where Rio Is Most Bahian) 3:23
14	Un Vestido y un Amor (A Dress and a Love) 4:12
15	Na Baixa Do Sapateiro (In Baixa Do Sapateiro) 3:45

Barnes & Noble

Since finding his American home at the Nonesuch label in 1989, Caetano Veloso has released a string of reliably excellent recordings, each one vastly different than the last, yet united by the mature songcraft of this Brazilian institution. As liner notes scribe David Byrne puts it, this collection represents Veloso in his fourth stage -- the bossa nova interpreter, tropicalia firebrand, and pop star have made way for the restless artistic explorer. Veloso can record anything and find an ear for it, thanks to the self-assured grace and weight he'd bring to even the most unlikely project. Consider this disc's offerings, from the electronica-fashioned "O Estrangeiro" to the swooning "Que Não Se Vé (Come Tu Mi Vuoi)" to the buoyant samba "Onde O Rio E Mas Baiano" from the jazzy Livro. Then there are two tracks from his Spanish-language Latin American Songbook sampler, Fina Estampa, a pair from 1994's reunion with Gilberto Gil, Tropicália 2, a live track, and more. Throughout, the constant is Veloso's soothing quaver of a voice and his philosophical poetry. The latter is grounded as much in rhythmic Brazilian place names as in an expansive view of appropriate song-fodder: Tropicalista that he his, everything is grist for his guitar, from Italian cinema to lit-crit, with dashes of local and world history and shout-outs to Brazilian music icons such as Tom Jobim. That Veloso makes it all seem so effortlessly sexy is reason enough to dip into this toothsome collection. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

It is understandable that Elektra/Nonesuch deemed an overview of Caetano Veloso's output on the label appropriate, but naming this collection The Best of Caetano Veloso is audacious. Veloso has been a pioneer of Brazilian pop since 1967, when his debut album sparked one of Brazil's most famous movements in music and politics, the legendary Tropicalia movement. Presumably due to publishing rights, Elektra/Nonesuch did not access the vaults of the Phillips label, which, along with that first album, contain the first 20 years of Veloso's output. This is fine and dandy, but to reiterate: the 12 years spanning the collected material here do not make a considerable enough dent in Veloso's 30-plus-year career as an influential recording artist to tag "Best Of" to the cover of this release and leave it at that. In fact, it is a misleading slap in the face. That aside, Elektra/Nonesuch has pieced together a nice collection of songs Veloso recorded for them between the years 1989 and 2001. It is astonishing to note how much Veloso has continued to evolve with finesse through his career, never rooting himself in a single place, but instead exploring constantly. His arrangements are sometimes sparse, sometimes gorgeously complex, sometimes dissonant, and sometimes wild. Most of these tendencies are explored on this collection, from the beautiful and lush "Manhatã" to the polyphony of "13 de Maio" to the string quartet and vocal waltz "Fina Estampa" to the rhythmic and melodic glory of "Un Tom." It is easy to become so lost in the marvelous organicity of Veloso's compositions and his downy voice that the diversity and calculations of his arrangements become an afterthought. This is a mystifying effect -- one does not have to dissect these songs because they are so natural; however, once the nuances are placed under the scientific ear, endless imagination and innovation are revealed. There have been many attempts to describe this imagination and innovation Veloso exudes to an American audience over the years, as David Byrne's liner notes state, without success, because the comparisons to the founding fathers of Western music are invalid. Byrne points out that Veloso's contributions to the world's music stage rival Lennon/McCartney melodically, Dylan poetically, and the inventiveness of Neil Young, Serge Gainsbourg, Stevie Wonder, and others. He has a point; no music fan ever refers to the music of Paul Simon by stating who Simon sounds like, simply because Paul Simon sounds only like Paul Simon, and while it is difficult to impress such a concept on the ears of those not familiar with Veloso, he is an artist of such magnitude and should be recognized as such. The Best of Caetano Veloso provides much to back this up and is an excellent starting point for the uninitiated, even if it pretends almost two-thirds of Veloso's remarkable career never existed. Gregory McIntosh

Blender

This set... provides an excellent introduction to the bold, mature artist who's obsessed with texture and hue. Tom Moon