Nanny Assis: Double Rainbow

Nanny Assis
Double Rainbow
Blue Toucan
2007-02-20

Double Rainbow is an album of easygoing covers leavened with a few original compositions by Brazillian Nanny Assis and his friends. It strolls up to you with a samba-jazz swing, grins warmly, winks engagingly, and practically dares you to find some reason to dislike it. What honest soul can find it in her heart to hate a good version of Jorge Ben’s “Mas Que Nada”, or even a Portuguese cover of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”, sounding demure, the lachrymose moaning happily subdued? Or — and this is my favourite — Carlinhos Brown’s “Magalenha” with its hopping chorus, almost impossible to mess up as long as you can sing it fast enough. An album like this is not likely to become anyone’s favourite musical experience of all time (then again, Norah Jones has done pretty well with unassuming material), but if you’re feeling depressed and wondering where you can find a musical hug then Assis has his arms out and is ready to oblige.

RATING 6 / 10