Whenever a non-English-speaking musician makes his or her English-language debut, there's always a suggestion that it's a commercially motivated attempt to reach a larger audience. More importantly, if that record is a cover album of American standards, the endeavor unavoidably becomes a political statement-- especially at this particular moment in time. Whether or not Brazilian vocalist Caetano Veloso intended this covers album of American standards-- his first full-length performed entirely in English-- to be overtly political is debatable. But in his liner notes, he writes somewhat apologetically: "People all over the world would like to find a way of thanking American popular music for having made their lives and their music richer and more beautiful. Many try. So do I."
On one level, A Foreign Sound is an act of appropriation, a kind of reverse musical imperialism, much like Cornershop covering "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" in Punjabi. In addition to American chestnuts by Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hart, Veloso covers songs by artists who have borrowed from Brazilian traditions, including the Talking Heads and Arto Lindsay. Even on songs that have no musical ties to Brazil, Veloso exerts his elegant phrasing and supple voice to make them sound new. For example, Nirvana's "Come As You Are" becomes a low-key groove, its signature guitar line rendered as a mysterious, burbling funk, as Veloso emphasizes Cobain's pronunciation of the word memory as "memoria," a move that here takes on special linguistic significance.
On another level, at a time when U.S.-bashing is a popular global pastime, A Foreign Sound plays like an eloquent defense of American cultural imperialism. In that regard, the album's most impressive aspect is the generous scope of Veloso's vision: He is just as interested in more recent fare like "Come As You Are" and Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic" as he is in standards such as George and Ira Gershwin's "The Man I Love" and Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies". Despite the lack of any American country music or blues, the breadth of Veloso's overview of American music-- as well as his acknowledgement that phrasing and melody contribute just as much to a song's national character as its lyrics-- elevates A Foreign Sound well above the standard standards dreck dispensed obligatorily by twilight has-beens like Rod Stewart or Cyndi Lauper.
But A Foreign Sound is more impressive as a musical statement than as a political one. Veloso aims to reinterpret these songs, to make them sound new and foreign to American ears. And for the most part he succeeds. His nearly a cappella version of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" draws out the gutter pathos in the original's over-polished lyrics, and Berlin's "Blue Skies"-- which closes the album-- hasn't sounded this good since Willie Nelson covered it on Stardust. On the other hand, Veloso's version of Bob Dylan's "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"-- perhaps chosen for the relevance of its message-- is a lamentable misstep, as is his precious reading of the Civil War ballad-turned-Elvis Presley hit "Love Me Tender". But these flaws are perhaps merely the result of the length of the album (22 tracks) and are easily forgivable; after all, who else could make "Feelings" sound fresh and unironic?
Translating these songs with wit, grace, and intelligence, Veloso reinvigorates them in what could be considered an act of diplomacy. A Foreign Sound demonstrates how nations can meld the best of their cultures and traditions in a mutual give-and-take, a feat which makes the album a triumph both musically and politically.
