For the past 20 or so years, I’ve owned both of Jobim’s A&M/CTi albums, Wave and Tide, on the Audio Master Plus reissue vinyl. They both sound fantastic, and even Verve’s reissue of Tide on CD sounds quite nice. The music is better on Wave, but to me, Tide always sounded like the album was comprised of half-finished songs, and it was rather short in playing time as well. Even the title track was a bad, noodly imitation of “Wave”. It turns out that Tide was the last A&M/CTi recording before Creed Taylor picked up his label and moved it to Columbia. A few years ago, I had found out that there was a third Jobim album, called Stone Flower, that was like the final piece in a trilogy. And others had told me how good it was. And call me a skeptic, but after having heard how Tide came out, I was in no rush to hear it. So is it any good, or is it another mediocre recording?

To be honest, the music on Stone Flower runs circles around Tide and, in my opinion, is better than Wave also. If you heard all three side by side, you’d never guess this was not an A&M/CTi album. Thematically they are similar–they showcase more of the instrumental side of Jobim. But the compositions on Stone Flower are darker and more complex than the leaner offerings on the two A&Ms. There’s more richness. Think more along the lines of “Lamento” from Wave. The centerpiece is the title track here, full of all sorts of interesting changes and thematic elements. It is so impressive that Carlos Santana used it as the centerpiece of his own Caravanserai album, and his version is even more dynamic and exciting. “God And The Devil In The Land Of The Sun” is a sinister-sounding piece (which Santana also quotes briefly in his performance of “Stone Flower”), where “Andorinha” is soothing and a bit melancholy. Jobim’s familiar “Children’s Games” is delicate and playful here, as is the equally familiar “Brazil” that gets a lenghty workout on this album, along with an alternate take (with a slightly different arrangement) tacked on as a bonus track.

The melodies of these songs are the kind that echo around inside your head for hours, or days, after hearing them, and evoke many moods. This is one of his best albums all around, and a worthy addition to your collection if you even remotely like Jobim. This is his best of these three instrumental-based albums he recorded for CTi by far…not to slight Wave, which is another favorite of mine, but Wave operates on an entirely different level. Enjoy this one!

Pick up Antonio Carlos Jobim: Stone Flower from our A&M Corner Store.