AMG Review of Interpreta Cartola

Philip Jandovský
All Music Guide

The 2003 live album Interpreta Cartola Ao Vivo is very similar to the studio album Ney Matogrosso Interpreta Cartola from 2002, where Matogrosso performs 12 songs from the famous samba composer Cartola. In fact, all the songs from the studio album are present here, and the interpretations are practically identical. However, this live record contains a few "new" songs, with the biggest highlight being the dramatic "Preciso Me Encontrar" (which, by the way, is the only song on the album that wasn't written by Cartola). That song is a very welcome addition to the repertoire and combines very well with Cartola's elegant samba ballads. The three last "bonus" tracks on the album, however, are nothing but the encore versions of "O Sol Nascerá," "Basta de Clamares Inocência," and "Peito Vazio," which sound exactly the same as the they did earlier on the album, and are thus quite superfluous.