Upon its original release back in 1973, ‘Listen Of’ sold more than 150,000 copies in Bryan’s native Brazil alone, but as time passed the record’s status became that of a hidden treasure, buried away in the depths of dusty emporiums and known only to the most astute of diggers. It is therefore with a justified air of excitement and anticipation that music lovers are greeting its glorious release back into the wild, courtesy of a reissue on Jazzanova’s Sonar Kollektiv label. As befits a man who went onto work with Roberto Carlos, Gilberto Gil and Tim Maia, as well as fellow blind musician Stevie Wonder, Paul Bryan (real name Sérgio Sá) has a style that is clearly influenced by both golden era Motown soul and classic Brazilian song writing, and what we have here is a beautiful collection of calming, softly-spoken Folk ballads, full of understated guitar plucks and breezy, Jobim-inspired string arrangements, that has truly stood the test of time. What greater commendation is there than that?
