Track Listing

1. Mas Que Nada (Mah-sh Keh Nah-da) featuring The Black Eyed Peas
2. That Heat featuring Erykah Badu and will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas
3. Berimbau/Consolacao (Beh-rim-bao/Con-soh-lah-soun) featuring Stevie Wonder and Gracinha Leporace
4. The Frog featuring Q-Tip and will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas
5. Let Me featuring Jill Scott and will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas
6. Bananeira (Bah-nah-nay-rah) (Banana Tree) featuring Mr. Vegas
7. Surfboard featuring will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas
8. Please Baby Don’t featuring John Legend
9. Samba Da Bencao (Samba Of The Blessing) featuring Marcelo D2
10. Timeless featuring India.Arie
11. Loose Ends featuring Justin Timberlake, Pharoahe Monch and will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas
12. Fo’-Hop (Por Tras de Bras de Pina) featuring Guinga and Marcelo D2
13. Lamento (No Morro) featuring Maogani Quartet
14. E Menina (Hey Girl)
15. Yes, Yes Y’All featuring Black Thought of The Roots, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Debi Nova & will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6211 in Music
• Released on: 2006-02-14
• Number of discs: 1

Album Details
2006 Album by Sergio Mendes with Guests Stevie Wonder, Eryka Badu, Jill Scott, Justin Timberlake and Marcelo D2.

Amazon.com
As you might expect, Timeless isn’t your parents’ Sergio Mendes. Take "Mais Que Nada," the opener from that topselling staple of post-60s, post-bossa, near-kitsch Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66: Greatest Hits. Here it’s no simple, slinky groove. The Black-Eyed Peas are along for the bumpin’ ride. What it amounts to is the same intercultural collision that happened when bossa nova met jazz and pop via Stan Getz’s tenor sax, except here the meeting is between the lounge and, presumably, the street. John Legend and India.Arie keep the session on a downtempo, neo Brazilian vibe on "Please Baby Don’t" and the title track (respectively). Once those are tunes end, though, it’s back to the bump and the beats and the irresistible party vibe of the set. Don’t fret, though, as the Peas keep things light enough to trigger innocent headbobs and chilled out dance steps. Just as you might hear Timeless and agree that it ain’t your parents’ Sergio, your parents can also hear will.i.am’s and the Peas’s pivotal roles and say that it’s not their kids’ Black-Eyed Peas, either --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

Sergio Mendes' Hot Update: Hip-Hop Meets Bossa Nova (4.5 stars)
I don't know about you but I had a troubled relation with Sergio Mendes through the years, during my young and purist years I even hesitantly reneged him, although even then he was at least a guilty pleasure.

Sergio Mendes' Timeless certainly put any old concerns to bed for good, at least in my case. Black eyed Peas' Will I Am arrangements and overall production is dead-on: tight, sensual or sentimental where it needs to be, and so are his vocals, specially "That Heat" with Erykah Badu, and the glorious "The Frog" led by Q-Tip's deft rap.

To my taste, Q-Tip's take on "The Frog" which is already a shoe-in for my "best of 06" personal collection, combines everything that makes Timeless work so well: groove and soul in equal measures.

In addition to "The Frog," there are several other tracks, reminiscent of Sergio Mendes' Brasil 66 & 77's sound yet produced and enriched with contemporary touches, which might delight you. India Arie in "Timeless," John Legend in "Please Baby Don't," Jill Scott in "Let Me," or Gracinha Leporace in "Berimbau/Consolacao"-in her duet with the Stevie Wonder-are bound to touch you whether Bossa ballads or killer grooves do it for you.

Mendes has managed an album which is practically a collaboration-Will I Am's funky Hip-Hop is utterly present throughout- and still remains very much his own funky and joyous child. So, get Timeless and let your body take care of the rest.

An intriguing oddity
I doubt that you'll hear this CD pumping from cars and boom boxes in the hood, but if you do, there will be hope for civilization after all! A lot of heavyweight talent is showcased on "Timeless" but the real star is the music of Sergio Mendes, a master piano man with a most illustrious calatogue. Hearing some age-old favorite songs recast in this contemporary mode is fun and underscores the broad appeal of the bossa/samba sound! Stevie Wonder's remarkable harmonica, the voices of India.Arie, Jill Scott and others are all wonderful. Q-Tip's appearance is a typical rap ego session (announcing himself over and over...we get it already, you call yourself "Q-Tip [heavens knows why]), but aside from that minor irritation, this is a CD bound to have play life well into the spring and summer. Sergio Mendes gettin' his props! It's about time!

Fans can never be objective...
From the OBJECTIVE reviewer...you cannot mash the old (Sergio) with the new (Will.i.am & company) and be successful if you can't keep the spirit of the original and yet give it a fresh sound. They missed the bossa nova boat.