Various Artists: Morena Faceira (Naughty Brunette)

From an album paying tribute to popular music from the 1940s through the '50s, we have the slinky (Hmmm...doesn't that apply to all bossa nova?) "Naughty Brunette." While Mario Adnet provides some beautiful and textured vocals, and the group background vocals are just beyond fun, the secret weapons here are the guitars of Adnet and Rodrigo Campello. The rhythm work that supports the harmonic structure ends up sounding like a song-length chord solo, and the melodic fills add color by winding their way around Adnet's story. Given the state of today's popular music, it's almost impossible to imagine a world where music this vibrant held sway.