Sergio Mendes[1] is an album by Brazilian keyboardist Sérgio Mendes, released in 1983 on A&M Records. It was his first top 40 album in nearly a decade and a half, his second self-titled album, and was accompanied by his biggest chart single ever, "Never Gonna Let You Go", a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and with a lead vocal performed by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller that reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was released with Spanish-language versions of the songs as Picardía.

Sergio Mendes
Studio album by Sérgio Mendes
Released	1983
Recorded	1983
Studio	Kendun Recorders (Burbank, California) Redwing Studios (Tarzana, California)
Genre	Pop, adult contemporary, soft rock, yacht rock
Label	A&M SP-4984
Producer	Sérgio Mendes (with Jose Quintana on track 9)
Sérgio Mendes chronology
Alegria (Sérgio Mendes album) (1980) Sergio Mendes (1983) Confetti (1984)
Singles from Sergio Mendes
"Never Gonna Let You Go" Released: April 1983

Track listing

1. "VooDoo" (Douglas Brayfield, Ronaldo Monteiro De Souza, Ivan Lins, Vítor Martins) 3:55
2. "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) 4:15
3. "My Summer Love" (Adrienne Anderson, Serge Gainsbourg, Alain Chamfort) 4:00
4. "Carnaval Festa Do Interior" (Mary Ekler, Moraes Moreira, Abel Silva) 3:50
5. "Rainbow's End" (Don Freeman, David Batteau) 4:03
6. "Love Is Waiting" (David & Jenny Batteau, Don Freeman) 3:47
7. "Dream Hunter" (Danny Sembello, Michael Sembello) 3:02
8. "Life in the Movies" (Michael Sembello, Dennis Matkosky) 3:52
9. "Si Senor" (Juan Carlos Calderón) 3:46

Personnel

• Carlos Vega (8), Ed Greene (9), John Robinson (2, 3), Raymond Pounds (5), Vinnie Colaiuta (6): drums
• Edson Aparecido da Silva (AKA Cafe) (4), Ron Powell (3), Sebastiao Neto (1,3,4,6,7), Steve Forman (1,2,4,6,7,9): percussion
• Teo Lima - drums (1,4,7), percussion (7)
• Louis Johnson (7), Nathan East (2,5,6,9), Nathan Watts (1,3,4,9): bass
• Ben Bridges (1,4), John Pisano (9), Michael Sembello (1,4,5-8), Paul Jackson Jr. (2,9): guitars
• Michael Landau - guitar solo (2)
• Sérgio Mendes: keyboards (1,4-6,8), acoustic piano (3,7,9), synthesizers (3,7,9), percussion (2-4,6,7,9)
• Don Freeman: acoustic piano (5,6), clavinet (5,6), backing vocals (4)
• Robbie Buchanan: acoustic piano (2,5,6) & Fender Rhodes (5,6), synthesizer (2,5,6)
• Michael Boddicker: synthesizers (1,8)
• Gary Grant, Jerry Hey: horns (1,4)
• Bill Reichenbach, horns (1,4), tuba solo (4)
• Ernie Watts - horns (1,4), saxophone solo (1)
• Bill Martin (1,4), Carol Rogers (1,4,5,8), Dan Sembello (5), Geoff Lieb (1,4), Gracinha Leporace (1,3-5,8), Joe Pizzulo (2), Leeza Miller (1,2,4-6,8) Michael Sembello (7), Robert Martin (1,4), Suzanne Wallach (1,4,5): vocals and backing vocals
• Carol Rogers, Leeza Miller - vocals solo (1)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

In his retrospective review of the album, AllMusic’s Richard S. Ginell gave it two stars (of a possible five).[2] He took aim at the hit "Never Gonna Let You Go", calling it "a saccharine ballad, where Joe Pizzulo and Leza Miller sing their banalities while Sergio strums and comps on synthesizers".[2] He was critical of the album as a whole too, saying "To say that anyone could have made this record may be overstating the case, but the fact is that there is no way of knowing that this is a Sergio Mendes record without looking at the jacket."[2] While not reviewing the whole album, record producer and YouTube personality Rick Beato declared "Never Gonna Let You Go" "the most complicated hit song of all time".[3]

Chart performance

References