One of my goals this year was to expand my musical palate, and so far into 2025, I’ve listened to the same exact genres, artists and songs as I always have. So, what does any sane human being do when they want to expand their music taste? Create a wheel of 30 albums across the genres, picking one to review biweekly. No? Is it just me?
Well, nevertheless, I threw in a variety of albums: some I wanted to listen to but haven’t gotten to, some that my friends recommended and some that the Spotify AI suggested to me. I also put a Dax album on the wheel, mainly because I can, and also because it’ll be funny when I have to review it in the next issue.
The mystical wheel, the subsequent reviews and everything in between will all culminate into one beautiful column. Welcome to Vinyl Verdict.
Our first album was nearly Logic’s Everybody, which seriously scared me for a second, but the wheel trickled over and landed on The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions by Brazilian artist Seu Jorge. Fans of Wes Anderson might recognize the title, as it accompanies the soundtrack for the 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
The album’s claim to fame, however, is that all of its songs are covers of English singer David Bowie’s songs, sung fully in Portuguese by Seu Jorge. I can’t say I’ve listened to much David Bowie or Brazilian music, but the stuff I have heard is absolutely beautiful. At first glance, I could see that the album definitely checks the “expanding my music taste” box, and it seems like it will be — judging a book by its cover — a very intriguing album.
The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions kicks off with “Rebel Rebel,” which is arguably better than the original Bowie version. Jorge’s raspy yet comforting voice shines through on this track, along with great guitar play that accompanies his vocals perfectly.
That strength in Jorge’s voice and guitar continues throughout many of the songs, including easily my favorite of the album, “Starman.” I love the original version of this song, but again, Jorge might do it better than Bowie. I don’t speak a word of Portuguese, but his voice does an amazing job of conveying the emotion of the song and takes the calmness of the album to another level.
Songs like “Ziggy Stardust,” “Oh! You Pretty Things” and “Suffragette City,” some of my other favorites of the record, continue to testify to the alluring vocal skill of Seu Jorge.
Jorge also proves that it’s not just Bowie’s style making him sound good, as one original song on the album, “Team Zissou,” is just as good as the rest. It incorporates an almost jazzy melody but still carries parallels to how Jorge covered the rest of the songs.
Listening to this album was a surreal experience, and I can only wish I had listened to it sooner. Every song is great, and none of them are even close to skippable. David Bowie himself seems to agree with me, saying in an interview with Billboard, “Had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs in Portuguese, I would never have heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with.”
The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions gets a strong 9/10, which is practically a 10/10 in my books (though nothing is truly a 10/10, but that’s a story for another day). I strongly suggest you also give it a listen, as everyone needs to hear this record at least once in their life, especially if you are a fan of David Bowie.