July 2014

Marcos Valle: Vontade de Rever Você (1981)

2014/07/11

I remember funk Fridays. Anyway, its been a while since I posted a truly funky album. No sweat, Marcos Valle’s Vontade de Rever Você is just jaw dropping brilliant. Recorded at a time of great change in Brazil, with the dictatorship finally losing its hold on power, and a renewed optimism by its citizenry, it…
Lô Borges: Best of Playlist (1972-1981)

2014/07/10

Now this, this is an artist I wish more people would know of outside of Brazil. Lo Borges, if I would look for an English-speaking analog I would think he would be a combination of George Harrison and Neil Young. Most of his music has this distinctive hypermelodic sound, imagine someone basing their whole musical…
Tom Zé: Correio da Estação do Brás (1978)

2014/07/09

Another shot I’ve been holding off in my Brazilian month reviews is Tom Ze. Once, the most forgotten of Brazil’s first wave of Tropicalismo artists suddenly became one of the most exposed, or overexposed, due to David Byrne’s promotion of Tom’s work like Estudando o Samba and in various Tropicalia compilations. What you get from…
Gilberto Gil: Refavela (1977)

2014/07/08

I know I’ve been holding my Gilberto Gil shot for a while. If, anyone has some cursory knowledge of Brazilian music they’re bound to at least know or have heard of Gilberto. He was one of the original Tropicalismo artists, and creator of one of its most influential tracks like “Domingo no Parque” (which Os…
Joyce: Passarinho Urbano (1976)

2014/07/06

Now this is a personal favorite of mine. Joyce isn’t the perfect Brazilian artist to herald. Her career swung so back and forth from great to bland taste. When her taste is on point such as in her work with Nelson Angelo or Nana Vasconcelos its truly astounding to behold, but when she is too…
Burnier & Cartier: Fotos Para a Capa Do (1976)

2014/07/05

200 years after America’s independence, Burnier & Cartier released this jaw dropping brilliant piece of Brazilian acoustic guitar-based music. “Fotos Para a Capa Do” which translates to “Photos for the Cover” is such a nondescript title for such a massively intricate and dreamy album. This could be said was the first child of Clube da…
(World Cup Edition) Marvin Gaye: Star Spangled Banner (1814)

2014/07/04

I take a break today to celebrate the greatest country I live in…the one and only United States of America. Quite possibly the best cover ever, Marvin Gaye’s re-imagining of Francis Scott Keys’ original work. Y’all know the story of America and this song, if not read a book, or visit wikipedia. Stay safe, light…
Tim Maia: Racional Vol. 1 (1975)

2014/07/02

Tim Maia Released in 1975, “Racional Vol. 1” by Tim Maia is just a banging album. Tim Maia, by then, had always been Brazil’s resident R&B and Funk master…a heady ball of James Brown, Barry White, and Curtis Mayfield. He was known as the most hard headed artist, picking fights with collaborators, or scrapping takes…