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Roy Harper: The Same Old Rock (1971)

2014/11/04

Roy Harper You know, for me, there’s one reason I’ll give Jimmy Page a lifetime pass, it’s for his brief period supporting the genuinely offbeat, yet equally brilliant Roy Harper, and in doing so delivering both of their best work. Released in 1970, “The Same Old Rock” from Roy Harper’s Stormcock ushered in a new age…
Shelagh McDonald: Rod’s Song and Odyssey (1971)

2014/11/03

Now here’s a great English neo-folk artist lost to time. Shelagh McDonald, born in Edinburgh, was a gorgeous Scottish folk singer destined for stardom. Her style was uniquely urbane, mixing Joni Mitchell sonics with Nick Drake-like singing and atmosphere. Some of the upper echelon of English folk-rock luminaries like members from Fotheringay, Fairport Convention, Mighty…
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…
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…
Marcos Valle: Previsao do Tempo (1973)

2014/06/30

Here’s another monument to joy, Marcos Valle’s “Previsao do Tempo”, released in 1973 at the height of military dictatorship’s grip on power it contained some of the most relaxed and groovy music ever to come out of Brazil. Marco Valle, in my eyes, will always seem like the mutant spawn of Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson,…