mpb

Milton Nascimento: Clube Da Esquina 2 (1978)

2016/11/02

At least for me, some of the most interesting albums are the ones released by artists long after their much more lauded work. I say this, because these deep cuts usually detail a bit more history and show the weather of age a bit more clearly than earlier works. This is my thinking: what happens…
Bernard Lavilliers: San Salvador (1975)

2014/09/25

Bernard Lavilliers Now here’s a man that walked the walk and talked the talk. Today’s track of the day, the unique groove of “San Salvador” by Bernard Lavilliers introduces us to the sound of the Southern hemisphere via the offbeat French pop we all might not know nor love. There’s something about Bernard that informed…
Jorge Ben: Bem-Vinda Amizade (1981)

2014/07/12

As the World Cup draws to a close, so does my series of great Brazilian albums. For some of y’all this is the first time discovering these new types of sounds, and for some, like me, it’s rediscovering a deeper love that will always exist for them. One love that will never die is my…
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…