Norma Kelly — Siga aquele carro (Follow that car)
b/w A Canção Que a Guitarra Não Tocou (Mocambo 1968)
Lil’ pop gem from Brazil circa 1968. Can’t find much else about Norma Kelly, but this is one groovy little dancefloor ditty.
First heard this on Give the Drummer Some a while back… download link in the comments!
Lula Côrtes e Zé Ramalho — Trilha de Sumé
from Paêbirú (1974)
Wake up to these gorgeous pastoral stoner sounds from Brazilian psych duo Lula Côrtes e Zé Ramalho. It’s the kind of jam you wanna listen to while you space out on the steam swirling up from your pot of tea. Forced Exposure says:
Paêbirú is an obscure Brazilian psych concept album about the four elements (earth, air, fire, water) that was lost to time in a warehouse fire in 1974… the entire range of 1970s hippie Brazilian musician culture is displayed in this record.
A beautiful acoustic guitar track from Paêbirú as requested by yerdarlingdaily.
Jorge Ben — Taj Mahal
from Ben (1972)
Is there such a thing as too much Jorge Ben? The answer, in my book, is no. This is one of his catchiest songs (you might be humming it later), in its first version, with some incredible fretless bass work. It is also, according to Wikipedia, recognizable (and legally recognized in a plagiarism lawsuit) as the source of the melody in Rod Stewart’s hit ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?’ There you have it.
He re-recorded this on his massive funksplosion record Africa/Brasil in 1976… also worth a listen.
Os 3 Morais — Azul Da Cor Do Mar Tico - Tico No Fuba
from Os 3 Morais (1971)
Take this song. Place on tongue. Swallow.
A vocal chill pill from Brazilian siblings Jane Vicentina do Espírito Santo, Sidney do Espírito Santo e Roberto do Espírito Santo: the three ‘Morais’ (their mother’s maiden name).
The trio got its start in the early 60s recording jingles for commercials—you can definitely hear a tinge of soap ad salesmanship in these super-polished vocals.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…
Marcos Valle — Freio aerodinâmico
from Marcos Valle (1970)
I’ve been grooving on this song for a while now.. the syncopation will hijack your brain, and the scat singing is fantastically evocative of the jetsetting times before you had to pay $25 to check a bag. The song is ‘Airbrake’ by psych/bossa guru Marcos Valle, from his self-titled 1970 LP.
Moreno Veloso — Um Passo a Frente
Here’s a perky cover of Gal Costa’s ‘Um Passo a Frente’ by Moreno Veloso, who is, as you may have guessed, the son of Caetano, and has released several albums on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label.
But I’ll be honest and admit the real reason I’m posting this—the host. He is a riot, mustachioed and suave, and he speaks Portuguese with Moreno to boot. This is quite an interesting little project he has going, mostly with South American artists. It’s called On the Shelf, and it’s a Tokyo-based production in which musicians perform from the “narrowest stage in the world” — a bookshelf! Check out his other videos too.
Alceu Valença & Geraldo Azevedo — Me Dá Um Beijo (Give me a Kiss)
from Alceu Valença & Geraldo Azevedo (1972)
Visits to the blog Super Sonido always yield a few equatorial treats. My last visit was no exception, turning up a brilliant set of psychedelic tracks from Brazilian composers Alceu Valença & Geraldo Azevedo. They hail from the state of Pernambuco, in the region of Brazil that juts eastward into the Atlantic.
Marcos Valle — Brazil x México
from Marcos Valle (1974)
Space-age cocktail music for a bright new future (circa 1974) from Brazil’s pioneering psychedelic madhatter Marcos Valle. It’s worth noting that he recorded this album on the heels of a two-year stint of producing music for Vila Sésamo—Brazil’s version of Sesame Street.
Hat tip to the always-enlightening musical treasure trove Flabbergasted Vibes.
frosty — “Celsius Drop” Cocktail Hour
Allow me to recommend the soundtrack to your next martini-sipping session—this jet-setting mix from dublab’s frosty.
These selections have been shaken and stirred to provide the perfect audio accompaniment for your next social gathering. Whether you’re dancing on moon beams or beyond these are hi-fi cuts to float you higher. Please pour yourself a stiff drink, hit the play button and swim in these sounds.
I also have to give frosty huge accolades for including Edoardo Vianello’s ‘Guarda Come Dondolo,’ a classic of Italian kitsch. Of course he did. Stay tuned for a classic video…
Jorge Ben — Xica da Silva
from África Brasil (1976)
It doesn’t get any slicker than this thick groove from Jorge Ben. That snaky guitar line at the end of the song is spine-chilling. If you’re not dancing you should be…
Pedro Santos — Dual
from Krishnanda (1968, Brazil)
Well this is delightful. I’m gonna have to track this album down…
I probably won’t play this at NOMERICA tomorrow night, but it’s the best. Maybe I’ll play it if nobody’s dancing.
Tim Maia — I Don’t Know What to Do With Myself
from Tim Maia (1971)
An irresistible track from Tim Maia, one of the pioneers of Brazilian funk and soul. Maia spent a number of years in the US, and obviously learned his soul lessons well, as seen on this track, and the stuff he arranged for Eduardo Araujo.
Maia was remarkably bad at coming up with album titles; ten of his albums are entitled simply Tim Maia. This is the second such edition. It has a number of great songs on it, including the ultra-dramatic ballad ‘Você’ (You), a Maia original. There are also a few playful, accordion-tinged forró tracks, much more Brazilian in pedigree.
If this jam isn’t sexy enough for you, here’s an even slower version.
Eduardo Araújo — Pressentimento
from A Onda é Boogaloo (1969)
This Brazilian soul LP is really an oddity—this is one of only three original tracks on the album, writen by Araújo and his songwriting partner Chil Deberto. The rest of the tracks are all reworkings of American soul classics by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Smokey Robinson and James Brown, some of them quite good. (Aretha’s ‘Baby, baby sim baby’—‘Since you’ve been gone’).
Why so many covers? The album’s producer, funk master Tim Maia, had spent a year or two in New York City, where he became acquainted with the soul scene. His deportation back to Brazil served to turn him into a sort of soul ambassador, and he convinced his old friend from Rio’s Clube do Rock, Araujo, to give soul a shot.
Araujo, on the other hand, was a country boy from a farm in Minas Gerais, who moved to Rio in 1960 with dreams to become a veterinarian. But he got swept up in rock’n’roll mania instead, recording his biggest hit, the bubblegum rock number ‘O bom’ in 1967. This soul album, recorded several years later, sounds light years apart in style.
After the decline of Brazil’s teenybopper Jovem Guarda movement, he was back on the farm, where years later he recorded a tribute to the horse race Mangalarga Marchador, effectively relaunching his career—as a country singer. He’s now a mustachioed country singer with a white Stetson, and raises horses.
Grab the album over at Mining the Audio Motherlode.
Raul Seixas — Cauboi Fora da Lei (Outlaw Cowboy)
You think you’ve seen it all. And then you see a Brazilian hippie rock star do his best impression of Clint Eastwood in a saloon, strumming a cardboard guitar as every outlaw in the place gets a bullet.
I can’t say my life is better for having seen this, but it certainly isn’t worse.
(yes, I’ve been on a Raul Seixas kick lately)
Luiz Bonfá — Batucada
on the Mike Douglas Show, 1966
You know you’ve mastered guitar when you start playing other band members’ parts on it. In the first track, ‘Batucada,’ Bonfá emulates the cuíca, tamborim and tom tom on his guitar!
