Following a US-backed army coup in 1964, many younger artists in Brazil – disillusioned with the apolitical nature of bossa nova – looked for a music that will converse to their modern world. By the late 60s, a bunch would reply the decision by way of a motion often called Tropicália. These artists – mainly Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, and Gal Costa – sought a “universal sound”; a merger of native and worldwide types that was each cosmopolitan and distinctly Brazilian. Their fusions of bossa nova, psychedelia, and rock ’n’ roll stay completely distinctive.
Among the many most vital works of this era was Gal Costa’s 1969 eponymous album. Costa started her profession as a bossa nova singer earlier than becoming a member of the “tropicalists” in 1968. From the primary second of this album, the transformation is obvious. “Não Identificado” begins with harsh waves of static earlier than fading into shiny organs and swooning orchestral preparations by Rogério Duprat.
Hearken to Gal Costa’s 1969 self-titled album now.
Over the shifting rhythms and bombastic horn preparations of “Lost in Paradise,” Veloso’s surreal lyrics reference cultural id in post-colonial Brazil. “Se Você Pensa” and “Vou Recomeçar” delve into the psych-funk excursions of pop star Roberto Carlos. With fuzzed-out, wah-drenched guitars and tight percussion, the affect of James Brown is apparent right here.
On the exceptional “Divino, Maravilhoso,” Costa is delightfully unhinged, channeling one other of her American inspirations: Janis Joplin. Over a bustling association by Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Costa particulars the specter of violence underneath the junta: “attention to the windows up high / attention when treading the asphalt, the mangrove / attention to the blood on the floor.”
“Que Pena (Ela Já Não Gosta De Mim),” sees Costa dueting with Veloso on a lilting story of misplaced love; the political undertones of Tropicália substituted for the easy romance of bossa nova. “Baby,” in the meantime, stays the album’s most cherished hit. Atop hovering string preparations, Costa’s voice holds a robust tenderness. Relying on one’s interpretation, it’s both unashamedly sentimental and indifferent from its political context, or an deliberately saccharine, ironic rebuke to consumerist society. Veloso’s lyrics are sometimes indirect, permitting for both studying to make sense.
If there was one tenet of the Tropicália motion, it was the liberty to be many issues without delay. Their music was each standard and avant-garde, politically principled however undogmatic, distinctly Brazilian however syncretic, lyrically piercing however ambiguous. Gal Costa’s self-titled album stays a paragon of Tropicália and a landmark of Brazilian pop.
Hearken to Gal Costa’s 1969 self-titled album now.
