About ten years ago, I first heard Tom Zé‘s Com Defeito de Fabricação (1998) and subsequently discovered the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s. I had heard and enjoyed bossa nova and other Brazilian-inspired jazz in my earlier college years, but the psychedelic tinges of Tropicália artists like Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben, Gal Costa, and Os Mutatntes really spoke to me; it blended those great Brazilian rhythms with the aesthetics of rock music. But as great as these artists are, a fellow wants to hear other artists and their take on a style of music. On and off over the past decade or so, I have continued to try to dig deeper into the world of Brazilian music with the help of two great record stores, Dusty Groove and Other Music. I even successfully convinced our amazing A/V collection development librarian, Carol, buy some really obscure psychedelic Brazilian albums from the 1970s. You need to check these out!

Tim Maia’s Racional Vol. 1 (1975) while not well received upon its release has been deemed a lost masterpiece and was reissued in 2005. The folks at Dusty Groove say it has “a superdope sound that most American aritsts from the time could hardly touch!” It’s Brazilian psychedelic soul, and you most likely haven’t heard anything quite like it. (Plus, it has already gone out of print again, so checking it out at our library is one of the few legal avenues you have to listen to it!)

Another rediscovered gem from 1970s Brazil is Flaviola e o Bando do Sol (1974). To quote the smart people at Forced Exposure: “This is a brilliant album, full of strange moments (cellophane crinkled into the microphone as percussion), some deft acoustic guitar, and some of the prettiest songs this side of Vashti Bunyan.”

In addition to these out-there CDs, the library has many other great International Music recordings in our CD collection. Come take a look next time you’re at the library.

Here’s a 1971 video of Tim Maia. Enjoy!

Image Credit: dustygroove.com