Bethania, Caetano, Novos Baianos, Tom Zé - Quando Os Baianos Se Encontram 1979

An interesting live album with a selection of songs from some of the best Brazilian singers released in 1979. Worth listen.  

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Caetano Veloso - Transa 1972

Released in 1972, Transa was recorded by Caetano Veloso during his exile in London, England, shortly before his return to Brazil. The sound of '70s electric rock predominates, fused with Brazilian rhythms and percussion, berimbau sounds, and his own violão playing. Several lyrics in English, and also in Portuguese, carefully avoid direct reference to politics, which may be found disguised in all songs, especially in the melancholic and depressed images of the poem by Gregório de Matos, "Triste Bahia," for which Veloso wrote the music. "It's a Long Way" also makes ciphered references to the political situation and was broadly played in the '70s. The broad use of pontos de capoeira (music used for accompaniment of capoeira, a martial art developed by Brazilian slaves as a resistance against the whites) can also be understood in that sense. The album also has "Mora na Filosofia," a classic and beautiful samba by Monsueto that scandalized people with its rock rendition. AMG.

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Caetano Veloso - Jóia 1975

Jóia was released simultaneously with Qualquer Coisa in 1975, and bears resemblance both to that album and Caetano Veloso's previous and highly experimental studio album Araçá Azul. As on Qualquer Coisa, the sound is quiet, soft, and mainly acoustic. If anything, Jóia comes across as even more soft and quiet than Qualquer Coisa. There are many very beautiful melodies on the record, and two of the finest are "Lua, Lua, Lua" and "Guá." Unlike Qualquer Coisa, almost all of the songs here are Veloso originals, but there is also an unusual interpretation of "Help!," the famous Beatles song. The soft general tone of the album and some experimental tracks perhaps make Jóia less directly accessible than other Veloso classics, like for example his next album, Bicho. Nevertheless, the album is a great one and, to many people, one of the best Veloso has ever recorded. AMG.

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Caetano Veloso - Qualquer Coisa 1975

On Qualquer Coisa, Caetano Veloso still wasn't the superstar he became in the '80s when he turned himself into a mainstream pop artist. This album sounds underground in its voice/violão renditions, parsimony in the arrangements, and absence of luxury effects or electronics -- in other words, the focus is on Veloso's guitar, voice, melodies, and lyrics. His wonderful cool interpretations for "Qualquer Coisa," "Samba e Amor," "A Tua Presença Morena," "Drume Negrinha," "Jorge da Capadócia," "Eleanor Rigby," "For No One," "Lady Madonna," and "La Flor de la Canela," among others, became classics. AMG.

listen here or here

Caetano Veloso - Jóia 1975

Jóia was released simultaneously with Qualquer Coisa in 1975, and bears resemblance both to that album and Caetano Veloso's previous and highly experimental studio album Araçá Azul. As on Qualquer Coisa, the sound is quiet, soft, and mainly acoustic. If anything, Jóia comes across as even more soft and quiet than Qualquer Coisa. There are many very beautiful melodies on the record, and two of the finest are "Lua, Lua, Lua" and "Guá." Unlike Qualquer Coisa, almost all of the songs here are Veloso originals, but there is also an unusual interpretation of "Help!," the famous Beatles song. The soft general tone of the album and some experimental tracks perhaps make Jóia less directly accessible than other Veloso classics, like for example his next album, Bicho. Nevertheless, the album is a great one and, to many people, one of the best Veloso has ever recorded. AMG.

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Caetano Veloso - Bicho 1977

Just prior to the recording of Bicho, Caetano Veloso was invited to take part in the Negro Festival of Art and Culture in Lagos, Nigeria. Veloso was so knocked out by the music he heard that he scrapped his original plans for the album to record something more redolent of his experiences in Lagos. Veloso himself refers to Bicho as "sweet melodies on a hot rhythm," and he's absolutely right. A marvelous record. For the record, bicho is the Portuguese word for beast. AMG.

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Caetano Veloso - Araçá Azul 1972

Araçá Azul marks the end of Caetano Veloso's pop- and rock-oriented phase made up by his previous four studio albums. Araçá Azul is also the most experimental and "difficult" album that Veloso has ever made, and it bears few similarities to his earlier recordings. Many people who bought the album when it was newly released had expected it to be a natural and similar follow-up to 1972's Transa. After having listened to it, many of people got so disappointed with Araçá Azul that they actually went back to the stores where they had bought it and demanded a refund. On the other hand, Araçá Azul was very much acclaimed by critics. Typical tracks on the album are the fascinating "De Conversa," which doesn't have a melody or real lyrics, and the playful "Gilberto Misterioso." Another good track is the psychedelic, almost punk-styled "Eu Quero Essa Mulher." There is also the delicate and beautiful "Júla/Moreno" and the equally beautiful "Tu Me Acostumbraste," with lyrics in Spanish. These last two songs perhaps give a hint of what Veloso would soon produce on '70s masterpieces like Jóia, Bicho, and Cinema Transcendental. As a whole, though, this album, with all its experimentalism and sound effects, probably isn't something that one would put on while having friends visit, but for a fan of experimental music or for someone in the right mood, it's a very good record. AMG.

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Caetano Veloso - Bicho 1977

Just prior to the recording of Bicho, Caetano Veloso was invited to take part in the Negro Festival of Art and Culture in Lagos, Nigeria. Veloso was so knocked out by the music he heard that he scrapped his original plans for the album to record something more redolent of his experiences in Lagos. Veloso himself refers to Bicho as "sweet melodies on a hot rhythm," and he's absolutely right. A marvelous record. For the record, bicho is the Portuguese word for beast. AMG.

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Caetano Veloso - Jóia 1975

Jóia was released simultaneously with Qualquer Coisa in 1975, and bears resemblance both to that album and Caetano Veloso's previous and highly experimental studio album Araçá Azul. As on Qualquer Coisa, the sound is quiet, soft, and mainly acoustic. If anything, Jóia comes across as even more soft and quiet than Qualquer Coisa. There are many very beautiful melodies on the record, and two of the finest are "Lua, Lua, Lua" and "Guá." Unlike Qualquer Coisa, almost all of the songs here are Veloso originals, but there is also an unusual interpretation of "Help!," the famous Beatles song. The soft general tone of the album and some experimental tracks perhaps make Jóia less directly accessible than other Veloso classics, like for example his next album, Bicho. Nevertheless, the album is a great one and, to many people, one of the best Veloso has ever recorded. AMG. listen here