Gal Costa - Gal Costa 1969

A lot changed between Gal Costa's pleasantly straightforward 1967 debut Domingo and her eponymous follow-up two years later. Domingo, also a debut for young Brazilian songwriter Caetano Veloso, featured a set of airy, somewhat standard bossa nova tunes, sung ably by Costa. Mere months after the release of this relatively safe debut, however, Costa and Veloso found themselves alongside Os Mutantes, Tom Zé, and Gilberto Gil, recording contributions to Tropicália: Ou Panis et Circencis, the unofficial manifesto of the Tropicalismo movement. The compilation dove headfirst into avant-garde experimentalism, embracing the psychedelic tendencies happening in American underground circles, and the politically charged energy of radical dissent to Brazil's ongoing military dictatorship. This wild new hybrid of Brazilian pop and far-reaching outside influences resulted in something instantly miles away from everything that came before it, and Costa's self-titled Tropicalismo debut is no exception. The album begins with a flutter of psychedelic echo effects, dissolving into gloriously lush string arrangements and lighthearted organ on "Nao Identificado," a brilliant opening track that introduces Costa's velvety voice, gently at first, as if to ease the listener into the new sounds about to be revealed. Softly glowing chamber pop arrangements like "Lost in Paradise" melt into unchained grooves and buzzing fuzz guitar bug-outs like the Gilberto Gil-aided "Namorinho de Portão" and the child-like singsonginess of "Divino Maravilhoso." The echo-heavy productions, patient strings, and gorgeously floating melody of "Baby" drive the album to its brilliant summit, offering a perfect articulation of the pensive, sexy, strange, and above all else, sunny blur that Tropicalismo was, even in its very beginnings. AMG.

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Gal Costa - Índia 1973

With Índia, Gal Costa completely abandoned the absurd, screaming guitars and wild drumming for some of the lushest, most sophisticated, and most complex arrangements of her career. Her voice is clear and inviting as always, sitting perfectly with the strings, accordions, horns, reeds, and percussion that swirl around, effortlessly punctuating the romance in every track. With Gilberto Gil alongside acoustic guitar and musical director, the arrangements definitely glow with his polyphonic personality, but these songs have a feel all their own -- sounding as if they blossomed out of necessity and the sharp edge of elegance. Índia seems as if it were conceived with ideas walled off to past influences and future aspirations, holding a timeless quality, leaving one to wonder if Costa and Gil were at all aware of what they were producing while it was happening or if they were completely swept up in the magic of the moment. Even though the hugely influential Tropicalia movement was over by the time of this release, Índia unquestionably shows that Costa's inventiveness was still unfolding and impulsive and should be considered by the wave of Tropicalia collectors as a worthy addition to the assortment of recordings in that it shows how a major player in that movement transferred her ambitions to a completely different direction without forsaking her class or drive. AMG.

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Gal Costa - Gal 1969

After Caetano Veloso broke out with his solo debut, the self-titled 1968 release recognized as the building block for the now infamous Brazilian Tropicalia movement, his friends and musical peers released similar albums, always upping the ante in terms of outrageousness and inventiveness. This release, the second of two self-titled albums released by Gal Costa in 1969, set the high watermark in terms of overall insanity and complete experimental freedom for the entire lot; not Veloso nor Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé, or even the rambunctious Os Mutantes stepped this far out into psychedelia, and even though Costa had hinted at the noisier aspects she was interested in exploring with her previous release, this album must have shocked listeners when it arrived on the shelves. In fact, 35 years of MPB -- or music from anywhere else in the world for that matter -- hasn't heard another sonic assault quite like this. Costa is a ball of contradictions here: overtly wild but in control; sweet and accessible, yet brash; and, at times, almost violent as she screams and moans her way through the album while spindly, whiny guitars mix with soulful bass grooves, bombastic drums, exotic horns, woodwinds, and strings. The sonic textures are taken completely over the top with judicious use of delays, reverbs, and various production techniques new and exciting at the time. When taken all together, the listener may not at first notice the high quality of the songwriting for the unreal, emotional freak-outs laced throughout the performances. Costa's crazy improvisations over Caetano Veloso's tune "The Empty Boat" serve as evidence of this delightful impulsiveness when placed side by side with Veloso's own rather forward-thinking recording of the song, which sounds positively conservative by comparison. All in all, Gal Costa is an indescribable, unpredictable, ambitious, and fun record preserving a slice of time when Brazil was at its most controversial state musically and politically and is a must-have for any psychedelic collection. AMG.

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Gal Costa - Legal 1970

On Legal, the follow-up to her extremely bombastic self-titled release, Gal Costa retains only some of the fire and experimentation, instead opting to return to more accessible and subdued arrangements. This was likely a wise decision on Costa's part, even though the reckless abandon she displayed on Gal Costa was astonishing, for her to recklessly continue flailing down that path would've certainly led to her burning out or completely alienating the public she was trying to inform. Furthermore, Legal is a much more diverse record than her previous records, displaying influences from American blues-rock, R&B, and soul with winding, organ-driven rock closer to the sound Milton Nascimento would later latch onto and nurture with his Clube da Esquina albums. This diversity is welcome and served as a setup for Costa to further explore complex arrangements on her later records. Costa's lovely voice flourishes on the jazzy churning of "Língua Do P," the emotional groove of "Mini-Misterio" as well as the gorgeous version of Caetano Veloso's "London, London" -- certainly included as a reminder to the Brazilian public of her comrades (Veloso and Gilberto Gil) who were still exiled for upending politics through their radical music. The only questionable track on the album is "Love, Try, and Die," which has a fun, bouncy Dixieland style but is ruined by the unnecessary and terrible Louis Armstrong impersonation contributed by one of the backing vocalists. In spite of this small blunder, Legal appears near the beginning of Costa's most consistent period and should be sought out by those interested in the revolutionary late-'60s/early-'70s period of Brazilian rock. AMG.

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