Cryptid
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For what it's worth, mine are:
A Tábua De Esmeralda - Jorge Ben
Clandestino - Manu Chao
Chuva Em Pó - Think of One
A Tábua De Esmeralda - Jorge Ben
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3nfexqlhldje said:Review by Philip Jandovský
A Tábua de Esmeralda (together with Jorge Ben's 1976 album África Brasil) could be said to represent the creative culmination of his astonishing '70s. The music that Ben recorded during this period had tremendous influence on Brazilian musicians at that time and to a great extent helped to ignite the creative explosion that took place in the Brazilian samba rock and samba soul scenes during the '70s. The sound on this particular album is very simple, with the songs being driven by Ben's characteristic acoustic guitar playing together with a bass guitar and percussion. Floating in the background on several tracks are also some nice string arrangements and a double bass. The melodies are magnificently crafted, managing to be catchy and free-flowing without ever feeling banal or predictable. One of many great songs on this album is the upbeat opening track, "Os Alquimistas Estão Chegando," with its funny lyrics about alchemists. Other especially fine moments are the space-themed "Errare Humanum Est," "Zumbi," with its Africa-inspired lyrics, "Cinco Minutos," and "Magnolia." A Tábua de Esmeralda belongs in the record collection of any fan of Ben's music and is also a great starting point for someone who wants an introduction to his work.
Clandestino - Manu Chao
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0bfrxqrjldae said:Review by John Bush
The first solo album released by the former frontman of Mano Negra, Clandestino is an enchanting trip through Latin-flavored worldbeat rock, reliant on a potpourri of musical styles from traditional Latin and salsa to dub to rock & roll to French pop to experimental rock to techno. Chao's voice tends to be a bit nasally, but the best songs ("Mentira," "Mama Call," and the silly novelty "Bongo Bong") here benefit from his infectious, freewheeling delivery which incorporates balladry, chorus vocals, rapping, and tossed-off spoken-word passages. Just about every track has odd sampled bits from what sound like pirate radio-station broadcasts (a possible link to the title). There are so many great ideas on this record that it's difficult to digest in one listen, but multiple plays reveal the great depth of Manu Chao's artistry.
Chuva Em Pó - Think of One
http://musicabrasileira.org/reviewsinterviews/tochuva.html (excerpt) said:The music on this album is based on the various rhythms of Brazil's northeast. The côco is represented on "Côco Medley," a style said to be originated in the seventeenth century, when Afro-Brazilians sang work songs, while breaking coconuts on the rocks, clapping a 2/4 rhythm with the coconut shells. Dona Cila do Côco makes this a song about her grandchildren. Siba (mainly known from Mestre Ambrósio) is guest on the weird maracatu "Tubarão" (Shark). Siba was asked to write lyrics about a shark, after David Bovée thought he saw a shark, while swimming in the ocean near Recife... The overall mood of the song represents the frightening moments of the band leader. Siba is lead vocalist, while the three singers take care of the traditional "answering." In between the a cappella vocals are pieces of heavy rock music, accentuating the uneasy moments in the ocean. The song is a good example as how TO1 works, adding their own musical influences (rock, jazz, pop, funk) to the traditional rhythms of Brazil, making this an album with an original concept. Another weird example is the song "Paletó" (Jacket), a friendly bossa, with a beautiful horn arrangement. The shock comes when the vocals are sung in the dialect of Antwerp, with the Brazilian vocalists repeating in Portuguese. Nice trombone solo by Tobe Wouters, by the way. "Sideways Swimming" also has an air of bossa, in a very jazzy arrangement, with vocals reminding of the psychedelic pop music of the seventies. Eric Morel (saxophones), Tobe Wouters (tuba and trombone) and Dominic Ntoumos (trumpet) perform a great job here, as they actually do throughout this album. "Grito Grande" has a catchy shuffle, featuring the wonderful vocals of Dona Cila. "Avô no Céu" is an afoxé based instrumental, with João Carlos Araújo on cello. "Maconha do Brasil" refers to Ary Barroso's "Aquarela do Brasil." The melody line is played on vague keyboards (Tom Pintens), hidden behind a strong rhythm and horns. The album closes with the superb "Frevo Pinguim," also an instrumental. The horn section does great things again, while the tuba links this frevo even to the music of New Orleans, an out of style guitar solo, spoken words: it makes the song very theatrical; images made of music. Throughout the album the rhythm section (Tomas de Smet on bass, Roel Poriau, drums and the above mentioned percussionists) forms the constant link to Brazil. The music itself explores many variations of world wide popular music.
A very interesting album, not taking it the easy way. Demanding an open mind from the listener and rewarding that with a thorough study of the rhythms of Brazil's northeast.
