★Polysom
Samba Esquema Novo
Samba Esquema Novo is the 1963 debut album by Brazilian artist Jorge Ben. It includes the original recording of the international hit “Mas Que Nada”. It was listed by Rolling Stone Brazil as one of the 100 best Brazilian albums in history. While many of the performers during the heyday of Tropicalia and the rise of MPB (música popular brasileira) opted for a more radical stance in their challenge to Brazil’s political and cultural authorities, artists like Jorge Ben took a more understated app…
Gilberto Gil (Cérebro Eletrônico)
Here comes Polysom re-issue of Gilberto Gil's rare third album on 180gr vinyl. This is a key piece of the Tropicalia puzzle - one of the most wildly experimental albums recorded during those years, and Gil's last before going into exile! Tracks include Cérebro Eletrônico, Volks-Volkswagen Blue, Futurivel, and 2001, which was written by Tom Zé and Rita Lee - plus the wild cut Objecto Semi-Identificado.On this album Gilberto Gil managed to incorporate psychedelic experimentation, blues, rock, samb…
Nelson Angelo E Joyce
(180 gr pressing) Incredible early work from Joyce – the completely fantastic female singer who would go on to transform the sound of Brazilian music in the 70s, and have a huge global legacy for years to come!This set's got Joyce working with Nelson Angelo – a bandmate of the singer in the group A Tribo – and the pair write and perform songs with a vibe that's similar to her later work, but maybe a bit darker and moodier too!"Incredible early work from Joyce – the completely fantastic female si…
Paêbirú
(2LP gatefold 180gr pressing) Polysom official reissue, crazy price. The vinyl version is a special edition 2-LP pressing, finished to exactly match the original release, including the 8 page jacket size booklet. The album is a collaboration between Brazilian artists Lula Côrtes and Zé Ramalho, a wonderfully off-kilter record full of fantastic hooky and strange tunes that range from full-on freakouts to quiet pastoral numbers displaying the entire range of 1970s hippie Brazilian musician culture…
Rosa De Sangue
(180gr pressing) Polysom official reissue of this monster rarity. Originally custom pressed in 1980, ‘Rosa de Sangue’ is the closing chapter of the amazing Recife psychedelic movement that flourished and centred around the work of Lula Côrtes, beginning in 1973 with the release of Satwa, and the creation of ‘abracadabra’, Lula’s loose art/music/design collective. “I want to close all of this with a golden key”… and a golden key it is.Entering a small local studio with a head full of songs and hi…
Grande Liquidacao
(180 gram pressing) Quite incredibly, this is the first vinyl reissue of the earliest and best work by legendary Brazilian musician, Tom Zé. 'Grande Liquidação' was originally released in 1968, the same year Zé contributed to the Tropicália blueprint 'Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses' alongside the perhaps better known Caetano Veloso, Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa and Nara Leão. His first LP was recorded shortly after moving to Sao Paulo from the regional capital Salvador, Bahia, and fea…
Ronnie Von 1969
The soon-to-be Jovem Guarda idol Ronnie Von, still as Ronaldo Nogueira, had just graduated in 1969 in economics and pilotage, but wanted to be a singer instead. After becoming acquainted with the members of the Brazilian Bitles, he impressed the group in an audition and the very next week the revelation was featured on their exclusive show on TV Excelsior’s Brazilian Bitles Club. Noticed by Agnaldo Rayol, Von was also invited to perform on the extremely popular Corte Rayol Show for TV Record. Fo…
Refavela
One of the funkiest albums ever from Gilberto Gil – a set that beautifully mixes rootsy elements with tighter funk arrangements – in a style that's not unlike some of the 70s samba soul experiments from Jorge Ben! The record borrows heavily from American funk and soul of the time, and takes Gil's tight songwriting and infuses it with an even catchier edge than ever before – really creating a fantastic groove that seems to illuminate Gilberto's lyrics even more than before – with a sense of perso…
Secos & Molhados (1973) Lp
A Brazilian rock classic! The band had a very sophisticated sound that mixes nice vocal production with spare arrangements supported by guitar, piano, and bass. The sound is difficult to describe – but the record has some extremely compelling songwriting, and great vocal work that carries the strength of the tracks, whether or not you understand Portuguese. (Dustygroove)
Construcao
If you've ever been wondering which album to get by Chico Buarque – this is it! The record's a stunning batch of sophisticated sides, done in collaboration with Roberto Menescal, and with help from Jobim and MPB4! The album builds on the style of Buarque's excellent late 60s songwriting, and adds in some of the more complicated approaches to arrangement that were being developed in Brazil at the end of the 60s – in a way that pushes Chico's work to the next level, and which makes this record sit…
Zabumbe-Bum-A
A gem of an album from Hermeto Pascoal – right up there with 70s classics like A Musica Libre and Slaves Mass – and done with a similar sort of energy that goes way beyond jazz, way beyond conventional Brazilian music – into territory that can only be described as Hermeto-like! The set's got a mix of tight fusion jamming, off-beat reed work, and some of Hermeto's heavenly compositions – and although there's a good groove to much of the material, that doesn't stop it from being as experimental as…
Celia 1970
Wickedly cool work from this overlooked Brazilian singer – a record that's got a strong sense of soul in the grooves, and a great sense of imagination in the choice of songs! Celia sings early work by Joyce, Lo Borges, Nelson Angelo, and others – with these shifting arrangements from the likes of Arthur Verocai, Rogerio Duprant, and Jose Briamonte – all in a mish-mash of modes that sometimes echoes the funky styles on EMI/Odeon of the period, sometimes even hits at Tropicalia touches – especiall…
Sacundin Ben Samba
One of Jorge Ben's greatest albums – a groundbreaking blend of samba and soul that forever went onto transform the face of Brazilian music! The record works off the groove set down by Jorge's earlier hit "Mas Que Nada" (which appears on another LP), and takes the blend of bossa, samba, and jazz, and infuses it with a sense of folksy soul delivered by Jorge's raspy vocals and acoustic guitar work. The combination of styles works perfectly – and every track on the album sparkles with a sense of ex…
Ben É Samba Bom
A stunner of a record from the mighty Jorge Ben – and a record that catapulted the Brazilian singer to international fame at the time! This is his second legendary LP, a seminal killer and as usual features some of the best arrangers in the genre, first released in Brazil in 1964. While many of the performers during the heyday of Tropicalia and the rise of MPB (música popular brasileira) opted for a more radical stance in their challenge to Brazil’s political and cultural authorities, artists li…
Alucinacao
"A great early album from Belchior – much rootsier than some of his later work, with a groove that almost feels like samba soul at times! The arrangements provide quick-stepping samba elements on some of the best tracks, mixed with more modern funky styles in this really great way".(Dusty Groove)
Se O Caso É Chorar
"Wonderful 70s work from Tom Zé! The record's a bit more straightforward than some of his other records from the decade, and has a number of tracks with a samba sound at the base – but there's more than enough fantastic material to keep the record fresh, and Tom's writing is as great as ever. There's a vocal group that sings with Zé on many of the tracks on the record – but they also seem to sometimes act as a Greek chorus, in response to breakaway vocal passages that are dominated by Zé. The wh…
Negro É Lindo
Negro é Lindo is a worthy successor for the great album he had released in the previous year. Jorge Ben now takes his sound further toward a tropical Soul, a style that was his unique invention. But there are also still those hypnotic Samba grooves. Clearly, Negro é Lindo belongs to those master albums Jorge Ben bestowed to the world. With a good handful of records, Jorge Ben enriched Brazilian Pop and beyond, international Pop music. Negro é Lindo is one of them.
While many of the perform…
Lo Borges
An incredible album from Lo Borges - one of the best singer/songwriters on the Brazilian scene of the 70s! Borges first burst into the spotlight for his work on the Club Da Esquina album by Milton Nascimento - and his work as part of Milton's "corner club" really helped shape the style of the more famous singer. Yet Borges is almost an equally great talent on his own - with a soaring, soulful approach that's every bit as great as the best Nascimento material from the period - and recorded in a w…
África Brasil
A landmark recording that is one of Jorge Ben's best albums ever! The album is a perfect realization of the way that Jorge mixes Brazilian rhythms with choppy Afro grooves – and the result is a masterpiece that yeilded some of his biggest tracks ever. Included here is the great choppy funk track "Ponta De Lanca", plus loads of other goodies like "O Filosofo", "Xica Da Silva", "A Historia De Jorge", and a great remake of "Taj Mahal" – probably his greatest cut ever. Great all the way through – an…
A Tábua De Esmeralda
Searing samba soul from Jorge Ben – one of his best-remembered albums of the 70s, and for good reason too! The album's got a slightly fuller feel than some of Ben's other work of the time – never slick, but with backings balanced nicely against his own raspy vocals and acoustic guitar – sweetening things up with a bit of the strings you'd find on Forca Bruta, but with a hint of the soul to come on Africa Brasil! The balance is great – thanks to arrangers Osmar Milito, Darcy De Paulo, and Hugo Be…