polysom brazil 180 gram vinyl lp repress import, released in 1969.
heady heady work from the legendary gal costa – caught here right at her early best, smack dab in the middle of the tropicalia years! the album’s one of gal’s legendary collaborations with arranger rogerio duprat – and it’s very much in the spirit of her other incredible session from 1969, but also features some even heavier and more tripped out guitar – in a way that really pushes the psychedelic aspect of the work! the sound here is really amazing – very fuzzy and freaky at times, in ways that make the album one of the most rocking sets of the entire tropicalia scene, but in ways that still hang onto the quirky experimental qualities of work by os mutantes or caetano veloso. gal’s vocals really rip out amazingly at times – light years away from the sweet sound of the late 70s, and more in the frenetic, urgent style you’d expect from the politically-charged scene that spawned the set. caetano veloso and gilberto gil join gal on a great version of -pais tropical-, jards macale guest stars on the classic -empty boat- – and other tracks include -tuareg-, -meu nome e gal-, -pulsars e quasars-, and -cultura e civilizaco-. essential!

a wild solo project from rita lee – done after the breakup of os mutantes, and offered up almost as some sort of commentary on mainstream rock in the 70s! there’s a much more straightforward approach to the music here – a sometimes-glammy sound that’s echoed by the band’s space-style costumes and makeup – but there’s also some weirdly old-style rock instrumentation too, almost like the way that an artist like gary glitter could fold the 50s and 70s together in his music, and come across making something very weird and new. here, the keyboards are almost stronger than the guitars – and rita herself plays moog, melotron, organ, and piano – on titles that include -tem uma cidade-, -menino bonito-, -mame natureza-, and -eclipse do cometa-.

joão donato steered brazilian music in new directions. lacking a name for his style of music, donato’s is a distinct sound, immediately recognizable from the first few bars of any of his tunes.

pretty great sounds from the legendary antonio carlos jobim – an album cut a bit later than his bossa years, but with a darkly sophisticated sound that’s pretty darn compelling! the album features larger orchestrations by claus ogerman, and in a way, it’s similar to the jobim album on decca from 1973 (aka maita pere) – in that it’s got all the simple elements of jobim’s earlier bossa scoring, flushed out into moodier orchestral forms that we’d rank right up there with the modernist work of gil evans or duke ellington. a few cuts have a breezier sparer sound, and you’ll hear english versions of some older bossa tunes. titles include -dreamer-, -canta mais-, -olha maria-, -wave-, -two kites-, -this happy madness-, -song of the sabia-, -estrada do sol-, -voce vai ver-, -off key-, and -triste-.

an incredible album from brazilian rock legend raul seixas – easily one of the most important artists to emerge after the tropicalia generation – and a singer with a sound that’s as striking as his image on the cover! the album’s got an explosive blend of styles – everything from psychedelic samba to country rock to easy rock tunes – all bound together by the strong sense of presence that helped seixas elevate to become one of brazili’s most controversial rock stars of the time, all with the kind of legacy you might expect from the cover image! the sound is great – very different than what american and anglo groups were doing at the time, although with sly nods to their modes from time to time – and titles include the english track -how could i know-, plus -as minas do rei salomao-, -mosca na sopa-, -cachorro-, -al capone-, and the strange electronic -introducao-.

brilliant 70s material by antonio carlos jobim – one of his key sets from the middle part of the decade that had the composer really deepening his approach to both singing and songwriting – moving past some of the more instrumental modes that he was using at the start of the decade! there’s a richness to the songs that goes way past simple bossa styles – and the lyrical brilliance shows that jobim hardly ever needed a poet or co-writer to help him hit the heights – as he really wins us over with his words as much as his music. claus ogerman produced, and gives things the right balance between fullness and space in the charts – which allows both a great focus on antonio’s vocal style – expressive, but very down to earth – and a few nice solos on fender rhodes too! titles include -saudade do brasil-, -correnteza-, -boto-, -ligia-, -valse-, -arquitetura de morar-, and -o homem-.

180 gram brazilian polysom re-issue of the polydor original.
one of the hardest rocking albums ever cut by os mutantes – a record that’s got a slightly ironic take on rock and roll styles of the time – still performed with the sense of drama and humor that always made the band so great! rita lee and arnaldo baptista are still in the group at this point, and they’re working amidst a heavy wave of guitars that echo out with a bit of keyboards and some rhythms that are chunky enough to almost be called funky at times, but sweet and dreamy at others – all produced with a flanged-out finish that makes the whole thing sound great!

180 gram brazilian polysom re-issue of the polydor original.
an essential collection of rare material from this legendary brazilian group – and a set that shows the importance they had in the tropicalia movement beyond their own famous albums! the package brings together key collaborations between os mutanes and other key figures in music at the time – including some from rare singles, or other albums that maybe haven’t shown up on your radar if you’ve only been tracking the group by records issued under their own name. as a whole, the set’s a much-needed addition to their too-small catalog from these essential years – and titles include work with caetano veloso on -saudosismo-, -marcianita-, -a voz do morto-, and -baby- – plus -lady madonna- and -cinderella rockafella- done with clelia simone and kier – both live and 7” single versions of -ando meio desligado-, work with gilberto gil on -domingo no parque-, work with rogerio duprat on -cancao para ingles ver chiquita bacana- and -the rain the park & other things- – and the track -mande um abraco pra velha-, from a rare brazilian 60s compilation.

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 miltons 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 wonderfully similar spirit! the sound here is completely sublime right from the start music that moves us, even if we can t understand the language of the lyrics like some of the best work by caetano veloso and gilberto gil. there’s maybe a bit more guitar than on some of the milton nascimento work of the period but used in a fuzzy way that slides in nicely with some of the jazzy phrasing of the instrumentation which is delivered with help from key contemporaries who include beto guedes, nelson angelo, toninho horta, and tenorio jr. the songwriting is amazing and titles include cancao postal, voce fica melhor assim, nao foi nada, calibre, faca seu jogo, toda essa agua,pensa voce, como o machando, and aos baroes.

newly recorded, authentic brazilian boogie and disco vibes from joão donato and his son, donatinho. released by polysom brazil, import lp.

double 180 gram vinyl in gatefold cover.milton s second volume of tracks cut with his legendary -corner club- – with a very similar approach to the landmark first volume! loads of great artists make guest appearances on here, like lo borges, wagner tiso, toninho horta, and chico buarque – and the production has haunting blend of baroque, jazz, and soul that we can only define as -nascimento like-! a really fitting companion to the first volume, and a double-length set with tracks that include -e dai-, -pao e agua-, -canoa, canoa-, -credo-, -nascente-, -meu menino-, -que bom, amigo-.

double 180 gram vinyl in gatefold cover.
a landmark album - and one that milton cut with his -corner club-, an elite group of musicians and songwriters from the early days of his career - including greats like lo borges and wagner tiso.

repress on 180 gram vinyl

estudando o samba is a concept album by brazilian singer tom zé, recorded in 1976. it was listed by rolling stone brazil as one of the 100 best brazilian albums in history. - released for the first time in nearly 40 years on 180 gram vinyl.

a very welcome and first time reissue of this amazing lp. beautiful deep brazilian music that soothes the soul.
originally recorded at estúdios da somil between september 1973 and october 1974. a handful heavyweight brazilian musicians have been working together on this album, orlandivo, hermes & zé roberto to name a few, we think you can definitely hear their influence in a positive way.

polysom brazil vinyl lp repress import, released in 1972. certainly one of the greatest albums by this excellent (and oft-overlooked!) group from the 70s! 180 gram vinyl in gatefold sleeve.

polysom brazil vinyl lp repress import, released in 1971. a seminal set from jorge ben one that mixes samba soul with more baroque arrangements from the legendary arthur verocai

polysom brazil vinyl lp repress, originally released in 1972. an incredible album by one of our favorite brazilian artists! an album that wed rank right up there with work by caetano veloso, gilberto gil, or lo borges from the same time.