Forró On CD
ForróLPGringo is 2 years old!
I discovered forró about 7 years ago. If forró got the royal treatment on CD, like 60s and 70s rock has in the US and UK, I probably never would have started this blog. Alas, there is a dearth of information about this great genre and, most importantly, vintage forró music, in general, is heavily underrepresented in digital form. The almost total lack of availability of forró on CDs led me to seeking the original vinyl. Hopefully, my archiving efforts will turn a few people onto this great music. That said, a few artists have some noteworthy CDs worth snatching up. In fact, some of these CDs are as scarce as the vintage vinyl.
Brazil Classics 3 - forró
I am eternally grateful to Luaka Bop and David Byrne for this compilation. I recently discovered that this was released on vinyl in a few countries. My copy comes from Brazil, but it was also issued in Germany. Although it does not feature the cream of every featured artist's catalog, it was a fine enough starter to peak my interest.
Ary Lobo
Ary Lobo was amazing and his work sounds as incredible today as it was the day it was recorded. Ary's 2 major labels in the 50s and 60s were RCA and Cantagalo. Nothing from Cantagalo, his late 60s label, has been reissued. Of Ary Lobo's RCA catalog, 5 random albums out of 9 were reissued. Although it's a shame that his entire RCA catalog did not get re-released, which includes many compactos (singles and EPs) that were not on the LPs, the CDs that were released sound fantastic. The Brazil Popular compilation includes random songs from his RCA catalog and a few tunes released by Lobo in the 1970s.
RCA period:
ForróLPGringo is 2 years old!
I discovered forró about 7 years ago. If forró got the royal treatment on CD, like 60s and 70s rock has in the US and UK, I probably never would have started this blog. Alas, there is a dearth of information about this great genre and, most importantly, vintage forró music, in general, is heavily underrepresented in digital form. The almost total lack of availability of forró on CDs led me to seeking the original vinyl. Hopefully, my archiving efforts will turn a few people onto this great music. That said, a few artists have some noteworthy CDs worth snatching up. In fact, some of these CDs are as scarce as the vintage vinyl.
Brazil Classics 3 - forró
I am eternally grateful to Luaka Bop and David Byrne for this compilation. I recently discovered that this was released on vinyl in a few countries. My copy comes from Brazil, but it was also issued in Germany. Although it does not feature the cream of every featured artist's catalog, it was a fine enough starter to peak my interest.
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| Brazil Classics 3 - forró CD and vinyl LP |
Ary Lobo
Ary Lobo was amazing and his work sounds as incredible today as it was the day it was recorded. Ary's 2 major labels in the 50s and 60s were RCA and Cantagalo. Nothing from Cantagalo, his late 60s label, has been reissued. Of Ary Lobo's RCA catalog, 5 random albums out of 9 were reissued. Although it's a shame that his entire RCA catalog did not get re-released, which includes many compactos (singles and EPs) that were not on the LPs, the CDs that were released sound fantastic. The Brazil Popular compilation includes random songs from his RCA catalog and a few tunes released by Lobo in the 1970s.
RCA period:
- 1958 - Último Pau de Arara - RCA (10" LP) - never reissued
- 1958 - Forró com Ary Lobo - RCA (LP)
- 1960 - Aqui Mora o Ritmo - RCA (LP) - never reissued
- 1961 - Cheguei Na Lua - RCA (LP)
- 1962 - Ary Lobo - RCA (LP)
- 1963 - Poeira de Ritmos - RCA (LP)
- 1964 - Forró em Calcaia - RCA (LP) - never reissued
- 1965 - Zé Mané - RCA (LP)
- 1966 - Quem é o Campeão? - RCA (LP) - never reissued
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| Ary Lobo on CD |
Marinés also has a vast catalog. She was lucky enough to record for 2 of the best major labels in the 60s and 70s, RCA and CBS. Some songs from her fantastic CBS period have ended up on random CD compilations like Maxximum. Her RCA catalog, with the exception of the first LP she recorded after leaving Sinter and some compactos (singles), were beautifully reissued on CD.
RCA period:
- Marinês e Sua Gente (1960) RCA LP - never reissued
- O Nordeste e seu ritmo (1961) RCA LP
- Coisas do Norte (1963) RCA LP
- Siu, siu, siu (1964) RCA LP
- Maria Coisa (1965) RCA LP
- Meu benzim (1966) RCA LP
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| Marinês e Sua Gente RCA catalog on CD |
It is unsurprising that Luiz Gonzaga has gotten the best CD treatment, since he is effectively the king of forró and baião, credited as launching the genre. Although his RCA CDs were reissued with versions of the original artwork, his EMI Odeon work has appeared on a few random compilations. I still haven't picked up all of his work on CD, although what I have found sounds excellent. Again, bravo to RCA for taking the time to do this well.
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| Luiz Gonzaga on CD |
Poor Jackson. Arguably, the most influential forró artist has appeared on multiple weird compilation CDs. Some of the CDs are quite good. 20 Super Sucessos has a shite cover but is a decent overview of his CBS years. 50 anos de ritmos seems like it would be comprehensive based on the title, but it only features his earliest pre-1962 Copacabana work. Although those songs are fine, it's arguable that his 1960 Philips through 1970s CBS period was better. The Jackson and Jacinto Silva Brasil Popular compilation is great... except it only features 13 songs. It short-changes Jackson, Jacinto and the buyer. It's worth buying for the Jacinto Silva songs alone, who does not have any other reissues. As far as I am aware, there are no legitimate reissues featuring any of Jackson's original albums with artwork.
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