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Saturday, October 22, 2016

Paulo Tito - Pedida Legal (Rojão) - Continental 78rpm (1961) & O vendedor De Biscoito - MusiColor (1960)

Pedido Legal, presented here from an extremely rare 78rpm, also comes from the LP: O Vendedor De Biscoito. This LP has posthumously made Paulo Tito a legend, thanks to the scarcity of available copies and the high quality of the music.

Interestingly, according to notes made on Tito's Baiano De Guanabara page on forroemvinil, Tito claims that he fell into the genre by accident. The singer was asked to collaborate on an LP with Gordurinha in the style of baião and forró. Gordurinha had to back out and the project continued without him. Quite accidentally, Paulo Tito became a forró recording star. Although he was assisted by Luiz Gonzaga in his early career, Tito thought of himself primarily as a romantic singer. 

Paulo Tito carries the distinction of having some of the rarest forró LPs, thanks to the high quality of the material and the limited availability of vintage vinyl. It is not entirely clear why this is. It is likely that the negligible number of LPs were pressed of the 3 solo records that Tito recorded in the 60s.* A bit of speculation... Perhaps, because Tito considered himself an outsider to the genre or because his record companies considered him an outsider, he/they did not promote his work as heavily as acts that were trying to make a career out of forró. It is possible that the military coup in 1964 also slowed his career. Although he continued recording, the elusive early 60s material is what gave Tito his legendary status in forró.

*Poeira De Morte may be early 70s. The jacket and LP are not dated.

Paulo Tito - Pedida Legal (Rojão) - Continental 78rpm (1961) & O vendedor De Biscoito - MusiColor (1960)



Paulo Tito - Pedida Legal (Rojão) - Continental 78rpm (1961) & O vendedor De Biscoito - MusiColor (1960)

Friday, October 14, 2016

Caxanga - Desafio De Cantador (côco) & Eu Sou Ferreiro (embolada) - from O Maior Repentista Do Brasil - Discos Chororó (1976)

October 10th marked the four year anniversary of Forró LP Gringo! Happy Birthday to Blog! I was going to put together something special to celebrate this, but alas time has been short this fall.

That said, this particular LP by Caxanga (also spelled Caxangá), O Maior Repentista Do Brasil, has not been widely shared and has some magnificent tunes. The album has the same title of an earlier 1967 LP of his work on the Bemol label, but the albums are entirely different aside from the title. The 1976 LP definitely qualifies as special. Oscar Martins production is stunning, rivaling some of the best work of Abdias and Pedro Sertanejo from this period. In fact, I can't name a better album from 1976 in the entire genre of forró. I could not find much biographical information about Caxanga. It seems that he began his career in the early 1960s. On forroemvinil, there are some touching comments from friends and family commenting below the 1967 LP.

Caxanga - Desafio De Cantador (côco) - from O Maior Repentista Do Brasil - Discos Chororó (1976)


Caxanga - Eu Sou Ferreiro (embolada) - from O Maior Repentista Do Brasil - Discos Chororó (1976)





Caxanga - O Maior Repentista Do Brasil - Discos Chororó (1976)

Caxanga - O Maior Repentista Do Brasil - Discos Chororó (1976)

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Clemilda c Betinho e Regional - Tiro O Liro from Forró Sem Briga - Tropicana (1970)

This is my final of four posts from the early 1970s featuring the ladies of forró. Tiro O Liro is a catchy little côco from Clemilda. The mix and / or master on the record is pushed into the red and Clemilda's vocals are pleasantly distorted. Most forró mixes from 1970 are mono, but Clemilda's vocals seem to pan in this song, suggesting either a pressing irregularity or an early stereo mix. 

Clemilda c Betinho e Regional - Tiro O Liro from Forró Sem Briga - Tropicana (1970)


Clemilda c Betinho e Regional - Forró Sem Briga - Tropicana (1970)

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Marinês e Sua Gente - Eu Quero Um Xodó & É Tempo De Voltar from Só Pra Machucar - CBS (1973)

This is the 3rd post in my Anastácia / Marinês early 70s feature. Só Pra Machucar may be my favorite Marinês album. It is arguable that 1973 was the peak of her career. Her recording of the Anastácia / Dominguinhos classic Um Quero Um Xodó may be the definitive version of this song. My favorite song on the Só Pra Machucar LP is É Tempo De Voltar, also written by Anastácia and Dominguinhos. The song has a certain rhythmic echoing throb that I associate with Os 3 Do Nordeste albums. Although the rhythmic type of song is not listed, it seems like a funky, slow xaxado.

Marinês e Sua Gente - É Tempo De Voltar from Só Pra Machucar - CBS (1973) 



Marinês e Sua Gente - Eu Quero Um Xodó from Só Pra Machucar - CBS (1973) 




Marinês e Sua Gente - Só Pra Machucar - CBS (1973)