Kazinho - Saudade Do Pará from O Samba Como Êle É - Popular (1971)

I am breaking the rules. Saudade Do Pará, sung by Kazinho, is not forró, but vintage samba with lots of dirgey choro flavoring. Released in 1971, O Samba Como Êle É is a fairly obscure record. Kazinho seems to have some cachet amongst 60s samba and bossa nova collectors. 1950s through early 1970s production usually catches my ear and Saudade Do Pará is a gorgeous record.

Kazinho - O Samba Como Êle É - Popular (1971)

Vanildo De Pombos - Beijo No Beijo from Meu Horizonte - RBS (1989)

Vanildo De Pombos, a disciple of Luiz Gonzaga, has had a long career as a composer and performer. According to Felipe Campos on forroemvinil, Vanildo was born in 1960. Meu Horizonte was recorded in 1989.

Vanildo De Pombos - Meu Horizonte - RBS (1980s)

Genival Lacerda - Mungusá De Côco from Vamos Mariquinha - Som (1976)

When I first started hunting for forró, I downloaded just about everything from the 1970s and then the 1960s from forroemvinil. One artist who almost always dazzled was Genival Lacerda. Usually his albums had at least one or two killer tracks. Most were packed with them. 1974 was Genival Lacerda's peak year with the LP, Ralador De Côco. Virtually every song on that album has melodic brilliance, magnificent musicianship and breakneck energy. Although it was released two years later, Vamos Mariquinha does not really come close. That said, Mungusá De Côco is an awesome track with lots of rhythm xaxado-esque accordion. The production, and even Genival Lacerda's voice, are as thick as a milkshake. Somehow the bigger production does not necessarily give the songs the same kind of power that they had two years before. The big difference may be the producer. Pedro Sertanejo, who was responsible for Ralador De Côco. Sertanejo was at the top of his game in the mid-1970s and is missed here.

The cover is kind of amazing. I love most forró album covers. My friend Samuel believes that the photo may reference an imaginary motorcycle, which Genival is miming. I didn't notice this at first, because Lacerda is often in an unusual crouched pose on his LP sleeves. 

Genival Lacerda - Vamos Mariquinha - Som (1975)