Walter Damasceno - Confusão No Baile from CBS 78rpm (1962)

Everything that Walter Damasceno ever recorded was killer, so go find it all. The LP is killer. The compactos are killer. The 78s are killer. This particular 78rpm is quite interesting, because it is one of the first Abdias productions for CBS. 78rpm records lingered longer in Brazil than in other territories. By 1964, they were gone. Shellac from the late 50s and early 60s sound excellent. Some of the great gaps in full forró collections exist in this period, because so few of these 78s survived.  

Walter Damasceno - Confusão No Baile from CBS 78rpm (1962)

 

Barbosa Da Silva - Vai Lavar O Sirí (côco) from compacto - Albatroz (1962)

This week, I am pleased to feature the absurdly rare Barbosa Da Silva forró compacto from 1962. Both tunes on the compacto are strong, but Vai Lavar O Sirí is the standout for me. Outside of some writing credits for Jackson Do Pandeiro, I have very little information about Barbosa Da Silva and little evidence of his recording career beyond this single. 

Barbosa Da Silva - compacto - Albatroz (1962)

Ary Lobo - Cosme E O Damião from Ary Lobo - RCA (1962)

Did Ary Lobo know how great he was in his lifetime? Ary Lobo died in 1980. His reputation continues to grow and his records are valuable internationally, which was not true until the last 10 years. One spin of Cosme E O Damião and the reason is clear. 

Ary Lobo - self titled LP - RCA (1962)

Jota Fonseca - Côco Da Roseira (1962) from Sucessos Dos Maiores Cantores Nordestinos - Premier (1973)

Côco Da Roseira is another epic 78rpm saved from extinction by one of a handful of compilations from the 1960s and early 1970s. Jota Fonseca was amazing and straddled the line between the end of the 78rpm and final acceptance of vinyl as primary format for music. 1962 is fairly late for a new 78rpm release in any territory. 

Sucessos Dos Maiores Cantores Nordestinos - Premier (1973)

Manoelito Sena - Presente A Iemanjá from O Norte Em Festa - TC (1962)

The Manoelito Sena LP featured below is a rather battered reissue of the 1962 original. As I have mentioned before, reissues of full albums are rare in the forró world, with some notable exceptions. This album is decent. Sena's voice is similar to Sebastião do Rojão's. Manoelito Sena recorded a fair number of LPs.

Manoelito Sena - O Norte Em Festa - TC (1962)

Jackson do Pandeiro & Almira - Vem Amor from São João Alegre - Philips (1962)

Vem Amor is, yet again, proof of the genius of Jackson do Pandeiro. If you know forró, you know Jackson. If you don't, welcome to a world of joy. Jackson do Pandeiro and a crew of talented folks, including Philips rostermates and collectible artists João Mello and Moura Junior, appeared on this one-off Philips compilation called São João Alegre in 1962. It is every bit as rare as albums by any of the aforementioned artists. It also happens to include fantastic songs by Jackson and Moura Jr. that only appeared here. While artists in the US and Europe had a b-side or two, the Brazilians had a knack for tucking some of their most amazing songs on compilations and compactos. Folks on the cover are dressed for the harvest, or São João, festival. 

Jackson do Pandeiro & Almira - Vem Amor from São João Alegre - Philips (1962)

São João Alegre - Philips (1962)

Ivanildo - Pisa No Meu Pé & Creôla from Uma Noite No Comercial - Mocambo (early 1960s)

This is the first recording from Ivanildo featured on Forró LP Gringo. Ivanildo is a noted multi-instrumentalist and composer from Pernambuco. Pisa No Meu Pé and Creôla showcase his northern roots. The recordings are fabulous and are a great example of the full of the killer, thick, deep, late period 78rpm sound. Creôla was first released as a 78rpm in 1962. Although I am uncertain precisely when the LP was released, it contains recordings from this era and appears to be a compilation.

Ivanildo - Pisa No Meu Pé from Uma Noite No Comercial - Mocambo (early 1960s)

Ivanildo - Creôla from Uma Noite No Comercial - Mocambo (1962)

Ivanildo e seu conjunto - Uma Noite No Comercial - Mocambo (196_)

Sebastião Do Rojão - Meu Enxoval (Samba Rojão) - RGE 78rpm (1962)

Meu Enxoval, composed by Gordurinha, is the first release by Sebastião Do Rojão. This 78rpm from 1962 is a stunner and may be one of my favorite debuts by any forró artist, although the style of this is labeled "Samba-Rojão." 78 rpm records, like this one and Piraci from a previous post, are stunningly rich with a creamy bass response absent from most 78s recorded from the mid-1950s and before. I am unsure whether this was due to upgrade in recording or pressing technology. After 1962, 78s rapidly disappeared from the Brazilian market in favor of LPs and promotional compactos.

Sebastião Do Rojão - Meu Enxoval (Samba Rojão) - RGE 78rpm (1962)

Sebastião Do Rojão - Meu Enxoval (Samba Rojão) - RGE 78rpm (1962)

Moura Junior - selections from OOOOOXÊNTE! - Philips (1962)

OOOOOXÊNTE!, by Moura Junior (also spelled Jr.) is a classic. It's a class act, from the cover, to the production to the LP pressing. This album is a true gem. The bass response is particularly fantastic. Some acts in the late 1950s and 1960s used double bass, which thunders through the vinyl and sounds mind-blowing. OOOOOXÊNTE! is one of 2 LPs that Moura Jr. recorded for Philips. 

Moura Junior's second LP was called Embolabalanço. It was more understated than OOOOOXÊNTE!, with orchestration and slower numbers. This seemed to be a trend at the time. Jackson Do Pandeiro and Ary Lobo also recorded albums in the mid-60s that were jazzier, with more horns and samba numbers. The two albums are both great and very different. Almost shockingly so.

Around the time OOOOOXÊNTE! was recorded, Moura Jr. also had stellar tracks on a compilation with Jackson Do Pandeiro and others called São João Alegre. What Moura Jr. did after his short stint on Philips is a mystery. 

Moura Junior had a thing for the name Maria, which pops on the album over and over. Many rock acts claim to have invented the concept album, but they were being recorded in Brazil as far back as 1958 with Gilvan Chaves' Encantos Do Nordeste. 

At any rate, the songs on this album are great, with a lot going for it. A total classic. Like many 60s Philips LPs from Brazil, particularly for forró artists, tracking down copies may take a while.

Moura Junior - Os Olhos Da Cabocla from OOOOOXÊNTE! - Philips (1962)

Moura Junior - Mariazinha from OOOOOXÊNTE! - Philips (1962)

Moura Junior - Eu Sou De Menor from OOOOOXÊNTE! - Philips (1962)

Moura Junior - Espera Maria from OOOOOXÊNTE! - Philips (1962)



Moura Junior - Colo De Maria from OOOOOXÊNTE! - Philips (1962)

Moura Junior - OOOOOXÊNTE! - Philips (1962)

Genival Lacerda - Cõco De Roda from Eu Vou prá Lua compacto duplo - Mocambo (1962)

Genival Lacerda - Cõco De Roda from Eu Vou prá Lua compacto duplo - Mocambo (1962)

Genival Lacerda had been recording 78 rpm records since 1956 but did not appear on vinyl until this promotional compacto from Mocambo. Like the similar compacto duplos on Mocambo from Luiz Wanderley, Eu Vou Prá La and Tomaram O Meu Amor (an LP previously featured on this blog) are his only vinyl compilations of his 78 period. They cover MOST of Lacerda's work on shellac, but, maddeningly, not all.

Genival Lacerda - Eu Vou prá Lua compacto duplo - Mocambo (1962)

Part Two: Genival Lacerda - Forró Do Zé Lagoa - Mocambo 78rpm (1962) Rozenblit Passarela (1973) vs Jackson do Pandeiro - Forró Do Zé Lagoa - Philips LP (1963)

Part Two: Genival Lacerda - Forró Do Zé Lagoa - Mocambo 78rpm (1962) Rozenblit Passarela (1973) vs Jackson do Pandeiro - Forró Do Zé Lagoa - Philips LP (1963) 

This is a rare example of two forró giants, Genival Lacerda and Jackson do Pandeiro, at the height of power recording the same song: Forró Do Zé Lagoa. Both versions are fantastic and showcase the strengths of each. Genival's version is heavy, ballsy and ferocious, featuring his embolada-flavored phrasing powers. Jackson's version is cooler and elegant. Jackson probably had access to fancier recording studios, thanks to Philips.

Genival Lacerda - Forró Do Zé Lagoa - Mocambo 78rpm (1962) Rozenblit Passarela (1973)

Jackson do Pandeiro - Forró Do Zé Lagoa - Philips LP (1963)

Genival Lacerda, Jackson do Pandeiro & Ivan Farias. Image retrieved from musicapopular.org

Part One: Genival Lacerda - Côco da Cajarana from Tomaram Meu Amor - Mocambo 78rpm (1962) Rozenblit Passarela (1973)

Part One: Genival Lacerda - Côco da Cajarana from Tomaram Meu Amor - Mocambo 78rpm (1962) Rozenblit Passarela (1973) 

My introduction to forró was David Byrne's Luaka Bop CD. Because I loved O Fole Roncou, I tried to absorb everything that I could by Luiz Gonzaga. Since Jackson do Pandeiro was given near equal reverence (their statues share a square in Campina Grande), in the way that Chuck Berry is given a status that is close to Elvis's, it was clear that Jackson's work was the next stop on my journey into forró. After Jackson, there were hundreds of paths that lead to other great forró artists: Ary Lobo, Marinês, Gordurinha... many of the people who appear in this blog, One of my favorites is Genival Lacerda.

Using my early rock n' roll analogy, I would compare Genival Lacerda to Little Richard. This is incredibly imprecise, but there are some parallels. While Gonzaga is stately & somewhat reserved and Jackson's music is delivered with mesmerizing rhythm & sophisticated cool, Genival Lacerda's records are wild, enthusiastic, funny, fast and frantic, like a forró freight train.

Tomaram Meu Amor is an incredibly rare, but very important, compilation of Lacerda's pre-1963 work, when his releases were 78rpm only. The quality of the recordings vary greatly. It seems likely that transfers came directly from the 78's and not the masters. Recordings from the later years generally sound great. Considering how rare his 78's are now, nearly 50 years after they came out and 40 years after this LP was released, we are lucky that this LP exists. Côco da Cajarana is an awesome song. It was originally released in 1962 on the Mocambo label.

Click on the video above to play the song.
iOS? click here: http://youtu.be/jkELL_0-Yjg

Genival Lacerda - Tomaram Meu Amor - Rozenblit Passarela (1973) 

Mocambo - Brazilian indie label - An early home to forró artists like Genival Lacerda, Jacinto Silva & Camarão,