Mané Baião E Seus Cangaceiros - A Mangabeira from ST LP - Continental (1966)

Mané Baião E Seus Cangaceiros is a wonderful and rare 1960s forró LP. While there seem to be a tidal wave of forró LPs from the 1970s, the 1960s seem to have a tenth of what would appear in the following decade, perhaps due to the derailing of Brazil by the military takeover. Mané Baião began his career at the tail-end of the 78rpm era in the early 1960s, but managed to transition to compactos and vinyl LPs during the drought-like 1960s.

 

Mané Baião E Seus Cangaceiros - Continental (1966)

Abdias - Sai Do Sereno from Sai Do Sereno - CBS (1966)

Abdias, head of A&R at CBS, led what may be the greatest ever label in forró, both in terms of exceptional artististry and gorgeous recordings. Philips and RCA also released fine recordings in the 60s, but neither label grew like CBS. By the end of the 1960s, forró on Philips was relegated to the Fontana label. Recording quality was not on the same level of Jackson do Pandeiro and Moura Jr. enjoyed on Philips. Albums seemed to be more quickly recorded and were all in mono. RCA had a number of forró artists, including Luiz Gonzaga, but it seems like the label often tried to shift folks away from forró to modern music. Although some artists, like Osvaldo Oliveira and Elino Julião drifted towards ballad singing, most CBS albums seemed to have high quality, raging forró into the 1970s.

Abdias - Sai Do Sereno - CBS (1966)

Aluizio Gomes - Côco Do Delegado & Tudo é Baiano from Côco Do Delegado compacto simples - Cantagalo (1960s)

Aluizio Gomes - Côco Do Delegado & Tudo é Baiano from Côco Do Delegado compacto simples - Cantagalo (1960s)

Aluizio (also spelled Aloisio on subsequent releases) Gomes was notable for recording wild, upbeat ear-grabbing raw forró and côco grooves. This rare compacto features 2 decent sides with great singing. The distinctive echo / reverb backing vocals on Côco Do Delegado are notably interesting and unusual.

Aluizio Gomes - Côco Do Delegado from Côco Do Delegado compacto simples - Cantagalo (1960s)



Aluizio Gomes - Tudo é Baiano from Cõco Do Delegado compacto simples - Cantagalo (1960s)

Aluizio Gomes - Cõco Do Delegado & Tudo é Baiano from Cõco Do Delegado compacto simples - Cantagalo (1960s)

Genival Lacerda - Caixinha De Rapé & 007 Contra O Nordeste from Este é Cobra Do Norte - Polydor (1966)

Genival Lacerda - Caixinha De Rapé & 007 Contra O Nordeste from Este é Cobra Do Norte - Polydor (1966)

I am delighted to feature another Genival Lacerda LP on forróLPgringo. Este é Cobra Do Norte is one of the only forró releases on Polydor. It's a remarkably rare LP, issued once in 1966 and never exported.

Like many forró stars from the 60's, including Luiz Wanderley, Jackson do Pandeiro, Gordurinha and Borrachinha, Lacerda seemed to have an all-around entertainer appeal, mixing humor and music. Lacerda even released a comedy album in the late 60s with Lúcio Mauro.

This was common to music of the time, even for acts in the US and the UK. Before the age of stony, image-consciousness, groups didn't mind sidelining as humorists as part of the show. When the Beatles began, they often appeared in comedy / musical variety shows, both on television and on stage. Perhaps because they wanted to be seen as serious musicians and not comedians or actors, this "unfashionable" period of live variety performances has been quietly suppressed. Very little evidence survives because they rarely performed this way after 1964. It's hard to imagine a rock act appearing in skits in the middle of a set these days. 

Although I haven't seen any clips of Genival performing onstage at this period, you can find great footage of Luiz Wanderley, Jackson do Pandeiro and Gordurinha mugging it up for the cameras. Lacerda made a career for himself by getting sillier as time passed. As a result of the success of his 1975 breakthrough hit: Severina Xique-Xique, much of the Lacerda's music recorded past 1976 focuses more on getting a laugh than truly giving Jackson do Pandeiro a run for his money. 

Genival Lacerda - Caixinha De Rapé from Este é Cobra Do Norte - Polydor (1966)



Genival Lacerda - 007 Contra O Nordeste from Este é Cobra Do Norte - Polydor (1966)

Genival Lacerda - Este é Cobra Do Norte - Polydor (1966)

Ary Lobo - Nego São and Terra de Ninguém from Quem é o Campeão & compacto - RCA Victor 1966 Ary Lobo - Nego São and Terra de Ninguém from Quem é o Campeão & compacto - RCA Victor 1966

Ary Lobo - Nego São and Terra de Ninguém from Quem é o Campeão & compacto - RCA Victor 1966

Ary Lobo's work on RCA is fantastic. Singles / 45s (although they play at 33 1/3) called compactos in Brazil are extremely scarce. Compactos were promo-only and were mainly sent to radio stations, which is why they are coveted. A few of Lobo's compactos contained exclusive material, but both sides of this single are from Ary's brilliant final RCA album, Quem é o Campeão. The album blended Ary Lobo's exquisite phrasing with thick, gooey jazz, samba and the haunting feel of nordeste folk.

Ary Lobo - Nego São from Quem é o Campeão & compacto - RCA Victor 1966

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Ary Lobo - Terra de Ninguém from Quem é o Campeão & compacto - RCA Victor 1966

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Ary Lobo - Nego São and Terra de Ninguém from Quem é o Campeão & compacto - RCA Victor 1966

Guaracy Do Pandeiro - Os Cabeludos & O Grito Do Balaieiro (RCA 1960s)

Guaracy Do Pandeiro - Os Cabeludos & O Grito Do Balaieiro (RCA 1960s)
This is a rare radio-only compacto forró single from the 1960s. I have no idea which year this was released. RCA is famous for being Luiz Gonzaga's label. Although a smattering of other forró artists were also on RCA (the most famous being Ary Lobo & Marinês), most artists were only given single LP releases. One-off compactos like Guaracy's were even rarer.

Guaracy Do Pandeiro - Os Cabeludos (RCA 1960s)

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Guaracy Do Pandeiro - O Grito Do Balaieiro (RCA 1960s)

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Guaracy Do Pandeiro - Os Cabeludos & O Grito Do Balaieiro (RCA 1960s)

Jackson do Pandeiro - Auê Birimbáu - É Sucesso - Cantagalo/Tropicana 1976 (or perhaps mid-1960's)

Jackson do Pandeiro - Auê Birimbáu - É Sucesso - Cantagalo/Tropicana reissue 1976 (likely first released mid-1960's)

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Aue Birimbáu (Aires viana – Nilo dias – Alvaro Sobrinho) is a strangely wistful, magical, sentimental-sounding song from Jackson do Pandeiro. The music suggests that the song is from an earlier part of his career. Also, the title of the album, É Sucesso, erroneously implies that this is a compilation. Neither is true. According to most discographies, this LP came out in 1976. It seems hard to believe, especially because the photos on the back feature albums by Cantagalo artists from the mid-to-late 1960's.

My guess is that É Sucesso was reissued in the 70s on Tropicana, which is why it is less expensive and easier to find in excellent condition than most of Jackson's LPs.

A birimbáu (also spelled berimbau) is a single stringed instrument of African origin. It is used in the martial art capoeira and is the subject of songs from a variety of Brazilian artists, although I do not believe the sound of the birimbáu instrument can be heard on this record.

A later Jackson do Pandeiro live picture from Projecto Pixinguinha.

Ary Lobo - Deixa A Onda Passar & O Vendedor De Sururú from Quem é o Campeão? - RCA 1966

Ary Lobo - Deixa A Onda Passar from Quem é o Campeão? - RCA 1966

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Ary Lobo - O Vendedor De Sururú from Quem é o Campeão? - RCA 1966

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This week, we re-enter the wonderful world of Ary Lobo with a super rare LP, this time from 1966. My previous Ary Lobo post featured a song from Ary’s first full length LP, Último Pau De Arara (in the short-lived 10” format), from 1958. Although songs from that LP have appeared on CD and LP compilations, it has never been reissued in its entirety. I may be mistaken, because Ary’s catalog is so fragmented, but songs from Quem é o Campeão? have never been compiled or reissued at any time.

Like Jackson do Pandeiro, Ary Lobo had the ability to stretch his talent beyond basic forró and baião.  Deixa A Onda Passar (labeled ‘samba’ on the back sleeve - written by Assumpção Corrêa & José Lima) & O Vendedor De Sururú (labeled ‘sambaião’ on the back sleeve - written by Jaime Silva & Neuza Teixeira) were pleasant surprises when I first heard them because the sound leaned towards jazz and samba. The distortion on Lobo's voice is more noticeable on this album, although it was common on his records. It stands out on Quem é o Campeão?, especially on O Vendedor De Sururú, especially as the song builds. Soul distorts microphones.


LPs from Brazil in the 50s and 60s often labeled the genre of each song next to the song title on the back of the LP sleeve. The description of sambaião, for O Vendedor De Sururú, seemed to suggest that Ary was testing the waters with a new hybrid musical mash up of samba and baião. Regardless of what the music was labeled as, both of these songs were exceptional examples of prime, sophisticated Brazilian music from 1966.  

Quem é o Campeão? was Ary Lobo’s last RCA LP. Ary Lobo recorded 9 LPs and a number of 78s and 45s (compactos) for RCA between ‘58 (possibly before) - ‘66. Although he recorded for lots of other labels until 1980, his most collectible work is his early period. Currently, there is not an available discography (discografia) containing a complete list of his 78 and 45 rpm (compacto) releases.

I am baffled that 5 of the 9 RCA LPs were reissued on CD and 4 were not. The gaps are not chronological: 1958, 1960, 1964 and 1966. Are the tapes missing?  Did RCA consider these albums less important? Lobo’s artistic prowess remained intact, so it seems unlikely that these releases were considered unworthy based on artistic grounds. Perhaps one day, an archivist will be able to snoop around the RCA library and get some answers. Who knows? If my Portuguese improves, maybe I will do it. 

 

Ary Lobo -Quem é o Campeão? - 1966: Calm and cool on his last RCA LP cover.

Gilberto Gil, Marinês & Nara Leão - Vento De Maio - 1966/1967

Gilberto Gil - Vento De Maio (demo) - from Retirante - discobertas 1966 (unreleased until 2006)

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Marinês - Vento De Maio - from self titled - CBS 1967

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 Nara Leão - Vento De Maio - from Vento De Maio - Philips 1967

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It was through Tropicalia that I discovered forró thanks to the classic work of Gilberto Gil. Gil defied genres more than just about any other artist.  He could blend Bossa Nova, forró, coco, samba, psychedelic folk and acid rock with ease.  Gil’s wildly phrased songs with northeastern grooves fascinated long before I had heard of the genre called forró.

I thought that it would be interesting to post 3 different versions of Gil’s Vento De Maio. These are not the only versions from the period, though.  The song was also recorded by Claudia and Wilson Simonal. Gil’s version only exists as a rough, slightly distorted demo from 1966 and remained unreleased until a 2006 2-cd set on the discobertas label.  Although the CD was issued recently, most copies have been snatched up by collectors and is hard to find.  It’s well worth tracking down if you are interested in early singles and the formative years of Gil’s career. Gil’s music from this period is more spellbinding bossa-samba than forró or Tropicalia. Nara Leão and Marinês both recorded versions of the Vento De Maio in 1967 with very different flavors.  Stylistically, Gil’s demo fell between Leão’s and Marinês’. Both recordings seemed to be living in the same world as Gil’s, but used alternate forms of expression. Leão maintained a bossa-samba cool. Marinês’ version was decidedly more boisterous, pop and northeastern. Leão was like a snake charmer and Marinês was a northeastern goddess and controller of fates.

Marinês’ (pronounced Mad-dee-nayse for you gringos) self titled 1967 LP was the first forró LP that I bought, mainly to hear her version of Gilberto Gil’s Vento De Maio, which had not been reissued on CD at the time.  

Nara Leão, Marinês & Gilberto Gil