Zé Gonzaga w Paulo Tito - Psicodélico and Lua Luá from Psicodélico - Tropicana (1973)

This week, I feature 2 extraordinary songs from Zé Gonzaga with vocals by Paulo Tito. Along with having a superb voice, Paulo Tito's albums from the 60s are some of the scarcest in forró. Psicodélico was written by the artist himself. Psicodélico's only psycedelic production stylization is the panning of the vocals and keys from the left to the right channel, which in the era of headphones, is a slightly annoying effect. Lua Luá is a gorgeous ballad written by Catulo de Paula. The Zé Gonzaga version is slower than the original. Lua Luá would have fit nicely on Gilberto Gil's albums from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Question: Did any forró artist ever release a psychedelic album?

Zé Gonzaga w Paulo Tito - Psicodélico from Psicodélico - Tropicana (1973)

Zé Gonzaga w Paulo Tito - Lua Luá from Psicodélico - Tropicana (1973)

Zé Gonzaga w Paulo Tito - Psicodélico - Tropicana (1973)

Catulo De Paula & Aluisio Gomes - Forró Do Barnabé from Catulo De Paula & compacto simples - Odeon (1970) & RGE (1971)

Ladies and germs, forróLPgringo presents a battle of the bands. In one corner, I present the composer Catulo De Paula. In the opposite corner is Aluisio Gomes, who sometimes had to put up with the ignominy of having his spelled Aloisio. Actually, I am unsure of what the correct spelling of his name is. Catulo's version of Forró Do Barnabé sounds gorgeous. The composer had the benefit of recording at Odeon studios, which were likely equipped as well as Abbey Road. While he lays back, Aluisio attacks the song with low budget breakneck speed and fever.

Check out the odd, flimsy Catulo De Paula LP sleeve. I have a few LPs with paper folded covers, similar to this one. I asked my dealer friend in Brazil if this was advance or bootleg artwork. He said that labels occasionally did this from the mid-1960s through the early 70s. The Catulo De Paula LP must be rare, because my collector friends in Brazil have never seen this album before.

Catulo De Paula - Forró Do Barnabé from Catulo De Paula - Odeon (1970)

Aluisio Gomes - Forró Do Barnabé - compacto simples - RGE (1971)

Catulo De Paula - Forró Do Barnabé from Catulo De Paula - Odeon (1970) - odd flimsy cover

Catulo De Paula - Forró Do Barnabé from Catulo De Paula - Odeon (1970)

Aluisio Gomes - Forró Do Barnabé - compacto simples - RGE (1971)