Here is another rare offering from the Brazilian 1960s (primarily) indie label, Maraca. The first side is a marcha, which is essentially carnival samba, but the b-side is a very appealing baião.
Vaudete E Seus Cadetes Do Ritmo - Terra Do Sol (baião) - Maraca compacto (1968)
Marinalva's LP from 1970, Eu Também De Lá, is a strange release. It was originally pressed on the indie label called Maraca. Curiously, it seems that only vinyl LPs were produced. None of the LPs have surfaced with a cover. The album was officially issued shortly after on Tropicana records. It is possible that the Maraca version was promotional, but there is not a precedent in Brazilian forró for pressing 12" LPs without a cover. It is also possible that Tropicana bought Marinalva's contract. Again, this also seems unusual. I speculate that Maraca were having financial trouble and could not support the LP. Both the Tropicana and Maraca LPs are rarities, but there are very few coverless copies of Maraca's Eu Também De Lá on the market.
Marinalva' - Eu Também De Lá - Tropicana cover / capa - 1970 (courtesy of forroemvinil)
Maraca was the great independent forró compacto (single) label of the 1960s. As far as I am aware, they never released 78rpm records and only pressed three LPS, As Mais Do Nordeste (a collection of previously issued singles), a gaucho LP by Cachoeira E Cachoeirinha and a Marinalva album. It seems that the Marinalva LP never made it past the test pressing stage. Final LPs with Maraca labels exist, but none with a Maraca sleeve. As 12 Mais Do Nordeste was issued twice, once with an earlier label and later with an updated one. Sebastião Silva's Congá Do Bomfim may be one of the great compacto classics from Maraca. Luckily, it was issued as both a single and re-released on this LP. Like all Maraca compactos, the original is quite scarce.
Maraca is one of the most mysterious Brazilian record labels. They released a number of high quality records in the 1960s (and possibly early 1970s) before they disappeared. As far as I am aware, no complete discography exists of Maraca releases. Compactos (7" singles played at 33 1/3 speed) were primarily used to promote artists on Brazilian radio. They may have also been sold, but in a very limited quantities. Therefore, compactos are far more scarce than LPs in Brazil. Maraca almost exclusively released compactos, with the exception of a few LPs, and may be the best "indie" label from the 1960s, especially for forró music. Many artists on the label, like Elino Julião and Ciço Do Para, went on to acclaim with recordings for larger labels. While Maraca did not exclusively released forró and northeastern records, the bulk of their releases focused on that music. There are a few notable exceptions covering music that was popular in the 1960s: marchas (carnival music), jovem guarda (youth guard / teen music) and samba, like the compacto below. Belizia is interesting for several reasons. Adeus Barracão is a great song, with a structure, instrumentation and flavor more reminiscent of forró than Bossa Nova or MPB samba. Also, this was a later Maraca release with new label design. Although Belizia may have had a recording career, I have not found any evidence of subsequent releases on any label.
Jacinto Silva had a remarkable run of records on CBS in the mid to late 1960s on the Abdias-helmed CBS records in Brazil. Ritmo Explosivo (1965), Cantando (1965) and Só Era Eu (1967) may be the strongest series of forró albums, only bested by the king: Jackson Do Pandeiro. Ritmo Explosivo is a raucous barnstormer. Puxa O Fole Zé, composed by Silva, may be the wildest and most driving track on the album. I am pleased to feature two great versions. The second version is by Trio Recife on the exceptionally rare Maraca compacto. Trio Recife manage to increase fiery energy of Silva's version and nearly split microphones and speakers in the process. For some reason, I picture kids skipping rope to this one. I have been meaning to post this for two years and I am pleased as punch with this double whammy. Jacinto Silva - Puxa O Fole Zé from Ritmo Explosivo - CBS (1965)
Trio Recife - Puxa O Fole Zé from compacto simples - Maraca (1960s)
Jacinto Silva - Ritmo Explosivo - CBS (1965)
Trio Recife - Puxa O Fole Zé from compacto simples - Maraca (1960s)
Starting during the rock book of the mid-1950s, lots of acts from the US and the UK released indie singles that were either re-released or re-recorded by major labels. The re-recorded songs were fun, because one could hear the differences between a small, budget studio version vs. a fancy studio recording. This continued into the 1970s, during the new wave era in Britain and the US, due to initial lack of interest from major labels. I became aware of, and coveted releases by, several artists that released indie 45s that were later re-recorded for big labels. R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe, The B-52's - Rock Lobster, Devo - Jocko Homo (and a number of other songs) and the Pretenders - The Wait spring to mind, but there are numerous other examples. Back in the early 1990s, many of these were very expensive and hard to find. These days, thanks to eBay and shifting tastes, I have been lucky enough to find these singles. Shifting to Brazil, I haven't found many examples of this in the forró genre. However, I managed to get an ultra-rare copy of Joci Batista's Os Cabeludos single on the Maraca label in the 1960s. Both sides were later recorded, for what I believe was, Batista's 1969 debut album, Juazeiro Verde. The Maraca versions definitely sound more indie and rough, but both recordings are interesting. I prefer Festão (Festa Nordestina), but I wanted to include both sides of the rare single for a/b comparison. Interesting stuff. Joci Batista - Festão (Festa Nordestina) from Juazeiro Verde - AMC (1969) Joci Batista - Festão (Festa Nordestina) from Os Cabeludos compacto simples - Maraca (1960s) Joci Batista - Os Cabeludos from Juazeiro Verde - AMC (1969) Joci Batista - Os Cabeludos from Os Cabeludos compacto simples - Maraca (1960s)
Joci Batista - Minha Morena Me Deixou from Novamente compacto simples - Maraca (1961)
This is a ridiculously rare single on Maraca, a 60s Brazilian label that mainly released promotional singles by a variety of artists. Elino Julião, Jacinto Silva and Joci Batista that would go on to have long careers. The sound of Minha Morena is reminiscent of early Blue Beat and rocksteady records; not stylistically, but in the spirit of small studio sound of the period.
Manuel David - La Ficou & Võo Da Aza Branca from Forró em Caculé compacto duplo - Maraca (1960s)
Maraca is a tiny, but legendary, Brazilian label from the 1960s. They primarily released promotional forró compactos (45rpm sized records that play at 33 1/3). What makes Maraca exceptional was their exemplary roster of artists. Joci Batista, Manuel David and Elino Julião all found greater success later. In addition to the more well known artists, Maraca also released a fair number of more obscure, but equally high quality, records.
Manuel David's sound is somewhat reminiscent of Luiz Gonzaga's, in the best possible way. Manuel's name is spelled 3 different ways on the sleeve and record: Manoel on the cover, Monoel on the reverse sleeve and Manuel on the record label. He must have had an enemy in the design department.
Manuel David - La Ficou from Forró em Caculé compacto duplo - Maraca (1960s)
Manuel David - Võo Da Aza Branca from Forró em Caculé compacto duplo - Maraca (1960s)
Manuel David - Forró em Caculé compacto duplo - Maraca (1960s)
