Trio Nordestino - Pau De Arara É A Vovozinha from Os Grandes Sucessos Do - Magazine (orig 1964)

I have been a bit slow to post lately. Apologies! Lots of new content is on the way. Pau De Arara É A Vovozinha is a great one from Trio Nordestino from their 1964 LP of the same title. The original LP featured the group on the tarmac looking like they are ready to conquer the world. Like the other early to mid-60s Trio Nordestino LPs, the albums were reissued a number of times over the years. This is fortunate for Trio Nordestino and fans of great forró.

Trio Nordestino - Carta Ao Rio from Os Grandes Sucessos Do - Magazine (orig 1965)

This Trio Nordestino, not to be confused with the Trio Nordestino from Alagoas, released a number of strong LPs in the early 1960s that have I foolishly overlooked. Os Grandes Sucessos collects songs from their 1963, 1965 and 1966 LPs. My favorite track from this compilation is Carta Ao Rio. The song is a rip-roaring côco with a killer chorus, reminiscent of some of the best 1960s Ary Lobo tracks. 

Trio Nordestino - Os Grandes Sucessos Do - Magazine

Trio Nordestino - Chinelo De Rosinha from Os Rouxinhos Da Bahia - Copacabana (1978)

There are two different Trio Nordestinos. This version is from Salvador. After the Trio left CBS in the mid 1970s, they recorded primarily for Copacabana throughout the late 70s and early 80s. Unlike aging rock bands, Trio Nordestino seemed to become more rocking, albeit playing forró, over the years. Chinelo De Rosinha is a great example of the band that they became.
Trio Nordestino - Chinelo De Rosinha from Os Rouxinhos Da Bahia - Copacabana (1978)

Trio Nordestino – Xaxado No Pé from Vamos Xamegá - CBS 1967 - Tropicana (reissue) 1973

Trio Nordestino – Xaxado No Pé from Vamos Xamegá - CBS 1967 - Tropicana (reissue) 1973  

Trio Nordestino LPs are some of the easiest to find. It is probable that we will never know the exact pressing numbers for most Brazilian LPs, but it seems likely that print runs for Trio Nordestino were larger than with most forró stars. Vamos Xamegá was originally published in 1967 on CBS and reissued on CBS subsidiary Tropicana in 1973. Reissues were rare in forró, which is another indication that the Trio were an exceptionally successful act. Although a lot of Trio Nordestino material is on the mellow side, Xaxado No Pé cooks.

Click on the video above to play the song.

iOS? click here: http://youtu.be/noSPTkfGAa8

Trio Nordestino – Xaxado No Pé from Vamos Xamegá - CBS 1967 - Tropicana (reissue) 1973  

Trio Nordestino – Dom Francisco, Dom Tomé - Corte O Bolo – Copacabana/Beverly 1980

Trio Nordestino – Dom Francisco, Dom Tomé - Corte O Bolo – Copacabana/Beverly 1980

Click on the video above to play the song.
iOS? click here: http://youtu.be/Xel9S_wsGoI

When I’ve explained my interest in collecting forró to hip Brazilian record collectors and dealers, I’ve gotten a variety of reactions.  From half, it’s mostly amusement, but occasionally people incredulously ask “Why?”  The other half, which often includes DJs and musicians, get a twinkle in their eye and tap their noses knowingly.

I can understand why the Brazilian Tropicalistas and performers like Chico Buarque are respectable and forró may seem clownish. Just look at the cover of Trio Nordestino’s LP Corte O Bolo!!! It looks like a kids birthday party.*  The band is draped in dreadful 70s polyester shirts, undersized Annie Oakley hats and massive scarves.  I have to admit, most forró artwork is totally atrocious, hilarious, grotesque, painfully unappealing and completely unfashionable.  It’s humbling when needle hits vinyl and the music is brilliantly rhythmic, cheeky, colorful, wildly melodic, complex and intoxicating.  Don’t judge a book by it’s cover and don’t judge an LP by it’s jacket.
 

Dom Francisco, Dom Tomé (by Assissão – Lindolfo Barbosa) is a light, juicy tune with a funky groove, gutsy singing and hypno-accordion.  The song was released in 1980 close to the end of the 3rd wave of forró, right before drum machines and 80s production destroyed the genre for a long while.  Interestingly, 70s disco accents sounded great with forró (electric bass and drum kits). Dom Francisco, Dom Tomé is a classic example of disco/funk-forró. Perhaps it was because disco and forró had the same function.  Both musics were designed to be funky and fill the dance floor.

*The party on the cover of Corte O Bolo was for Trio Nordestino’s 20th anniversary.  The vinyl LP in the video is a reissue on Beverly from 1991. The original LP came out on Copacabana in 1980.

Trio Nordestino (image from Som13)