gal costa: aquarela do brasil

album rating: ★★★★☆

Genre

MPB and samba. A tribute album devoted entirely to the songs of Ary Barroso, the greatest Brazilian popular composer of the 1940s and 1950s, the album reinterprets twelve of his compositions - including "É Luxo Só," "Na Baixa do Sapateiro," and "Aquarela do Brasil" - with arrangements that bear slight traces of the nascent Italo-disco production then reshaping Brazilian pop, while remaining overwhelmingly a showcase for Gal's extraordinary interpretive range and vocal authority.

Release

Released in 1980 by Philips / PolyGram, Brazil. The album features a guest duet with Caetano Veloso on "No Tabuleiro da Baiana," and closes, as a culminating gesture, with the title track.

Production

Produced by Roberto Menescal and Guilherme Araújo - both longstanding figures in Gal Costa's recording history. Menescal, musician, composer, and producer of the bossa nova generation, also contributed violin to the sessions. José Roberto Bertrami of Azymuth played Oberheim synthesizer on five tracks. 

Reception

The album was a major commercial success and became one of the defining releases of Gal Costa's career. Scream & Yell awarded it a score of 7 and described it as having "turned into one of the great successes of the decade, bringing 'Aquarela do Brasil' into Costa's standard repertoire and proving that Gal has the knack for revitalising fundamental composers of the Brazilian songbook." 

Gal Costa

Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (September 26, 1945, Salvador, Bahia – November 9, 2022, São Paulo), known as Gal Costa, was a Brazilian singer described by The New York Times as "one of Brazil's greatest singers" and regarded by many critics as the greatest Brazilian female voice of her generation. Born in Bahia, she met Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil at eighteen and became a central figure of the Tropicália movement through recordings including the landmark compilation Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis (1968). When Gil and Veloso were exiled to London by the military dictatorship, she remained in Brazil to champion their music. Her defining solo albums include Índia (1973), Cantar (1974), and Gal Canta Caymmi (1976). She received the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011; Rolling Stone placed her 90th on its 2023 list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. She died in São Paulo in November 2022, at the age of 77.

This text was generated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence.

folha morta

gal costa: índia

album rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: MPB / tropicália / psychedelic folk / jazz / funk / bossa nova. Índia is the fourth studio album by Gal Costa (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos, Salvador, Bahia, 1945 – São Paulo, November 2022), one of the founding figures of tropicalismo and one of the great voices of Brazilian popular music. Alongside Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethânia and Tom Zé, Costa was part of the nucleus of the Tropicália movement from 1968 onwards. Índia was released by Philips Records in July 1973 and was recorded at Studios Phonogram in Rio de Janeiro and Eldorado in São Paulo. The production direction was by Guilherme Araújo — Costa's long-standing producer, who had given her her stage name ('Gal: Guilherme Araújo Limited') — with studio direction and coordination by Edu Mello e Souza. The musical direction was by Gilberto Gil, who had recently returned from years of forced exile in London following his clashes with the Brazilian military dictatorship. The principal arranger is Arthur Verocai (tracks including 'Presente Cotidiano' and 'Pontos de Luz'); additional arrangements by Gil himself. Among the musicians: drummer Robertinho Silva, electric guitarist Toninho Horta, bassist Luiz Alves, percussionist Chico Batera, accordionist Dominguinhos, organists Tenório Jr. and Wagner Tiso, and bossa nova architect Roberto Menescal on guitar in 'Desafinado'. The Uncut review notes that the Fond/Sound blog describes the album as Costa 'finally giving herself this unique identity as the promoter of indigenous looks and sound.' Songs include the lush title track (written by Paraguayan composer José Asunción Flores and poet Manuel Ortiz Guerrero, with Portuguese-language lyrics via José Fortuna), Caetano Veloso's 'Relance', 'Volta' and 'Da Maior Importância', and the Jobim bossa nova standard 'Desafinado'. Also included are 'Milho Verde' by Portuguese folk-protest songwriter José Afonso, 'Pontos de Luz' and 'Presente Cotidiano'. The original cover — a photograph of Costa semi-nude in indigenous Brazilian dress — was censored by the Brazilian military government. Copies were sold wrapped in a plain blue plastic bag. Costa released the uncensored cover in 2015 via Instagram; a reissue with the original artwork was released by Mr Bongo Records in 2017.

Label: Philips Records (Brazil), released July 1973. Later reissued by Mr Bongo Records (2017).

Producer: Guilherme Araújo (production direction). Musical director: Gilberto Gil. Arrangers: Arthur Verocai, Gilberto Gil, Rogério Duprat.

Recording studios: Studios Phonogram, Rio de Janeiro; Studio Eldorado, São Paulo.

Critical reception: Índia received widespread critical acclaim. Pitchfork wrote that 'with 1973's Índia, Gal Costa cemented her status as one of Brazil's biggest and most defiant stars.' Uncut described it as a record that 'embraced the experimentation of her earlier albums but framed this within a more naturalistic setting', praising Costa's 'preternatural ear for a great, appropriate melody.' Rate Your Music reviewers single out 'Pontos de Luz' — which was sampled by Kaytranada on 'Lite Spots' — as well as 'Relance', 'Volta' and 'Índia' as highlights. The Slipcue guide calls it 'highly recommended', noting the arrangements 'at times restrained enough to sound almost like French musette', praising contributions from Dominguinhos, Arthur Verocai and Roberto Menescal.

Commercial success: Índia was a major success in Brazil and consolidated Costa's standing as one of the country's preeminent popular artists. In 2011, she received the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked her at number 90 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. The 2017 Mr Bongo reissue and the 2022 and 2023 anniversary editions have introduced the album to new audiences internationally.

text generated by artificial intelligence — claude, sonnet 4.6 — free version, liable to contain errors

índia

gal costa: todas as coisas e eu

chora tua tristeza

gal costa: gal canta caymmi

só louco