Livro

I bought this CD after Caetano Veloso's US tour promoting it. It didn't drag me into the world of Brazilian music in general, maybe because I found it so satisfying in itself. It didn't leave me wanting more, just listening to it over and over. Bought the mp3 as a gift for a friend.

What an album! Mostly great drums and horns which clearly shows the influence of his native Bahia, but also the laid-back beach music that Portuguese seems made for. A MUST HAVE!!

As always, Caetano never disappoints.

Fortunately for us there is Cantano Veloso, international musican, hero, and provacature. Fortunatley, Veloso surrivived the repression of Brazil's dictatorship in the 1960s, and went on to make great music. And fortunately, edgey as it was, Veloso did not do his best work in the 1960s, but has grown and improved into our modern times. Need proof?: Fortunately, we have Livro.The skelleton of Veloso's music has not changed from his start in 1968: he still uses bossa nova, samba, and other Brizilian forms as nuts and bolts. What progressed his the content. Modern production has allowed him to add thicker basslines and heavier drums. This increases ressonence. He also uses top tier jazz musicians from the U.S.Veloso's music on Livro is not jazz, but is dense and at times these layers are dissonent. There is a complex jazz senseability here not contained in earlier work. Like some of our best masters--McCartney, Brian Willson and Veloso himself--our hero prefers to keep his experimentation within convential structures, making it all the more subtle and brilliant.Livro boasts this, but its songs are also immediately accessable. It is only after you hear past Veloso's brilliant melodicisism that you appreciate the true complexity of his work.Art of the highest calibre and forcefully recomended.

The suggestion that this album proves that Mr. Veloso is 'suddenly old' is not only insulting to Caetano, but also insulting to anyone who might enjoy 'Livro'. The same holds true for the accusations that only a Brazilian can possibly have any perspective on the matter. On the other hand, one reviewer referred to Mr. Veloso as an 'icon' and then, parenthetically, suggested the possibility that Caetano was not an icon but, rather, an 'Iconoclast'. Well ... he was right. It is clear that Mr. Veloso is both. Tropicália, indeed, advocates shattering icons. However, its premise has always provided for the establishment of new ones; by which we may define tomorrow. This album is a solid reaffirmation of Tropicália. It possesses all that was ever embodied by the movement. All of the elements that cross the boundaries of the twilight world that exists between the waking world and the night. All that is rational juxtaposed against the primitive and emotional. All of the technological limitations of 1967 São Paulo versus all of the modern wizardry of wherever one cares to reside today. By definition, Tropicália can never get old. Therein lies the great hope of Brazil (and, dare I say, the world). It has often been said that Brazil is a failed nation, but I ask you: Is it gone? No it is not ... and so long as it lives there is hope. Hope for Brasil and hope for the world. Viva Caetano! Viva Brasil!

OK I stole that line from a newspaper article but to paraphrase my friend Mario "(titles)belong to those who need them." I am fascinated by Caetano Veloso-music is just part of his complex artistry-but for our purposes i'll stick to that. His voice is all palm trees and sandy beaches, sweet and supple as that of a 25 year old. Most of the songs have a seductive, hypnotic feel-if you get too close, you will fall in-but you know you want to! It should also come with a warning label: you cannot listen to this and not dance! So draw the blinds if need be...2-3 of the songs are (to me) very weird-sounding:repetitive, chanting, falsetto, but i will ascribe that to my lack of familiarity with the culture and the material. I know Caetano Veloso falls in the new-to-me catagory but i think anyone who wants to be serenaded by a real master or have the neighbors wonder why you are samba-ing around the kitchen will love this CD!

OK, I stole that line from a newspaper review but to paraphrase my friend Mario "(titles)belong to those who need them." I am intrigued by Caetano Veloso-music is just part of his complex artistry-but for our purposes I'll stick to that. His voice is all palm trees and sandy beaches, sweet and supple as that of a 25 year old. Most of the songs have a seductive, hypnotic feel-if you get too close, you will fall in-but you know you want to! It should also have a warning: you can not listen to this and not dance! So draw the blinds if need be...I admit 2-3 of the songs have a very weird sound (to me)repetitive, chanting falsetto; but i will ascribe that to my lack of familiarity with the culture and the material. I know Caetano falls in the new-to-me catagory, but i think anyone who wants to be serenaded by an expert or have the neighbors wonder why you are samba-ing around the kitchen will love this CD.

This album has very good songs, with great arrangements-- mostly a combination of brazilian/african percussion with western orchestral instrumentation, but that's not all; e.g. "How beautiful could a being be" has a wonderful electric guitar track on it. "O navio negreiro" is a wonderful track with Caetano and Maria Bethania reciting a riveting poem about the slave trade over the backing track. The songs are catchy and the lyrics are nice.However, I believe this album could have sounded a lot better with a drum-heavier instrumental balance. And a couple of songs are atrocious, in my opinion: "Manhatã" and "Alexandre" are plain boring.Overall well worth owning, but I don't like having to skip songs in an album.