Beto Guedes "Contos da Lua Vaga" (1981)

Contos da Lua Vaga

release date: 1981

format: cd (2002 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]

producer: Beto Guedes

label: EMI - nationality: Brazil

Track highlights: 1. "O Sal da Terra" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Tesouro da Juventude" - 3. "Boa Sorte" - 6. "Veveco, Panelas e Canelas" - 7. "Quatro" - 10. "Canção do Novo Mundo" (4 / 5) - 11. "Noite Sem Luar"

4th studio album by Beto Guedes follows two years after Sol de Primavera and is the first with himself as producer. Much as usual the majority of the songs are written by Guedes with various other co-composers like Ronaldo Bastos, Marcio Borges and Luiz Guedes. In tradition with his former releases this also contains one song written by Milton Nascimento and Fernando Brant (track #6), and ends with a song of his fathers (track #11).

"O Sal da Terra" is already a modern classic of MPB but other songs lifts this release and makes it his so far second best only superceded by Amor de Índio (1978).

Recommended.

Beto Guedes "Sol de Primavera" (1979)

Sol de Primavera

release date: 1979

format: cd (1995 remaster) 

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]

producer: Ronaldo Bastos, Mayrton Bahia

label: EMI - nationality: Brazil

Track highlights: 1. "Sol de Primavera" - 2. "Como Nunca" - 3. "Cruzada" - 5. "Pedras Rolando" - 10. "Casinha de Palha"

3rd studio album by Beto Guedes following the fine Amor de Índio (1978). With this Guedes still upholds the traditional style of MPB and latin folk but the album mostly shows his attempt to blend in elements from Western popular music in form of heavier arrangements and with touches of more simple-structured soft rock, which may be an influence from Genesis and 10cc, but also from fusion rock bands like Santana and Weather Report. It's not that it's without originality, as it still contains Guedes' highly original light singing style but it's undoubtedly a step away from the more traditional latin folk he demonstrated on his first two solo releases. On Sol de Primavera Guedes appears to try to incorporate the succesful styles from contemporary British, American and Mediterranean artists, and it becomes a bit of mouthful to digest. The best tracks - and especially heard on the title track - are still compositions fitting more in the line of his earlier works. This is not a poor album, but it's really not too coherent.

Beto Guedes "Amor de Índio" (1978)

Amor de Índio

release date: 1978

format: cd (reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]

producer: Ronaldo Bastos

label: EMI - nationality: Brazil

Track highlights: 1. "Amor de Índio" (5 / 5) - 2. "Novena" - 3. "Só Primavera" - 6. "Feira Moderna" (4 / 5) - 7. "Luz e Mistério" - 8. "O medo de Amar é o medo de ser Livre" - 9. "Era menino"

2nd studio album by Beto Guedes is like the '77 debut album produced by Ronaldo Bastos, also credited as co-composer of two songs. Guedes has written most songs and co-composed the majority of these tracks together with Marcio Borges and/or Fernando Brant - one song is composed with Gaetano Veloso (track #7). "Feira Moderna" is composed with Marcio Borges and Fernando Brant as early as in 1969, thus preceeding the music collective "Clube da Esquina" also featuring Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges.

On Amor de Índio Guedes contines in the style of MPB [Música Popular Brasileira] in the folk tradition rooted in the Minas Gerais-region. The album contains two of Guedes' most beloved songs: the aforementioned "Feira Moderna" and the title track as his perhaps most magical contribution ever, but also the fine songs composed with Veloso and Brant (tracks #7 and #8) have become MPB staples.

The album betters his debut and has secured Beto Guedes national glorification.

Highly recommended.

~ ~ ~

Also listen to:

"Amor de Índio" brilliantly interpreted by Milton Nascimento, which is a very different version.

Cristina Branco "Corpo iluminado" (2001)

Corpo iluminado
release date: 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 2. "Meu amor, meu amor (Meu Limão de Amargura)" - 5. "Meu amor é marinheiro" (live) - 10. "Locais"

A studio album by Portuguese artist Cristina Branco. The music is close to that of Susana Baca of Peru, Cesária Évora of Cape Verde, and Omara Portuondo of Cuba because of the close relationship between the African morna and coladeira with both Portuguese fado and latin jazz of Peru and Cuba. They all have the mournful and folk based narrating character accompanied by percussion and primarily acoustic (Spanish or jazz) guitar, violin, and other typical latin instruments. It's stories about lost love and the motherland. Cristina Branco sings in a convincing mature way despite her relatively young age (born 1972).
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Beto Guedes "A Página do Relâmpago Elétrico" (1977)

A Página do Relâmpago Elétrico [debut]
release date: 1977
format: cd (2002 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,65]
producer: Ronaldo Bastos

label: EMI - nationality: Brazil

Tracklist: 1. "A Página do Relâmpago Elétrico" - 2. "Maria Solidária" (4 / 5) (live) - 3. "Choveu" - 4. "Chapéu de Sol" - 5. "Tanto" - 6. "Lumiar" - 7. "Bandolim" - 8. "Nascente" - 9. "Salve Rainha" - 10. "Belo Horizonte"

Música Popular Brasileira
I don't know much about Beto Guedes. I just love his music and I find it strange how completely unknown he is in the Northern hemisphere...
I stumbled on his music as I was looking for the origins of a beloved song by Milton Nascimento, or so I thought it was. The song is "Amor de Índio" which is found on A Barca dos Amantes (1986), a fabulous live album by Milton accompagnied by Wayne Shorter, and Nascimento is just an icon of singer / songwriter of MPB, latin vocal jazz, folk... and contemporary latin, pop folk... or: modern world music. I just love Milton's crispy soulful Brazilian vocal shape of sound... Then I found that this giant of a song was written by Beto Guedes and composed with Ronaldo Bastos, and I had my difficulties in finding any music at all with the man himself, except on youtube. Guedes took part in the formation with Fernando Brant of the Nascimento and Lô Borges-led music collective "Clube da Esquina" in which Guedes at times sang lead vocal and played guitar before starting an enduring career as a solo artist.

Beto has a totally different vocal sound. At first one might think it could be a woman's voice. That's not all of course, Beto has a wonderful lightness that makes it almost ethereal. Also, Beto's MPB seems more inspired by western folk rock standards making his output more in family with Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, in my opinion, however, these greats don't compare to Beto.

The album contains compositions, which individually point in various directions, several songs are MPB-styled Brazilian folk, but others are shaped as progressive folk, e.g. "Choveu", "Chapéau de Sol", "Tanto" and "Nascente" - others have stronger beat-structure, but the album's strength is that it doesn't sound too incoherent nor like replicating other artists - it's very much an original sound altogether, held together by Beto's vocal, and it's a naturally much recommended listen.