Tropicalia: Ou Panis Et Circensis [Digipak]

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: City Hall

Notes: Recording information: RGE. SP (05/1968). Despite the notorious raggedness of classic Tropicalia, this famous SGT. PEPPER's-inspired communal effort is notable for its musicality and what might be called its intelligent design. Much of the credit should go to the late producer Rogerio Duprat, the George Martin of Brazil (or its Joe Meek). At the very outset, Os Mutantes' "Panis et Circencis," approaches "Being for The Benefit of Mr. Kite" or "Penny Lane" in its life-is-a-circus eclecticism. Otherwise, this is pretty much Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil's show, their extraordinary musical and intellectual fertility evident from the very beginning. Not to forget Gal Costa, whose "Baby"--which Caetano wrote and plays and sings on--is one of the peaks of her career, and she had just gotten started herself. This is the compilation that helped to define the sound of Tropicalia, a Brazilian label whose artists made huge and influential strides in creating exotic pop that was as influenced by psychedelia as it was by samba, bossa nova, and more traditional South American genres. Tropic�lia not only includes tracks from the label's most important acts (Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa), but presents a large number of collaborations between these artists, many of which are simply amazing. Given the fact that many of the original Tropicalia releases have not been reissued or are not widely available, the compilation stands as a near-definitive package for the sound, and a great opportunity for anyone unfamiliar with the artists to experience an amazing and hugely important genre. ~ Nitsuh Abebe

Mojo (Publisher) (7/00, p.132) - "...A stunning introduction..."

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