Gal Costa (Cinema Olympia)

Performer: Gal Costa
Distributor: Infinity Entertainment Gr

Notes: Personnel: Gal Costa (vocals); Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso. Arranger: Rogerio Duprat. After Caetano Veloso broke out with his solo debut, the self-titled 1968 release recognized as the building block for the now infamous Brazilian Tropicalia movement, his friends and musical peers released similar albums, always upping the ante in terms of outrageousness and inventiveness. But GAL (1969), the second of two self-titled albums released by Gal Costa in 1969, set the high watermark in terms of overall insanity and complete experimental freedom for the entire lot; neither Veloso nor Gilberto Gil, Tom Z�, or even the rambunctious Os Mutantes stepped this far out into psychedelia, and even though Costa had hinted at her noisier ambitions on the previous release, this album must have shocked listeners when it arrived on the shelves. Costa is a ball of contradictions here: overtly wild but in control; sweet and accessible, yet brash; and, at times, almost violent as she screams and moans her way through the entire album, while spindly, whiny guitars mix with soulful bass grooves, bombastic drums, exotic horns, woodwinds, and strings. The sonic textures are taken completely over the top with judicious use of delays, reverbs, and various production techniques employed by Tropicalia mastermind Rogerio Duprat, all new and exciting at the time. When taken all together, the listener may not at first notice the high quality of the songwriting behind the unreal, emotional freak-outs. GAL (1969)is an indescribable, unpredictable, ambitious, and fun LP, preserving a slice of time when Brazil was in its most controversial state, both musically and politically, and is a must-have for any psychedelic collection.

The Wire (p.56) - "[GAL] proves the musical boundaries of time and place....GAL moves on to include choppier rhythms and rougher textures, a rockier landscape with added distortion, reverb, feedback and odd multitracked effects."

Essentially the first lady of Brazilian music, Gal Costa was among the musical rebels who gathered under the Tropicalia banner in the late-1960s/early-'70s, espousing a countercultural aesthetic that advanced Brazilian pop beyond bossa nova and samba into challenging new territory. Her big, bold style found her belting out melodies diva-style one moment and indulging in psychedelic, avant garde freakouts the next. In the '80s, like many of her peers, Costa switched to a slick, commercial pop sound, but by the '90s she started getting back to her roots, managing to work with one of her heroes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, shortly before his death.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.5