Homenagem Musical ao Futebol Brasileiro

Homenagem Musical ao Futebol Brasileiro - The Ambassador
Welcome back people! Sorry for the absence here on Soul Spectrum. There's been a lot happening back on the ranch that unfortunately nudged this fun diversion to the back burner for the past couple months. But as I've been getting caught up in the excitement of the World Cup I was galvanized last night to make a mix in honor of the first Brazil game I've been able to watch in this tournament. It was a good, close game with Brazil's colonial rivals that just ended in a 0-0 draw, but the shelf-life of this mix will last at least into the next round, if not longer. I'm of course cheering for the USA, but last time I checked there aren't too many songs about American soccer, or at least not yet.

Brazil, on the other hand, has a passionate and enduring love affair with the sport that borderlines insanity, especially around any big tournament. I remember being in Sao Paulo during an American's Cup in a relatively sleepy artsy neighborhood in a 5th floor apartment with the windows open and every time Brazil scored (or almost scored) you could hear cheers, screams, fireworks erupting from every direction throughout the city. I'm sure you can find a Brazilian that doesn't give a damn about Futebol, but your odds are about as good as finding an actual North Korean fan cheering on the Axis of Evil's lone World Cup contending team.

Brazilian soccer and music have a very special relationship as you'll hear from the selections in this mix. I'm going to be so bold as to ignorantly proclaim that Brazil has more popular songs about the sport than any other nation. As such, it's no surprise that you'll see Brazilian music stars on the pitch in uniform, sporting their team colors, marrying famous soccer stars or singing about their favorite team. Samba's diva supreme, Elza Soares, married Garrincha, a player as famous as Pele within Brazil for his leadership and dominance in the 1958 and 1962 Brazilian World Cup victories. FIFA claims that he is the second best player in the history of the game, following Pele. On the back of this 1970s Elza Soares LP you can see Elza, Garrincha and their baby.

I'm certain my selections on this mix are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Brazilian soccer anthems, but I'm pretty content with it for a spontaneous mix made last night. If any of you know of any other great tunes, please let me know in the comments. Seeing Chico Buarque in his jersey here makes me want to scour his LPs for some hidden soccer homages buried in his deep catalog.

Jorge Ben, on the other hand is solidly represent in this 20-song mix with two of his own recordings ("Sem Essa no. 5" & "Camisa 10 de Gavea"), both Wilson Simonal tunes were composed by Ben and my most recent acquisition brings us the killer version of Ben's futebol classic "Fio Maravilha". And I left off the obvious selection "Ponta de Lança Africano - Umbabarauma" because I figure most of you already know that one. Jorge Ben's club team is Flamengo as you can see by the red & black emblem on his guitar.



The greatest player of all time teamed up with Sergio Mendes in the late-seventies for a documentary about himself. I can't speak to the quality of the film and the soundtrack is easily the worst Sergio album of his first two decades, but the soundtrack cover is possibly the best image capturing the intersection of Brazil's obsession with music and futebol. I did include a funky percussion groove from the soundtrack, the best moment from my opinion.



















At the same time as this Sergio "solo" soundtrack project he did a fantastic album with the "New Brazil '77" featuring a couple exclusive Stevie Wonder compositions and the funky dancer "Mozambique" but it's also notable for having Pele making a cameo on the back cover as the doctor attempting to repair Sergio's band of wounded and dirty soccer players.

In Brazil even hippies like soccer as evidenced by Novos Baianos' third album and this clip. "F.C." means Futebol Club and by looking at their colors, they might be Flamengo fans as well. I love how Moraes Moreira just wanders off the practice pitch mid-game to sing a song and slowly but surely the rest of his team/band joins him:



Here's the track-list with some notes:

1. Ritmo de Abertura - Explosao de Samba
(I'm not sure who the band is here, but I've always loved crazy samba mixed with electronics)
2. Praia e Sol - Bebeto
(Bebeto, the poor man's Jorge Ben which is not so poor given Ben's musical wealth, sure has his priorities figured out: Beach, Sun, Girls, Soccer. Nuff said.)
3. Soccer Game - Eumir Deodato e os Caterdraticos '73
(A cool little instrumental from one of Brazil's most famous musical expats - this one was recorded in Brazil around the same time as his mega-hit remake of the theme to 2001)
4. Paz e Futebol - Marcos Valle
(the first of two appearances from Marcos Valle, this one from his Garra album - dig the outro scatting)
5. Pais Tropical - Wilson Simonal
(a classic Jorge Ben tune in the definitive version by Simonal. Nobody does a nationalistic pop-samba quite like Simonal. The soccer reference is "Sou Flamengo e tenho uma nega chamada Tereza", which means "I'm Flamengo and I have a black chick called Tereza"
6. Flamengo - Tim Maia
(A rare Tim Maia instrumental also praising the Rio team Flamengo)
7. Aquele Abraço - Osvaldo Nunes
(this is a new aquisition, a single-only version of the Gilberto Gil classic that also has a Flamengo reference: "Aia, torcida do Flamengo - aquele abraaco!")
8. O Samba da Minha Terra - Novos Baianos
(From the Novos Baianos album "Novos Baianos F.C." this is more of a tribute to Bahia, but it's killer and can be interpreted as generally patriotic.)
9. Sem Essa no. 5 - Jorge Ben
(there's a soccer reference in this Jorge Ben rarity, not found on any albums of his, but just on a label compilation from the early 70s)
10. Brasil, Eu Fico - Wilson Simonal
(another Jorge Ben nationalistic tune helmed by Simonal)
11. Fio Maravilha - Explosao do Samba
(love this version with the weird guitar and announcer effects)
12. Grito de Gol - Serginho Meriti
(a great tune about the "Scream of the Goal" by Samba-Soulster Serginho Meriti)
13. Se Meu Time Não Fosse o Campeão - MPB-4
(A late 70s tune from the MPB-4 about "if my team is not the champion")
14. Camisa 10 de Gavea - Jorge Ben
(A tribute to the guy wearing the number 10 jersey on Gavea's team, from the same album as "Ponta de Lança Africano - Umbabarauma", Africa-Brasil)
15. A Tristexa do Adeus (The Sadness of Goodbye) - Sergio Mendes
(Groovy instrumental from the Pelé soundtrack)
16. Maracana - Azymuth
(an instrumental tribute to the greatest Soccer stadium in the world)
17. Futebol de Bar - Cesar Mariano & Cia.
(an interesting piano ditty that turns into a stomping, funky groove for the song's outro)
18. Happy Brasilia - James Last
(the only non-Brazilian in the mix, this is a surprisingly authentic batucada jam from Germany's Herb Alpert)
19. Flamengo Até Morrer - Marcos Valle
(I considered putting this song in at spot #8 to have four Flamengo tunes in a row from four different princes of MPB, but the song fit better at the end of the mix. Find me a better love song to a soccer team, I dare you. "Flamengo until death.")
20. Aquarela Brasiliera - Nostalgia Electrônica Orchestra
(cheesy, yes, but it seemed a fitting nationalistic outro in a disco style from a weird album by keyboardist and arranger Daniel Salinas)

Marcos Valle: Outras Vozes

I've been meaning to do a Marcos Valle post for quite some time as he is still my reigning favorite Brazilian artist (sorry Tim, close second.) Allen has already blogged about some of his excellent later work here. Marcos and his brother lyricist Paulo Sergio worked with a laundry list of influential musicians in Brazil: Azymuth, Som Imaginario, O Terco, Deodato, basically just about everyone in this fertile scene. They worked a lot! Its well known that the Valle brothers also did a number of film and television sound tracks as well including of course the Brazilian Sesame Street, Vila Sesamo. They also did a few soap operas including this one here:


Marcos Valle - Os Ossos do Barao
Betinho - Chega de Enganar a Nega
I got this album off of Ebay for a great price. It was one of those deals where I happened to do a "Marcos Valle" search about ten minutes after someone clueless in Minnesota posted it as a buy it now. Lucky. Of course I impulse bought it unheard and though it certainly could have been funkier, I've enjoyed it quite a bit. This first song is Marco's only vocal contribution to the album but he and Paulo Sergio wrote all of it. As for the second track, I really don't know much at all about Betihno except he seemed to confine himself mostly to soundtrack material. A good score in any case.


Emilio Santiago - La Mulata
A groover from one of Brazil's most skilled interpreters Emilio Santiago. This album has it all: the Jorge Ben jam, the Joao Donato jam, and here, the Marcos Valle jam. Truly a must have!


Deodato - Adam's Hotel
Mellowing out now here's a Valle contribution to a US Deodato album. I happen to know this LP is an Ambassador fav, as he recommended it to me several times over the years. I had picked it up in like 2001 for fifty cents and slept on it forever until Allen hooked me up with a nice cd rip of it - its full of jams! (Also the Donato/Deodato album which for some reason I had assumed was cheese - its not.) Beauty.

Also Sprach . . . Rosko?

I can't believe it! Something I wrote actually got published in a book! Sure, it's the same thing that I wrote for a magazine, but now that it's in book form it feels a little bit more permanent, lasting, like something you might find in a public library. Magazines in public libraries usually have torn covers, missing pages and entire issues missing. My very first article for Wax Poetics, an interview with Eumir Deodato, originally appeared in issue 7 of the magazine and was recently anthologized in the magazine's second collection. You can buy it here, if you like.

In honor of this publication, I have a little post that rides on the coat-tails of Eumir Deodato's megasmash hit, "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Theme to 2001).

Also Sprach Zarathustra - Deodato
Sure, proper credit should be given to Stanley Kubrick for his brilliant use of the original Richard Strauss composition in his movie, 2001. With the song already in the public's mind, it became all the easier for Deodato to reinterpret as a jazz-funk opus cum pop smash. However, the following two songs are explicitly indebted to Deodato's version with their funky arrangements.

Also Sprach Zarathustra - Meireles e Sua Orquestra
A great version of this tune with a real Brazilian feel by a legendary arranger and group leader. This is by far his funkiest album, with great versions of Helio Matheus' "Kriola" and Ary Barroso's "Na Baixa do Sapateiro" which I previously discussed here. Lornonix has it for download aqui.

Peacemaker - Rosko
And then there was Rosko . . . Who the hell is this guy? DJ Ezinho traded me this single so it just recently joined the collection. As soon as I heard it I knew it belonged but was unsure of where it would fit in terms of DJing or private listening. Then it occurred to me that it was meant to be blogged about. The single has another band on the flip and the picture sleeve is clearly advertising the Rosko side . . . seems like a one-off from a radio DJ from France, where the record was pressed. Anyone have any info on this? After listening to this the other evening, Ezinho and I agreed that while it's not the best piece of music ever, the band is tight and the lyrics are at least original, if not bizarre and hilarious. You decide for yourself. Comments welcome . . .

Spotlight on.... Joe Bataan

No one walks the line like Joe Bataan. His street cred could not be more impeccable - born in nyc, raised in spanish harlem, ex-gang member, and self taught on the piano, Joe was instrumental in forming the latin soul sound. After signing with Fania in 1966, he released eight albums including Gypsy Women, Subway Joe, Riot!, (which went gold) and Saint Latin's Day Massacre. After leaving Fania due to money disagreements he helped coin the phrase "Salsoul," lending that name to his first post Fania release and later co-founding the influential disco label with the Cayre brothers. Always a man with his ear to the street, Bataan sensed disco's impending arrival and this album represented a sonic shift towards groovier, more dance oriented sounds. This was evidenced even more so on his next album, Afro-Filipino, his first on Salsoul. Although not making much noise on the national charts, Bataan's instrumental cover of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle" went on to be come a club hit and is considered an essential pre-disco track. Always searching for the new thing, Joe hit the charts a few years later with the minor disco-rap hit, "Rap-o-Clap-o" which is remembered as rap's debut in the european market. After gracefully bowing out of the game in the early eighties Bataan went on to become a youth counselor in one of the prisons he himself had been incarcerated in prior to his recording career. He began performing again in the nineties and released a new album "Call My Name" in 2005.

Joe Bataan - Subway Joe The title track from my favorite of his on Fania. I love his lyrics and loose delivery.






Joe Bataan - The Bottle (instrumental) An instrumental cover of Gil Scott-Heron. Really nice pre-disco.







Joe Bataan - Latin Strut The Brazilian-Bataan link! Excellent cover of Eumir Deodato's "Super Strut." Check the breakdown!









Joe Bataan - Rap-O-Clap-O (12" version) Speaking of breakdowns, Here's the 12" version of his super-catchy foray into hip hop.