"Pérola Negra"

Resenha do Álbum

This is the CD reissue of Luiz Melodia's first album, from 1973. He got his chance upon having Gal Costa include "Pérola Negra" on her 1972 Gal A Todo Vapor and Maria Bethânia, "Estácio, Holly Estácio," on her 1972 Drama - Anjo Exterminado. This is Melodia at his best. The album opens with the samba "Estácio, Eu E Você," accompanied by the excellent Regional Do Canhoto. Pure Brazilian grooves can also be found in the all-time classic "Estácio, Holly Estácio" and in the northeastern forró "Forró de Janeiro." He was already into a fusion of Brazilian sambas (he was raised in Estácio, the most traditional samba hill in Rio) with contemporary American rhythms, but at that time there was a general concern for musicality, so in this album the American grooves are interpreted acoustically, with occasional brass arrangements, and no boring, noisy drum machines -- a category that includes "Vale Quanto Pesa," "Prá Aquietar" (with some fuzzed-out guitars), "Abundantemente Morte" (a blues), the immortal classic "Pérola Negra," "Magrelinha" (another hit), "Farrapo Humano" (one more of his all-time hits), and "Objeto H." His lyrics, in general, focus on urban themes with philosophical stoicism.

© Alvaro Neder /TiVo