Rick Clark's Music I Love Blog - Artist: Caetano Veloso / Album: Livro
One of the most exquisite albums I came across during the late ‘90s was Caetano Veloso’s Livro. When you hear Livro, it is easy to understand how Caetano Veloso is rightfully regarded in his native country of Brazil as an iconic artist on the level of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jorge Ben, Elis Regina and Joao Gilberto.
Veloso initially made his mark in Brazil as one of the founders (along with Gilberto Gil and Hélio Oiticica) of Tropicália, a political artistic musical movement during the late 60’s that melded or “cannibalized” popular and experimental music from other countries with more traditional and contemporary Brazillian artistic expressions. Veloso’s inventive 1968 album Tropicália is regarded as one of the most musical statements Brazillian music.
At the time Tropicália’s release, the Brazilian dictatorship of João Goulart deemed Gil and Veloso’s Tropicália so subversive the two spent time in jail and eventually left the country for England where they waited out the fall of that regime. When they returned, many in Brazil regarded them as artistic heroes.
By the time Livro came out in 1998, Veloso had already released an impressive collection of albums throughout the ‘70s, ‘80s and ’90’s. Livro is the album, that opened the door to the rest of his work. Maybe because it served as my introduction, it still is my favorite album of his.
Artist: Caetano Veloso - Album: Livro
Livro, which translates in Portuguese as “book,” is one of the most gorgeously produced albums in my collection, thanks to the engineering and mixing brilliance of multi-Grammy winning Antonio “Moogie" Canazio, whose credits include Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Maria Bethânia and Sergio Mendes among many others. In 2000, Livro earned Veloso the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album and a Latin Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, in addition to winning the Latin Grammy for Best MPB Award.
Livro comes with an amply annotated booklet featuring excepts from Veloso’s book Verdade Tropical. The immersion of the music and package is an all-consuming experience.
Once I dove into his other music, I picked up on his book Tropical Truth, which is a rewarding, but very dense accounting of the Tropicália movement and the political dynamics of the time.
One of the qualities of love about Livro is the blend of Veloso’s airy smooth vocal next to intensely colorful percussion arrangements that draw a lot from north Brazillian and African rhythms.
While I love the whole album, my favorite tracks on Livro would probably be the expansive sounding “Manhata” (Manhattan), the inventively percussive “Os Passistas” and the pulsing recitative “O Navio Negreiro (The Slave Ship) ”
Artist: Caetano Veloso - Track: “O Navio Negreiro (The Slave Ship)” from the Grammy winning album Livro.
Artist: Caetano Veloso - Track: “Você e Minha” from the Grammy winning album Livro.
Fotos: Paola Lorena Soto
If you aren’t familiar with Caetano Veloso’s work, hopefully this introduction will whet you taste to discover more of his fine artistry. Thanks for listening.
