Livro

2000年度“グラミー賞ワールド･ミュージック部門”を受賞した、 97年にリリースされた前作よりオリジナル曲のアルバムとしては約7年ぶりとなる作品。自らのルーツであるラテン音楽の伝統に根ざした、優雅なオーケストレーションと、若手のパーカッショニストを起用したバイーアの躍動的なリズムを軸にした、90年代のカエターノを代表する傑作アルバムである。

Sometimes called the Bob Dylan of Brazil, Caetano Veloso, along with Gilberto Gil and Os Mutantes, was one of the key figures of the late-'60s tropicalismo movement. He has been astonishingly prolific ever since. To compare him to another famous North American, only Neil Young can match Veloso's combination of output and high quality over the years.
His latest stateside release, LIVRO, is no exception to this happy trend. Less aggressively avant-garde than the Arto Lindsay-produced OS ESTRANGEIRO of a decade prior, the mainly acoustic LIVRO represents a return to Veloso's neo-bossa nova roots. Actually, the facile comparison with Dylan breaks down given the fact that, unlike his bossa nova mentors Tom Jobim and poet/lyricist Vinicius de Moraes, the mellifluous-voiced Velsoso was never much of a croaker. Throughout LIVRO, especially on songs like "Voce E Minha" and "Manhata", Veloso simply aims for the sheer beauty of sound and melody. He is too sophisticated and creative to ever sound saccharine in this quest, a danger that his more rock-oriented compatriot Gil never risked. Along with recent albums by Tom Ze and Veloso's sideman Vinicius Cantuaria, the gentle, complex LIVRO is a perfect introduction to modern Brazilian music.|