Aquelel Frevo Axe

This album by Gal Costa is the first to have new material in five years. In spite of her promise of recording the composers of the "new" generation (Lenine, Chico Cesar, her protege Zeca Baleiro), she ended up interpreting Adriana Calcanhotto (her hit "Esquadros," in a more rhythmic/Bahian rendition); Herbert Vianna ("Quase Um Segundo," also previously released, in a beautiful piano/string section ballad rendition); Moreno Veloso, son of Caetano ("Sertao," written with Caetano); Carlinhos Brown ("Aguar-te Agora"); and -- surprise! -- Jose Miguel Wisnik ("Assum Branco"), not a "new" artist, in any aspect, but a creative composer of the Vanguarda Paulista who hadn't got the deserved exposure. Costa recorded on this album for the first time in Spanish (the new Argentinean composer Pedro Aznar, "Amor de Juventud"). "Imunizacao Racional (Que beleza)" is an obscure song by the late Tim Maia from the ignored phase when he was involved with the religious sect Universo em Desencanto (between 1974 and 1976, later dismissed). The better song on the album is "Qui Nem Jilo," an old hit by the northeastern Luiz Gonzaga, enriched by the gafieira-like brass/flute arrangements and executions by Carlos Malta. The album also has bossa nova ("Aquele Frevo Axe"), funk ("Habib," Jorge Ben Jor), and funk ballad ("Voce," an old Tim Maia hit from his second album in 1971). The sonority is divided between contemporary pop with drum machines and fashionable electronics (which are devoted to the impression of modernity) and acoustic arrangements with string and brass sections that try to convey the idea of sophistication. ~ Alvaro Neder|