Beleza Tropical: Brazil Classics 1

The first in a series of compilation discs put together by David Byrne for his Luaka Bop label, BELEZA TROPICAL attempts to harness a whole musical movement within a single collection. While North America had long succumbed to bossa nova (to the point of its becoming merely a cheesily exotic seduction), the sounds of tropicalismo initially had little impact outside of its native Brazil. Forged in a period of social and political upheaval, the music draws on an enormous variety of musical influences--from traditional Brazilian folk music and street songs to chansons and rock & roll--and reflects the complexity of a culture caught between the expansion of the modern world and the harshness of a repressive dictatorship. And although it's impossible to draw an entire portrait with a single stroke, BELEZA TROPICAL is a suitable introduction to some of the innovators of Brazilian pop, among them Milton Nascimento, Gal Costa, and Caetano Veloso.|

Brazil Classics, Beleza Tropical is the first in a series compiled by Talking Heads singer David Byrne that preceded the big wave of interest in Tropicalia during the late '90s by almost a decade. Performers include such influential Brazilian figures as Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Jorge Ben, with several songs from each. The selected recordings span the 1970s and '80s, also including tracks from Milton Nascimento, Nazare Pereira, and more. The liner notes feature the original lyrics as well as their English translations. ~ Joslyn Layne