África Brasil

Trotz der rhythmischen Kraft verliert das Album in der zweiten Hälfte an Fahrt. Viele Tracks wiederholen ähnliche Muster, was die Platte streckenweise etwas eintönig wirken lässt. Wer eingängige Melodien sucht, könnte zudem von den dominanten, perkussiven Elementen ermüdet werden.

What a freaking party man.

A. The cuíca in more funk please!!

Every track is a JAM! The blend of American Soul/Funk, African Rythms, Samba and Whistles/rythms every track just goes full speed.

Fantastic album. Another gem of a find. I had to look it up; Rod Stewart 'unconsciously plagiarised' the Taj Mahal melody.

OK, there are some pretty solid songs on this one such as Meus Filhos, Meu Tesouro which goes hard.

But what's absolutely destroying this album is whatever instrument (Looking it up, it's the cuica, and it's meant to sound like an opossum) sounds like a squeegee cleaning off a windshield of a car. It's especially bad on O Plebeu.
Like, I feel bad for shitting on a traditional instrument, but it drives me up the wall.

Sometimes it's OK when it's more staccato, but a lot of the time it's going off and doing it's own thing, and it just sounds grating.

I was maybe considering a higher score, but once I started noticing the cuica, I couldn't not hear it, and like I said, it's honestly destroying my enjoyment of this album. It's so annoying.

So yeah. Unfortunately have to give this album a 1. Feel bad, because it's a cultural thing and I don't want to do that, but I just cannot stand that instrument. It's infuriates me how annoying it sounds.

Crazy dat een album uit 1976 een AI-gegenereerde albumhoes heeft. De man was zijn tijd voor vooruit.

Echt beregezellig dit. Super funky, creatief, divers. Love it.

With a cover like that, how can this be anything but incredible? I mean, no, I don’t understand anything he’s saying, but music is a universal language. Or something.

Obviously I’ve heard of Jorge Ben Jor, formerly known as just Jorge Ben; I don’t live under a fucking rock. And this is a very good argument for knowing about him closely: the vocals are passionate and smooth, the grooves are deep and funky, the vibes are wonderful. Some favorites are opener “Ponta De Lança Africano,” which has some real great and catchy moments, and opens the album sooooo well. There are many songs that I could frankly listen to for 10+ minutes: “Taj Mahal,” the obvious centerpiece of the album, cultivates such a beautiful, rhythmic, funky vibe that I’m deeply compelled to love, and I truly genuinely wish that “Meus Filhos, Meu Tesouro” was 15 minutes longer, just a perfect groove. Jorge’s vocals are absolutely incredible on “Xica Da Silva,” such a beautiful, spectacular song. “A História De Jorge” is so lively and fun and funky, I love it!

There really isn’t a weak link on this entire album; pretty much every single song is a candidate for the best track. And the album pulls so heavily from deep funk in a way that not quite understanding all the lyrics doesn’t even detriment one’s listening experience, in a way it enhances it by forcing the (non-Portuguese speaking, in this case ME,) listener to focus more on the smooth, confident vocals and immaculate playing. It’s a digestible length, not too short but not unreasonable. Absolutely incredible, groovy, funky samba album. Highly, highly, highly recommend.
9.7/10
DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES
REASON: PHENOMENAL ALBUM BY AN INCREDIBLE AND VERY CULTURALLY IMPORTANT ARTIST

Somewhat liked it. It felt like forced shout singing.

Albumiño exelentiño

Had not heard this record from the Brazilian artist before. Among his records that I have heard, this one has more of a western focus at times, which might make it a more palatable listen to some people. However, in overall quality it is far behind 'Fôrça Bruta' and 'A Tábua de Esmeralda', which I believe are more iconic records of his discography.

7/10 [SWAP]

Yeah that was good. I vibed the whole time.

Jorge Ben Jor’s Africa Brasil is an interesting and energetic album that blends samba, funk, soul, and Brazilian popular music into something that feels distinctly its own. I liked it overall, especially the way Ben Jor brings African influences and themes of Black identity and heritage into his music without sacrificing the warmth and groove of his sound.
There are some really engaging moments here, with the rhythm section and guitar work giving the album a strong sense of movement. At its best, the music feels lively, loose, and infectious, and there’s a lot to appreciate in the way Ben Jor combines different traditions.
That said, I did find the album a little tiring at times. The consistent rhythmic intensity and relatively similar atmosphere across some of the tracks made it feel somewhat long, and I occasionally found my attention drifting. Still, there’s enough character and originality here to make it an interesting listen, particularly for anyone interested in the connections between Brazilian and African musical traditions.
Overall, Africa Brasil is a fascinating and groove-heavy record with a strong cultural identity. It didn’t completely hold my attention throughout, but I enjoyed exploring it and can definitely see why it’s regarded as an important album.

Holy moly this is it, funky as hell had me dancing in the car the entire way through will be back to this

4.5

It's nice, actually. Pretty chill.

This is really the kind of album you do want to get on the list, type of work you want people to hear unlike endless stream of below-mid indie rock offerrings. This is really something - a unique combination of western styles mixed with brasilian samba - one of a kind sound. I have already rated this at 4.5 on RM and thank God I have already discovered and grew into this wonderful music. Probably 5 stars just as a statement, great work!

4/5. There’s something slightly eerie about the album cover of this one to me. I think it’s the slight blur of the shot making it ever so slightly uncanny.

As for the album itself, this is some really good MBP. Brings in some electric guitar which gives it that sense of edge that you get from similar artists like “Novos Baianos” while also including some funk and samba elements too. Lots of great instrumental grooves and jams on this thing whether that be the opener “Ponta De Lanca Africano” or “Cavaleiro Do Cavalo Imaculado.” One of the better new discoveries for me on the generator so far for sure.

Seriously fun, seriously funky. You can't not have a great time listening to this

Wonderful album, made we wanna dance at work all day

This feels very over-produced. There’s so much going on that the rhythms get lost under it all. Excellent musicianship though.

YES!!! Few things in life are as breezy and joyful as some Brazilian Funk!! Fun album from front to back, and special mention to the cuica player who was using it in ways I've never heard before! Love it!

Standouts: Ponta De Lança Africano • O Filósofo • O Plebeu • Taj Mahal • Cavaleiro Do Cavalo Imaculado • Camida 10 Da Gavea

O Brasil é o melhor pais do mondo. Realmente ame demasiado este álbum. Lo disfruté muchísimo.