Caetano Veloso

I went into this album totally blind, and since I don't speak a word of Portuguese, I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out, I’m a big bossa nova fan and this was such a great find. The lush textures and super laid-back vocals got this infectious, sunny energy that totally makes the language barrier a non-issue.

That said, with so much "artistic cannibalism" happening, it can definitely veer into chaotic, psychedelic mess territory at times, and the raw '60s production definitely shows its age. Not every weird experiment lands, but the overall vibe is undeniably groovy. Tracks like "Soy Loco Por Ti, América" and "Alegria, Alegria" are absolute masterclasses in smashing different musical worlds together. It’s a super fascinating listen that definitely has me wanting to dive way deeper into the genre.

Good album, good pick for the list.

Nice to have something a bit different on this list

Pre Listen:
I don't have the greatest history with Brazil as a nation. https://youtu.be/1WpbhrzZJrQ?si=3LXOXcIHTTbzsO2_
The album cover would be beautiful, if that doofus got his face out the way. Lower expectations than usual.

Notable Tracks:
Tropicália - Very weak start to this album. After finishing it, this was my least favorite. Lowered my expectations even further.
Onde Andaras - My favorite track on the album by a wide margin. If every song sounded like this, I may have given this thing a 5. Has a very nostalgic feeling to it.
Anunciação - Another low point, has my least favorite vocals on the album. All the instruments feel like they are fighting each other to play different songs.
Superbacana - Another highlight, has my favorite vocals on the album. The brass plays well here too.

Post Listen:
Wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it more than anticipated.

Every song felt distinct, some were good, some were bad, depended on how well everything harmonized together. Generally I liked the addition of the violins, but disliked the addition of the occasional flutes. The keyboard sounds varied in quality, both from a melodic and actual recording quality point of view. Caetano's vocals were inconsistent too, sometimes his voice elevated a song, other times it dragged it down. I think his voice worked best in the more classic psyche-ish rock-ish sounding songs, but fell flat in Bossa Nova sounding songs.

Just a quirky, odd little album that was all over the place. Disappointed there wasn't more of a Samba sound to it, that's like my favorite sound out of Brazil. 3/5

Bossa nova is not in my regular rotation but I'm really enjoying myself with this.

Fun but doesn't feel essential. Not sure why it's on the list

I'm coming to terms with the fact that most orchestral pop just doesn't hook me in. There are a few songs here that interest me more than others, and I could see how I might learn to love this more if I gave it time. But for now it doesn't excite me.

Thank you coffee shop music, I think?

While I like the sound of portuguese in songs, I am not a fan of Bossa Nova.

Favorite Songs: Superbacana

Not my jam... Spanish jamming

This album leads me to conclude that, unlike chocolate and peanut butter, psychodelia and bossa nova are not a match made in heaven.

Wonderful Brazilian music of the 60s is the only one to make me want to learn Portuguese. This is instantly recognizable sound of Tropicalia, however I will expect some of my favourite Brazilian artists here like Gil, Costa or Jorge Ben. This is still decent with at least 3 stars

Latin music does nothing for me

Just not for me

Good, but nothing really hit me.

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I liked it when it started, but there were some later tracks that didn't work for me and it got a little tiresome. Low three.

I'm completely unaware of this artist.

This was interesting to listen to, though I'm not sure it's great. And then I saw a few reviews on this site for this album, which referenced the fact that this guy has been accused of pedophilia. So that makes this all a bit of a bummer.

Super chill 60s Brazilian pop music. Perhaps an influence on later crooners like Seu Jorge.

Caetano Veloso is an okay album. I have never heard of this guy prior to hearing this album but it did seem pretty obvious what this would be just looking at the album art. It is another Tropicália album and while that seemed like that was gonna make this album really bad due to me having some less than favorable experiences with the genre in the past (cough cough Os Mutantes), This album wasn't that bad. There wasn't really a bad song here despite some of the songs having some pretty bad parts with them being overly abrasive. However, a good majority of the album was pleasant enough. Not great but not overly bad either.
Best Song: Clarice
Worst Song: Tropicalia

So sometimes I forget about tropicália and start thinking that Brazilian music is all just bossa nova, those records that my dad had in the 60s: slow, boring music for endless afternoons.

But no, there's also stuff like this. There are keyboards, guitars, drums, even a sitar on this record! And Caetano Veloso has a great voice. This record has that nice warm sultry feeling that you get from bossa nova minus the part that puts me to sleep.

The cover is interesting. Did they think there were dragons in Brazil in 1968?

4 stars