so, i'm thinking of xmas gifts for one of my friends, and he recently got into some tropicalia stuff, most notably Os Mutantes. I know nothing about this genre. can anyone help a dude out by recommending some good stuff(s)?

Tropicalia is a pretty limited genre. It was basically the work of Caetano Veloso, Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil, and Tom Ze in the late 60's with a few others sometimes lumped in (eg Gal Costa, one Nara Leao album) All in all, there are maybe 12-15 tropicalia albums by a strict defination. So if he already knows much about tropicalia and owns some, it may be hard to get him something.

If your buddy owns nothing, there's a Soul JAzz comp that came out last year. Dusty groove also is selling a few tropicalia albums at a bundled priced.

In my opinion, the 60's work of Gilberto Gil are the best tropicalia albums. I think Tropicalia is more interesting as a political movement/historical story than as an artform. Veloso's work was much better in the 70's than in the 60's and I'm not that big a fan of Ze or Os Mutantes.

Billy G. ceratinly has the deepest knowledge of this subject, but I will be more than happy to give you my recs. (of course!)

This album might appeal to the part of your friend that likes the quirk of Os Mutantes:

Tom Zé - Brazil Classics, Vol. 4: Massive Hits, The Best Of...

And the new Tom Zé is the best of '06. IMO:


I know that Billy will tell you to get Caetano Veloso - Transa (I believe it's #1 on his Listmania!)
And yeah, it's great.

But wait for Billy... he won't steer you wrong.

awesome. thanks guys. admittedly, i'm not too sure how much stuff he has. i don't think it's an overwhelming amount.

See todd is doing what a lot of people do...recommending Brazilian albums as if they are all tropicalia albums...neither Transa nor the new Tom Ze are tropicalia albums....his first one is a tom ze comp which would include some tropicalia and likely some non-tropicalia. I haven't heard the new Tom Ze but given its title, I'd assume its a Pagode album.

Transa is great though.

edit: that doesn't mean he wouldn't like those albums though even if it wasn't a direct answer to your question.

Like I said, Billy has the knowledge!
I was just going by artist, timeframe, and context in calling those records "Tropicalia". It's an easy trap to fall into and I, admittedly, did not look for that pitfall. You can't bullshit someone with the knowledge to call you on it. Even if you're not trying to bullshit.

Thanks, Bill.

ryan... come with me to dusty groove sometime.

that soul jazz comp that billy g suggested is pretty awesome and an excellent primer, but if your friend is already into os mutantes and possibly anyone else, then there's probably not much he won't already have that's on the comp. (as billy g already mentioned.)

i think if you're going to get him something music-related and want to stay on this course, os mutantes is by far the most psychedelic of the tropicalia artists, so you may want to get him some latin/brazilian psychedelica. i will try to dig up some things that i may have or you could just go to dusty groove, explain the situation, and they will help you. (seriously, probably the most knowledgeable record store staff apart from amoeba at that place.)

if you want something he likely doesn't have that he'd like based on Os Mutantes but isn't technically tropicalia...I'd recommend Os Brazoes, Secos & Molhados or the comp "Love, Peace & Poetry: Brazilian Psychedelic Music"

Or you could just go to Dusty Groove (which is in Chicago) and ask for recommendations. They are the best store for Brazilian music in the US and are in your backyard.

sweet. thanks man. never been to dusty groove either, but it sounds like i should.

see that's the thing, it's a crapshoot with what he does and doesn't have (all he really spends anything on is music or movies). but i'll probably just say 'fuck it.' i really appreciate the help. i was also looking for a sweet Os Mutantes concert screenprint/poster but to no avail.

i should really go to dusty groove.

I don't know much about this either but critics have been falling all over themselves about this compilation that came out earlier this year.

Received one of the highest scores ever on Metacritic:

http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/various/tropicalia?q=tropicalia



I've never found it in a store while perusing the racks. It's not a priority but if I found it cheap I'd like to check it out.

Yeah that's the soul jazz comp I mentioned. It's a great introduction but if the guy is a big fan he'll either have most of it on other albums or will soon want to buy them making it obsolete. Tropicalia is a pretty narrow genre.

Dusty groove sells gift certificates too.

wow...just had a listen to some of the soundclips from that comp...i'm putting it on my list.

seems there are quite a few Love, Peace & Poetry comp's from other countries too...have you heard/recommend any others?

I've heard the african one...its not bad. The Mexican one is supposed to be pretty good but I haven't heard it.

Definitely a good one..

Is your friend in Chicago? You could always buy him one disc and also give him a gift certificate to Dusty Groove.

Gilberto Gil's 1969 release is pretty trippy.

yeah, he's in chicago. the disc+gift cert. is a good idea.

or a book and a gift certificate

sure, one up me, billy. just have to be right all the time...

i bought a dj bag from gramaphone for someone over the summer and got a gc in addition, just in case he didn't like the bag and wanted to upgrade a bit. little more expensive, but worth it, i think.

Milton Nascimento

its decent but not tropicalia. Milton has at least 5 or 6 albums that are better that than one too.

True; I should have prefaced as not tropicaliabut something the original poster may want to give a listen to.

I've only ever heard "Milton" -- what would you recommend next?

Clube Das Esquinas is generally considered his best work. I would have disagreed with that a few years ago but have come around to thinking its very close if not the best. I'd say get that next because it will also serve as an introduction to Lo Borges who I like even more than Nascimento.

All his work from the 60's and early 70's is great as well: "Courage" (which might be available through BMG), S/T 1969 and Milton 1970 are all really good. If you look at AMG's album list, I think everything released before Milton (1976) is better than it as is "Clube Da Esquina 2". From his later work, Nascimento (1997) and Pieta are standouts.

The only one I've heard that I'd say to avoid is "Crooner" which has an embarrassingly bad cover of "Beat It" in addition to being pretty meh in general.

Shoulda gone with "Billie Jean".