Customer Reviews

Caetano Veloso (A Little More Blue)

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I didn't feel like purchasing this album because I didn't imagine Caetano singing in English, but once I heard the wonderful song "Maria Bethânia", I decided to buy it immediatly. Caetano recorded this album in London when he had to run away from Brazil in the early seventies for political reasons. The lyrics of most of the songs, as "A little more blue" or "In the hot sun of a Christmas day" reveal the deep sadness he felt by the fact of being exiled, and the atmosphere of the album is more melancholic than usual. "London, London", one of the sweetest Caetano songs ever, talks of the impression London caused to him. "Maria Bethânia" is dedicated to his younger sister, one of the most inspired female singers in Brazil, who stayed in her country, whom he asks in the refrain: "Maria Bethânia, please send me a letter, I wish things are getting better, Bethânia"; the song finishes with a psychedelic scat which reminds us of his Tropicalia days. I think this is maybe the album in which Caetano speaks more overtly about his feelings and his life, and that makes it very touching. To close the album, Caetano included the Luiz Gonzaga masterpiece "Asa Branca", the only song in portuguese, which he covers magnificently, in a soft, accoustic guitar approach.

Recorded in London in 1970 during Veloso's exile ,this album contains great gems such A LITTLE MORE BLUE,MARIA BETHANIA and the eventual classic LONDON,LONDON.Caetano turned his SAUDADE(longing)for home into a highly creative work that trascends decades and cultures

This is a really fabulous album. By and large, it is a documenting of Caetano's emotional rollercoaster during his exile from Brazil. Musically, it is a considerable departure from anything Brazilian. This is really about Caetano, his life crisis, and the obvious influence British Isles music was having on his work. This album really bears no similarity to his previous work, regardless of language. The 1969 white album was all over the place, and this album, partly because there are only 7 songs, is more focused. Maria Bethania and Shoot Me Dead are my favorites. There is great similarity with this album and Transa, the follow-up. I know many fans swear by Transa, but right now, I'm leaning on the '71 album as the stronger package. You can't go wrong either way.

If you notice a difference between this 1971 Veloso album and his 1968 debut, you are not imagining. That fresh clean boyish face has been replaced by a haggard, bearded one. Veloso had been in a dictators jailblock--god knows what happened to him there. He starts the album saying he "feels a little more blue." Yet the master handles all this with pathos, saying he still "looks for flying saucers in the sky."

Like Curtis Mayfiled and very few other superheros I can think of, you would be blind not to see the dignity and grace of Mr. Veloso in the face of brutallity. That does not mean that his misfortune did not produce a very different type of music than the celebratory, Sgt. Pepper striped work of his first album

The music here has all the strings and backup vocals any master composer can use on an album, but they are sad, muted, almost hiding; the genius has a gun at his head, and nothing can be the same. This is folk music--reflective, almost hesitent, trying to find a soft place, anywhere possible, when things have gone horribly wrong. Take Love and Nick Drake. Both worked in the folk genre. But if you listen to Forever Changes and then Five Leaves Left, the contrast glares. The same applies to the two Veloso albums.

Fortunately for him and us, Veloso came out of his nightmare with his soul in tact, and continued to make even better music into the 1990s and I'll bet you he is working on new miricles as I write. This is jazz tinged music that is as important as any work he did in the long ago dictatorship that was Brazil, and this should be checked out.

But while we wait, check this album out. As Veloso says here "if you hold the stone, hold it in your hand, if you feel the weight, you'll never be late to understand."

OK, if you know your jazz, feel your folk and dig your deep lyrics, this little Brasilian (made in London) gem will not dissapoint.

I discovered Caetano through the Gilles Peterson Worldwide show. The stand out track is 'Hot sun of a Christmas day' and was the reason for my purchase. The album has 2 other cool tracks.

The vibe is dreamy, organic, rich and dark. Great for a stormy afternoon indoors.

It is a must for all Brasilian jazz-folk collectors, the original vinyl I believe goes for considerably more!

Caetano Veloso came to England in the summer of '69, after having run afoul of the authorities in his native Brazil for his politics. "London, London" is the first of his "albums-in-exile" and, while no masterpiece, it remains of historical iterest to Veloso's international fans. That is not to say that there are not some real gems here, including "Asa Branca," a lovely ballad and the only song on the album in Portugese. But the presence of this song, by Luiz Gonzaga and Humberto Teixira, helps to throw the album's primary weakness into relief. Veloso possesses one of the most affecting voices in music, capable of great tenderness and conviction. But the vocals are less assured here, the result perhaps of Veloso's struggles with a new language, one not so fluid as Portugese. That being said, highlights here include the Donovon-esque "London, London," which movingly conveys Veloso's sense of wonder at finding himself in Swinging London, a sentiment underscored in its recurring lyric, "While my eyes / Go looking for the saucers in the sky." I also like "Maria Bethania," with its gentle reproach to his sister, herself a major recording artist in Brazil, for not having kept him adequately informed about events back home. And "Shoot Me Dead" is a rocking good number with lively percussive effects that showcases yet another side to Veloso's multifaceted talent. All in all, a must for fans; others might beware.