Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.rock
Titolo: Tom Zé

One of the forgotten pioneers of tropicalia, Tom Ze's artsy, quirky.
Da-Da-ist pop has an immediate appeal and obviously influenced David Byrne's
explorations into afro-brazilian music. (Just listen to the two volumes of
Byrne's BRAZIL CLASSICS series which are devoted to Ze's work, and then
check out the arrangements on Byrne's Rei Momo records... Mmmm??)
Apparently Ze was not widely popular until just recently -- the Luaka Bop
collections made him a cult figure in North America and now, paradoxically,
he is gaining popularity in Brazil as well. Catchy oddball material, with a
distinctly northeastern feel to it. Well worth checking out.
Various Artists: "TROPICALIA: OU PANIS ET CIRCENSIS" (Polygram, 1968)
A collaborative statement of purpose for the hippie-ish tropicalia movement,
with contributions from Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, Nara Leao, Gal Costa and
Caetano Veloso. Gil shines on this disc, coming off as a focussed, potent
artist, particularly on his solo numbers. Gil co-wrote about almost half the
songs on here, and takes part in several excellent cover tunes -- Ze is more
in the background, but his dada-ist impulses are clearly felt in the mix.
Overall, this disc radiates youthfulness and a playful, experimental
artistic zeal. Definitely recommended.
"Tom Ze" (Rozemblit/Sony, 1968)
A remarkably cluttered, hyperactive pop album, which takes a little time out
from the clanging bells and swelling choruses for Ze to go off on a few
typically nutty digressions. I couldn't tell offhand whether Os Mutantes
back him on this album, but I would not be at all surprised if I found out
they did. Even for folks who are fans already, this one may take a little
settling into, but it does grow on you. Also, the liner notes to the recent
CD reissue has a nice (Portuguese language) essay about Ze and his avantnik
philospohies of tropicalia, poetry, and art.
"Tom Ze" (Continental, 1972)
A surrealistic serenade. Some of these songs were anthologized on David
Byrne's excellent Brazil Classics series, but a lot of the stuff from this
album in particular didn't get reissued. That may be because it's in a
mellower, more folk-ish, pop vein... It's all nice, though. Definitely shows
Ze at odds with tropicalia contemporaries such as Gal Costa, who were
cranking up the guitars as loud as they would go around this time... In
contrast, Ze pays more attention to the text. (Reissued later as "Se O Caso,
Chorar".)
"Todos Os Olhos" (Continental, 1973)
The joke with this one (pictured at left) is that the album art -- which
looks like an eyeball -- is actually a photo of a marble shoved up someone's
anus... a little jab at the Brazilian dictatorship's office of censorship,
which apparently didn't recognize a mirror when they saw one. Ze's nutty
side comes dancing to the fore here, with some of his more playful,
deliberately challenging arrangements. Lots of clinky, clattering
percussion, dangling guitar notes and a spiritedly goofy vocal chorus. You
may recognize several of these songs from the Luaka Bop collections (listed
below), but if you like Ze's stuff, the album itself is a "must have", since
a lot of this is not collected on the Byrne comps.
"Estudando O Samba" (Continental, 1975)
A great album which provided many of the tunes with single-syllable titles
("Hein", "Toc", etc...) that North American fans may be familiar with from
the Luaka Bop collections. This includes many of his best collaborations
with guitarist Vincente Barreto -- quirky, clockwork-y arrangements and
endless plays on words and sound. The album has recently been re-released on
a 2-in-1 CD, along with Correio Da Estacao Do Bras. It's worth picking up
the whole record, because now you can hear how it was meant to sound as a
whole, and also because the material which was omitted from the Luaka
collections is pretty good (including Ze's version of the lovely Jobim/De
Moraes bossa nova standard, "A Felicidade").
"Correio Da Estacao Do Bras" (Continental, 1978)
A more fluid, low-key effort, with less of the challenging, music box
melodies of his earlier efforts. This is a record which eases its way past
your ears (and I mean that in a good way!) It's not sappy or unchallenging,
but it is a lot smoother and less overtly avant than the stuff Byrne loves
so much. Recently reissued on a 2-in-1 CD along with Estudando O Samba, this
may surprise folks who see Ze as a one-trick pony.

 One of the forgotten pioneers of tropicalia, Tom Ze
(cut)
sempre all'usato ho trovato (nuovo, credo, e a prezzo ridotto) un suo disco.
Tradotto in italiano, il titolo dovrebbe essere simile a "Fabbricato con
difetto" (passami l'approssimazione)
Visto che sei il suo primo fan italiota ;-) mi dici qualcosa? Lo prendo o mi
spedisci qualcosa tu (se non ricordo male, abbiamo un conto in sospeso....e
tralascio su ieri...)?
A

 tralascio su ieri...)?
uccideresti un uomo morto...
partendo senza riscaldare il motore s'inceppa! :)
baci