Goldenwings

In 1997, it came as a quite a surprise when Fantasy reissued Opa's albums Golden Wings (1976) and Magic Time (1977) on a single 74-minute CD – surprising because the fusion trio had only a very small following; its albums were far from big sellers, and the original LP versions were in print for only a few years. If one notices some similarity between the melodic blend of jazz, rock, funk, pop, and Brazilian music heard on this disc and Airto Moreira's CTI dates of the 1970s, it's no coincidence – Moreira produced both Golden Wings and Magic Time and plays percussion on both of them. Opa members Hugh Fattoruso (keyboards, vocals), George Fattoruso (drums, vocals, percussion), and Ringo Thielmann (bass, vocals) often worked with the percussionist and his wife, Flora Purim, in the 1970s, and his influence clearly rubbed off. It's regrettable that Opa were never as commercially successful as either Moreira or Purim, although this CD points to the fact that it wasn't due to a lack of rewarding material.

Martin Barre is an English rock musician best known for his work with progressive rock band Jethro Tull, with whom he recorded and toured from their second album in 1969 to the band's initial dissolution in 2012. In the early 1990s he went solo, and has recorded four studio albums and made several guest appearances.

Promotional album, in a limited edition run of 500 copies. A couple of years before the release of "A Trick Of Memory" (the first Martin Barre solo work wich includes his own material and was properly distributed), this CD was released and distributed through the Jethro Tull fanzine "A New Day", in a limited edition of 1000 copies on CD and Cassette (500 copies of each format). Martin Barre was the guitarist of Jethro Tull for over 43 years, his sound and playing was a major factor in their success. Album sales have exceeded 60 million units and they continue to be played worldwide, representing an important part of classic rock history. Martin’s guitar playing has earned him a high level of respect and recognition; he was voted 25th best solo ever in the USA and 20th best solo ever in the UK for his playing on ‘Aqualung’. His playing on the album ‘Crest of a Knave’ earned him a Grammy award in 1989.

Promotional album, in a limited edition run of 500 copies. A couple of years before the release of "A Trick Of Memory" (the first Martin Barre solo work wich includes his own material and was properly distributed), this CD was released and distributed through the Jethro Tull fanzine "A New Day", in a limited edition of 1000 copies on CD and Cassette (500 copies of each format). Martin Barre was the guitarist of Jethro Tull for over 43 years, his sound and playing was a major factor in their success. Album sales have exceeded 60 million units and they continue to be played worldwide, representing an important part of classic rock history. Martin’s guitar playing has earned him a high level of respect and recognition; he was voted 25th best solo ever in the USA and 20th best solo ever in the UK for his playing on ‘Aqualung’. His playing on the album ‘Crest of a Knave’ earned him a Grammy award in 1989.

Caetano Veloso e Gilberto Gil - Tropicalia 2 (1993) {PolyGram-Philips 518 178-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 260 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 76 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1993 PolyGram / Philips | 518 178-2
Música popular brasileira / MPB / Tropicalia / Brazilian Traditions / Brazilian Pop / World Music

Between harsh criticism (due to the retro opportunistic use of Tropicália), and sectarian defense, Tropicália 2 yielded a Caetano Veloso/Gilberto Gil tour through E.U.A. and Europe one year after this release. The reference to Tropicália was used as a safe-conduct for the duo's incursions in electronics, axé music (the contemporary and pragmatic sound of Bahia) and other commercial exploitation – since under Tropicália everything goes (or used to go, some 30 years ago). The album opens with "Haiti," a dry percussive electronic pattern over which Caetano and Gil speak verses dealing with racism; "Cinema Novo" is a beautiful samba, whose lyrics "explain" and greet the Brazilian cinema movement which gained the world. "Nossa Gente" brings the percussive sounds of axé music together with funk brass attacks.

Without a doubt, Airto put a new face on Brazilian music in the wake of the bossa nova movement, bringing back the frantic complexity of the samba translated into his own frenzied yet controlled electronic/multi-percussion idiom. Here we truly have some of the best of his early work in the U.S. as a leader for the CTI label, where Airto proves that he couldn't be suppressed even by the guiding hand of Creed Taylor. The set kicks off with a pair of great, sizzling tracks from the Free album, with Airto feverishly driving bands manned by Chick Corea on electric piano, Keith Jarrett on acoustic piano, and other American all-stars. From there, we move to the Fingers album, which features Airto's own band yet maintains virtually the same level of excitement with a deeper Brazilian streak.

Unlike his friend and fellow Brazilian musical legend, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, through the years, has had a strong tendency to follow the temporary shifts in styles and trends that occur within popular music. Because of this the music of Gil usually has sounded very up to date when it was released, but often his recordings haven't at all aged as gracefully as the timeless music of Caetano Veloso. The tracks on many of the albums of Gilberto Gil have also been of very uneven quality. Refavela is clearly one of the exceptions to this rule. Heavily inspired by traditional African and Afro-Brazilian sounds and rhythms, the songs on this album have aged very well indeed. The title of the album, Refavela, of course, refers to the slum quarters found in the large Brazilian cities, which are called favelas.