Os Diagonais "Os Diagonais" (CBS, 1969)

Os Diagonais "Os Diagonais (Cada Um Na Sua)" (RCA, 1971)
This Rio-based band featured several key players in the burgeoning "Black Rio" soul scene, notably singer-guitarist Hyldon Souza (who later recorded under the name Hyldon...) In the late '60s, they backed Tim Maia, who was perhaps the most infulential of the Brazilian soul singers. Several of the songs on this disc were written by Cassiano, whose own solo career stretched through the 1970s... The album opens with some overly-bright, perky sunshine-pop, straight out of the Southern California/LA playbook; Philly-style soul and a bit of harder funk come into play later. I can't say I actually liked this record that much -- most of the songs seem a bit shrill and hyperactive -- but serious students of Brazilian funk and soul will definitely want to check it out.

Diana "As Melhores" (Sony, 2002)
Honestly, this is some of the best jovem guarda-style rock that I've heard... really fun stuff! Diana may have been a minor player on the '60s teenybopper scene, but this best-of disc sure is groovy, way hipper-sounding than many of her contemporaries (such as Wanderlea, who covered similar terrain...) It kicks off with a brilliant, funky teenpop update of the old Pixinguinha/Joao De Barro oldie, "Carinhoso," sung as a duet with Ed Wilson, and includes compelling covers of Neil Diamond's "I Am I Said" and David Gates' "Everything I Own," both of which are way better than you'd imagine. The liner notes are pretty scanty on this one, so I'm not sure about the recording dates, but guessing from the sound of things, I'd guess these tracks are from about 1967-75. It's a very enjoyable album, remarkably free of the lulls and weak spots of most JG collections... Recommended!

Orlando Dias "Serie Bis" (EMI, 2000)
Florid romantic vocals from the mid-1960s. Unfortunately, these tracks have a smoothness of production and modernity that sap the nostalgia value right out of them... They sound like they were made in the 'Seventies, in preparation for a bad Vegas club act... If the recordings had felt a little rougher or the audio quality sounded more antique, this might have had some retro charm, but as it is, it's just bad, boring, blandly produced schmaltz. A similar set was produced for the Meus Momentos series.

Sergio Dias - see Os Mutantes

Di Melo "Di Melo" (Odeon, 1975)
This mid-'70s groover has ties to the nascent soul & funk scene, but even more in common with the exploratory acoustic fusion of Gilberto Gil around the same time. A missing gem from MPB's post-tropicalia golden age... Definitely worth tracking down!

Branca Di Neve "Branca Mete Bonca!" (Continental, 1987)
I was drawn to this disc because I notice it had several songs from some notably funky Brazilian soul/pop artists such as Jorge Ben, Marku Ribas and Itamar Assumpcao... But this is a pretty soft-centered pop album, with not a lot of bite to it... Nothing much to get excited about, really.

Branca Di Neve "Branca Mete Bonca, v.2" (Continental, 1988)
Bleah. There's just no energy to his vocals, and lots of weak, tepid pop arrangements. What's the deal with this guy? Why did they record him? And why did they reissue his records on CD? I don't get it.

Paulo Diniz "Brasil, Brasa, Braseiro" (Beverly/Copacabana, 1968)
The debut LP from songwriter/actor/drummer Paulo Diniz, who had recorded his first singles a couple of years earlier. This is funky, soulful pop, loosely in the jovem guarda style, but with a hard edge and a measure of grit that isn't often heard within the teenybopper JG canon... Some of this is relatively slight material, but there is an underlying solidity to this album that belies the conventional, romantic pop songs and undisciplined soul wailing that Diniz tilted towards. Indeed, compared to better-known Brazilian soul singers such as Tim Maia and Cassiano, Diniz is a much more skillful and varied performer. This disc only hints at the depth he had in him (check out his next record, Quero Voltar Pra Bahia...) but it's still a cut or two above many Brazilian pop-rock albums of the era. Worth checking out.

Paulo Diniz "Quero Voltar Pra Bahia" (EMI-Odeon, 1969)
Wow. Who knew? This is a surprisingly, thrillingly funky album, with an unusually accomplished psychedelic sound... quite a leap from his demure jovem guarda origins! Even on the slightest, poppiest tunes, Diniz has a fat, full sound backing him up, a rich funk-rock mix that recalls the best early work by Jorge Ben and Gilberto Gil. The title track is a pretty dumb, fluffy tune, sung in English, and has been covered by several artists over the years; this version is the original, sung by the composer. But the real eye openers on this album are his cover of Lupicino Rodrigues' old samba, "Felicidade," sung here as sort of an acid-soul roda de samba, with an out-of-control female chorus and a heavy, heavy backbeat underneath the vocal refrain. This is followed by a sizzling funk number, "Marginal III," with slinky guitar riffs worthy of Ben's best work. Diniz's vocals have their ups and downs -- I'm not fond of the uncontrolled, growling "soul" school of Tim Maia and Eduardo Arajao, which is where Diniz seems to have thrown his hat, but for the most part he sounds fine, coasting atop some of the best, fullest acid-pop arrangements I've heard on a Brazilian record of this era. This is a hidden nugget... Definitely recommended!

Paulo Diniz "20 Super Sucessos" (Sony-Polydisc, 2002)
Yeesh. Tepid, dispiriting re-recordings of some old brega ("tacky") pop songs. Diniz sounds very old and tired on these recordings; the musical accompaniment is fairly uninspired. Look for the 1970s originals instead, if you must.

Benito Di Paula "Benito Di Paula (1971)" (Copacabana, 1971)
The debut album by one of Brazil's more cheeseball pop singers, a leader in the brega ("tacky") pop sound. Although not a great singer, Di Paula became the host of the "Brazil Som 75" television show, which hosted musical performances, a stroke of luck that helps explain the longevity of his career. Anyway, although he's kind of terrible, this disc was recorded when the booming tropicalia and MPB scenes were injecting new life into the Brazilian pop scene, and as a consequence this disc has more vigor to it than most of his later work. Includes songs by Chico Buarque, Ivan Lins, Tim Maia and others, as well as several originals written by Di Paula himself. One of these songs, "Eu Gosto Dela," is actually pretty fun, the other album highlight is a passable version of Vincius De Moraes & Toquinho's buoyant "Na Tonga Da Mironga Do Kabulete," which is pleasant enough, though ultimately just an unimaginative copy of the original. There are some interesting here arrangements by Jose Briamonte, but for the most part, Di Paula's weak voice and iffy phrasing sink this disc. It's way better than his later work, and worth checking out, but it's pretty tacky overall.

Benito Di Paula/Various Artists "Brazil Som 75: Benito Di Paula E Seus Convidados" (Copacabana, 1975)
Tracks recorded when Di Paula was the host of a musical variety TV show, with contributions from stars such as chanteuse Elizeth Cardoso and funksters Wando and Bebeto... There's a surprisingly vigorous streak running through here, mostly from the funk-soul numbers, but it's balanced by plenty of cheesy pop... Still, Di Paula seems to have given a platform for artists whose music -- Brazilian soul music -- was outside the mainstream, which was dominated by the jazzy, classy MPB elite. Not much on here that I would listen to recreationally, but it's still a nice snapshot of a certain time in the Brazilian pop scene.

Benito Di Paula "Benito Di Paula (1976)/Benito Di Paula (1987)" (Copacabana, 2000)
A twofer reissue of some oddly jocular, Vegas-ed out renditions of samba cancao material. Di Paula is a remarkably schmaltzy singer, but there's certainly much worse music to be found in the Brazilian sphere. His formula kind of works on the first of these albums, the second, from 1987, is just godawful, full of that icky, tinkly '80s production style. The '70s album is worth checking out, though.

Benito Di Paula "A Vida Me Faz Viver (1986)/Benito Di Paula (1979)" (Copacabana, 2000)
More schmaltz. This twofer is drekkier than the other; the '70s disc is not as solid as his '76 LP, and the '80s stuff is really atrocious. Portuguese-language, but clearly modeled after other mainstream Latin American pop. You can skip this one.

Djavan - see artist discography

DJ Patife/Various Artists "DJ Patife Presents Sounds Of Drum'N'Bass" (Trama, 1999)
Better-than-average Brazilian electronica, from the late '90s club scene. Some songs have a distinctive "Brazilian-ness" to them, although for the most part, I'd have to say this seems like the same old same old, as far as electronic dance and techno music goes. Certainly worth checking out, if that style is your bag.

Brazilian Music - More Letter "D"

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