Legiao Urbana "Dois" (EMI-Odeon, 1986)
Although widely revered by fans of the so-called BRock scene, on their second album this supposedly once-punk rock band sounds pretty mild by non-Brazilian standards. By some stretch of the imagination, I suppose these acoustic-ish, New Wave-y pop tunes could almost be seen as wispy, twee indiepop, but I think the real kinship is more along the lines of Wham or Culture Club. Lead singer Renato Russo's vocals are really hammy, and the arrangements are kind of rinky-dink; nevertheless, this is one of Legiao Urbano's most popular albums, and is considered a landmark in Brazilian pop. I wouldn't recommend this album as the first disc to try if you've never heard this band, although I'm sure many Legiao fans will write to tell me how completely wrong I am...

Legiao Urbana "Que Pais E Este: 1978-1987" (EMI, 1987)
Their third album dips back into the band's punk rock past, featuring a bunch of hard rock tunes with a '77-ish edge. Renato Russo yowls expressively, but the guitars are dull and overly clean -- too Steve Vai-like to be very engaging. There's also a touch of ska on here, but nothing to get overly excited about. Half best-of, half odds-and-ends collection, this collects old hits, alternate takes and various one-offs, as well as some older songs re-recorded for this disc. It sums up this famed BRock band's first decade pretty well, with the transition from Billy Idol-ish sorta-punks to more nuanced, U2-ish emotive power ballad crooners. Some of singer Renato Russo's earlier politically and socially conscious lyrics were too controversial to record (or at least release) when the band first formed, as the Brazilian military dictatorship was still in its actively repressive years. But it's fun to listen back to now, even if some of the music is a bit silly-sounding to folks who are familiar with the best classic punk. Still, the song "Quimica," with its Buzzcocks-y, '77-ish "oooohh-oooohh-oh!" chorus, is pretty convincing (this is an alternate version) and other tunes have an emotional punch as well. Great liner notes as well, for anyone who wants to learn more about the band.

Legiao Urbana "As Quatro Estacoes" (EMI-Odeon, 1989)

Legiao Urbana "As Quatro Estacoes Ao Vivo" (EMI-Odeon, xxxxxxxxxx)
2-CD live set

Legiao Urbana "V" (EMI-Odeon, 1991)

Legiao Urbana "Musica Para Acampamento" (EMI-Odeon, 1992)

Legiao Urbana "O Descobrimento Do Brasil" (EMI-Odeon, 1993)

Legiao Urbana "A Tempestade" (EMI-Odeon, 1996)

Legiao Urbana "Uma Otro Estacao" (EMI, 1997)
Released after the death of vocalist Renato Russo, this was their final studio album and reveals a much more mature, accomplished band -- slick, confident, more reverby and grandiose on the more orchestrated numbers. Several songs are pretty catchy, in a folk-rock-y kind of way, and midway through the album becomes more acoustically oriented. There's a mournful, haunting edge that creeps into the album, presumably because of Russo's ongoing, and soon to be terminal, struggle with HIV disease. As far as I can determine, some of these songs were already in the can when Russo died, while others were recorded by the remaining bandmembers afterwards (including some material he wrote, but never had the chance to record). Tim Buckley fans might get into this album... heck, I'd even recommend it.

Legiao Urbana "Acustico MTV Legiao Urbana" (EMI, 1999)

Legiao Urbana "Como E Que Se Diz Eu Te Amo" (EMI, 2001)

Legiao Urbana "Mais Do Mesmo" (EMI, 1998)
A best-of covering all their biggest hits... If you want to check these rockers out, this might be a good place to start. On the whole, though this is fairly dull rock-pop material, at its rawest, a bit like Billy Idol.

Legiao Urbana "Por Enquanto" (Box Set) (EMI, 2002)
A 6-CD box set...

Dirceu Leitte "Leitte De Coco" (Caju/Milestone, 1993)
A delicious and inventive modernization of the classic choro sound, inflected with a sleek jazz bounce, as well as a taste of the music of the Brazilian Northeast. Saxophonist Dirceu Leitte, of the group Choro So, leads this fine ensemble, which includes, among others, guitarists Dino 7 Cordas and Raphael Rabello, drummer Wilson Das Neves, and veteran choro mandolinist Deo Rian. The set presents the music as neither a museum piece nor as a slick, smooth jazz appropriation of this old Brazilian instrumental style -- rather, it's a lively, vital, fun update... And a nice record to tap your toes to!

Lenine & Lula Queiroga "Baque Solto" (WEA, 1983)
(Produced by Joao Marop Linhares & Joao Augusto)
The debut of Pernambuco's pop-rocker Lenine, who shows a strong early debt to classic, lavish MPB by the likes of Gilberto Gil and Ivan Lins. This is okay, although it's not as lively or innovative as his later work in the 1990s. The sometimes-syrupy, slightly sluggish soft-jazz trappings of the genre weigh this down, but if you don't mind the slick stuff, this is pretty good. Particularly recommended for fans of Milton Nascimento and middle-period Gilberto Gil.

Lenine & Marcos Suzano "Olho De Peixe" (Velas, 1993)

Lenine "O Dia Em Que Faremos Contatos" (BMG Ariola, 1997)
One hypnotic track on one of David Byrne's BRAZIL CLASSICS compilations was enough to send me scurrying out to pick this one up... and I wasn't disappointed at all. One of the most creative, listenable MPB artists out there today, very much in the tradition of Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil's best work... a fine mix of pop, trip-hop, samba and folk-blues styles.

Lenine "Na Pressao" (BMG Ariola, 1999)
More indie/trip-hop style stuff, but with a much more predictable, static feel than the last album. This album is pleasant and has some creative moments, but mostly it's formulaic and not terribly exciting. Some cool, spacy tracks towards the end where things get a tweaky help to balance out the rest of the record -- on balance I suppose it's worth checking out... but don't expect too much.

Lenine "Falange Canibal" (BMG Ariola, 2002)
Here Lenine continues his explorations of densely-layered, loose-grooved, weirdly conceived trip-pop. It's weird, arty stuff, perhaps a bit dense for most the casual listener, but anyone looking for challenging, original new material out of Brazil (or just something out of their own frame of reference) will want to check this out. Creative, but not very "pop..." even includes a twisted stab at Cuban son on a track or two, amid all the ambient hip-hop rock melanges.

Lenine "En Cite Ao Vivo" (Sony-BMG, 2004)

Lenine "En Cite Ao Vivo" (DVD) (Sony-BMG, 2004)

Lenine "Lenine MTV Acustico" (Sony-BMG, 2006)

Lenine "Lenine" (Six Degrees, 2006)

Marina Lima "Proxima Parada" (Philips, 1989)
(Produced by Marina Lima & Carlos Martau)
Slick, tacky and effortless high-tech pop ballads that just seem so incredibly saccharine and false. Not to belittle Marina's fans, but the combination of the icky, '80s synth-and-soprano-sax arrangements and her listless, languid mooing is a real turn-off for me. Blechh.

Marina Lima "A Tug On The Line" (Capitol/World Pacific, 1994)
A bilingual Portuguese/English album of slick singer/songwriter-y pop, along the lines of Sarah McLaughlan, et al. Too drippy for my tastes, though Lima's vocals are much better on the tracks sung in Portuguese.

Marina Lima "Registros A Meia-Voz" (EMI-Brasil, 1996)
Boring, slick, technopop that wants desperately to sound like Sade, yet merely sounds slick and boring. A big part of the problem is her voice, which really isn't that compelling.

Marina Lima "Acustico" (EMI, 2003)
A live performance recorded for the Brazilian MTV affiliate... It's pretty nice and relatively restrained, a more stripped-down and elegant version of Lima's soft-pop sound. This still isn't my cup of tea, but if you wanted to check her music out, this is where I would send you first. It's still a little bland, but nice.

Marina Lima "Minha Historia" (Philips, 1993)
This lackluster mid-'80s best-of reveals Lima at her least inspiring, a merely adequate vocalist hopelessly mired in the worst of early-'80s production. Drum machines, tinkling keyboard riffs and guitar riffs lifted directly from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" abound. Besides being a few years behind the times (typical for Brazilian pop at the time...) this has the added disadvantage of also hinting, dimly, at the dense trip-hoppish ballad style she would adopt later on. Can't say as I could recommend this to anyone.

Marina Lima "A Arte De Marina Lima" (Philips, 2004)
A truly godawful collection of some of Brazil's tackiest pop... I don't like Lima's voice, and generally I don't like the arrangements... There are a few more acoustic, more understated tunes on here that are kind of okay, but really, these faint glimmers of tastefulness are hardly enough to make up for the punishingly bad quality of the rest of her work. Blech.

Ed Lincoln "Ed Lincoln" (Musidisc, 1968)(?)
I tried pinpointing the year this came out, and most sources are a bit fuzzy... A lot of people confuse this disc with another album called "Ed Lincoln" that came out in '68... I'm guessing it came out earlier... but I really don't know. Anyway, it's kind of a cool record. I'd expected it to be way cheesier than it is, and when I finally broke down and picked it up, I was really surprised by what it sounded like. It's... um... an odd record. Lincoln was an organist who was a popular session player and composer, whose closest working partnership was with the singer known as Orlandivo (who co-composes and performs on many of these songs). Some of this is goofy, teen-oriented dance music, some of it is dit-dit-ditty electric organ stuff, in the style of Walter Wanderley, and some of it coasts into chirpy sunshine pop like they were making up in Los Angeles around the same time. There are also a few more challenging, avant-y moments, like on the off-kilter "Eu Nao Vou Mais." It's an odd little record, one I think I'll hang onto for a while...

Ed Lincoln "Ed Lincoln" (Savoya, 1968)
Although this is a palpably kitschy album, packed with the sort of perky, prefab tropical-exploitation material that smacks of a strictly-for-tourists quicky disc, there's still some powerful musicianship here, even if it is in the service of roller-rink pop. The rhythm and percussion on the album's opener, "Zum Zum Zum," belies the sun-drenched vapidity of the song itself... Later in the album there are some slower tunes that seem more like real musical efforts, but on the whole this is a pretty effervescent set -- like Walter Wanderley in parts, though more lightweight. Still, it's a noce glimpse back at one of Brazilian pop's more compelling characters, with backing that includes Linoln's pal, Orlandivo, and some serious jazz players such as bassist Luiz Chaves and Durival Ferreira. It's really nothing all that special, but if you like sunshine pop and easy listening, it's certainly worth checking out. (Reissued on CD by Whatmusic, 2002)

Arto Lindsay - see artist discography

Ivan Lins - see artist discography

Lucinha Lins "Cancao Brasileira: Lucinha Interpreta Sueli Costa" (Biscoito Fino, 2002)
A well-crafted set of MPB ballads, which should appeal to fans of Gal Costa and Maria Bethania's cabaret-oriented style. Lucinha, who was married to Ivan Lins, is backed here by pianist Gilson Peranzzetta and his ensemble. Rio-born songwriter Sueli Costa was a favorite of slick '70s performers such as Simone, Joanna, Ney Matogrosso, Fafa de Belem, Maria Bethania, and -- one would assume -- Joao Bosco, especially since she collaborated often with Aldir Blanc. Costa recorded sparingly in the late 1970s; this affectionate tribute should help bring her music to the attention of a new generation of MPB fans.

Lobao "Brasil's Best" (BMG/Ariola, 1993)
Stadium rock which varies from poppy metal to sensitive ballads, by a former member of the '80s rock band, Blitz. It's accomplished, but cheesy; based on this best-of, I don't feel overly compelled to run out and try anything else by this guy.

Ary Lobo "Forro Com Ary Lobo" (RCA, 1959)
Fun stuff! A forro singer with a more modern bent, Lobo managed to transcend the severity and monotonous feel of the style's master, Luiz Gonzaga, and got into a swinging mode that was more varied and less manic... Fans of Lobo's contemprary Jackson Do Pandeiro will find lots to get excited about here: there's the same freewheeling mix of samba rhythms and forro instrumentation... And Lobo's vocals are fluid and expressive as well; he digs into the lyrics and croons them rather than belts them out, adding to this album's eclectic, playful feel.... This was his first full-length album -- mighty fine stuff, and definitely recommended!

Ary Lobo "Cheguei Na Luna" (RCA, 1961)
Another excellent album by forro star Ary Lobo, with a fun, flexible melodic approach that is as scintillating and cheery now as it was several decades ago. Recommended!

Ary Lobo "Ary Lobo" (RCA, 1962)
This is a nice record -- Lobo's fifth for the RCA label -- though perhaps less catchy or inspired as his early work... But the elements are all the same -- bright, melodic passages, samba backbeats, a perky vocal chorus and some zippy accordion playing. Earlier albums sound fresher and more heartfelt, but this is still pretty good, and still more accessible than Luiz Gonzaga's work. Includes the song "Garganta De Cera," which was also recorded by '70s pagode star, Alcione. Worth checking out!

Ary Lobo "Poeira Na Ritmos" (RCA, 1963)

Ary Lobo "Ze Mane" (RCA, 1965)

Ary Lobo "Grandes Sucessos" (Movieplay, 1998)

Edu Lobo - see artist discography

Nei Lopes "Sincopando O Breque" (CPC-UMES/El Dorado, 1999)
Latter-day samba cancao with fairly posh, sometimes big band-ish arrangements. Lopes is one of those Brazilian old-timers whose careers effortlessly span the decades; here he's joined by another veteran sambista, drummer Wilson Das Neves, in a nice, lightly swinging set of songs, all written by Lopes himself. Sweet stuff, a little old-fashioned, but nice nonetheless.

Nei Lopes "De Letra E Musica" (Velas, 2001)

Nei Lopes "Celebracao" (Rob Digital, 2003)

Nei Lopes "Partido Ao Cubo" (Rob Digital, 2005)

Romero Lubambo "Lubambo" (Avant, 1999)
A surprisingly tame, rather disapointing, release for a John Zorn-related artist. Yes, this fellow's Brazilian, and he's been at the center of much of the Brazilian-related New York scene -- playing on albums by Marisa Monte and the like -- but this album is fairly standard-issue jazz-and-flamenco inflected classical guitar, closer to Andres Segovia than to Baden Powell, or even to Luiz Bonfa. He's a flashy, talented guitarist, and the music is beautiful, but there aren't any new ideas here.

Pedro Luis E A Parede "Astronauta Tupy" (WEA/Dubas Musica, 1998)
This Rio rocker is pals with Fernanda Abreu, and apparently founded a popular rock club called Circo Voador. After establishing himself as a successful songwriter, he decided to found his own band and cut an album. Here he runs through an interesting modernization of the tropicalia mix'n'match approach, blending off-kilter guitar rock with addictive batucada percussion. It's not as wild as, say, the best moments of Lenine, but more engaging than the likes of modern rockers such as Zeca Baleiro or Joao Supplicy. Old-school rocker Ney Matogrosso duets on a tune or two, and one track was co-written with Abreu. Fans of Tom Ze might enjoy this... Worth checking out!

Ze Luis "Guarani Banana" (Malandro, 1999)
An accomplished saxophone player who has toured on the road with Caetano Veloso and other giants of Brazilian MPB, Ze Luis has since moved to New York City, where he is firmly in the middle of the Big Apple's nascent Braz-Jazz revival. Joined by others on the NYC scene, such as Mauro Refosco, Romero Lubambo and Paulo Braga, Luis has put out his own solo album, a mainly-instrumental jazzfest which ranges from muscular Latin jazz reworkings of bossa standards to lighter, dreamier numbers that are reminiscent of Milton Nascimento's Clube da Esquina days (notably "Winds From Africa"). It's not my entirely my cup of tea, but for the territory, this ain't bad.

Luiza "Luiza" (RCA, 1964)
A nice, mid-1960s pop-bossa album featuring blonde-haired Luiza Silveira Fonseca (who I'd never heard of before) and pretty sharp arrangements by Moacir Santos, backed by an anonymous band, presumably culled from the bossa-era jazz camp. Luiza's voice is pretty nice, though perhaps a little too perfect and smooth, in a manner reminiscent of French chanson singers. Overall, a lovely little record that seems to have dropped off the radar over the years. Worth checking out.

Nonato Luiz / Djalma Correa / Luiz Alves "Gosto De Brasil" (Fantasy/Caju, 1991)
Sleek acoustic guitar work anchors this album, with bassist Alves and percussionist Correa rounding out the trio. It's a little too flowery and easy on the ears for me, but it's not bad. Baden Powell or Luiz Bonfa fans might light this album...

Moacyr Luz "Mandingueiro" (Dabliu, 1996)
Sweet, rhythmically rich acoustic sambas. Similarities to early Joao Bosco should come as little surprise, since most of this album was co-written along with Bosco's old partner, Aldir Blanc. Nice, mellow stuff... recommended!

Carlos Lyra - see artist discography

Kay Lyra "Influencia Do Jazz" (Video Arts, 2004)

Kay Lyra "Kandagawa" (2007)