This is the third page in a semi-comprehensive discography Caetano Veloso, one of Brazil's greatest songwriters and performers. This page highlights Veloso's records released from 1990 to the present. Other releases, as well as books and other media resources are listed on separate pages.
Caetano Veloso "Circulado" (Polygram, 1991)
A good example of Veloso ability to part in contemporary musical trends, yet transcend their limitations. Overall, I find this to be one of Caetano's stiffer and more cerebral efforts, but even during the moments of bombast, Veloso remains restrained and tastefully in control. I'm not a fan of this style (or level) of production -- there are touches of mainstream we've-got-this-big-budget-so-let's-make-the-most-of-it studio production -- but for the most part this is a really nice record. More knob twisting and lyric translations by Arto Lindsay. Tentatively recommended.
Caetano Veloso "Circulado - Ao Vivo (Single CD)" (Polygram, 1991)
"Circulado - Ao Vivo (Double CD)" (Polygram, 1991)
The live versions of the studio album.
Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil "Caetano E Gil - Tropicalia 2" (Polygram, 1993)
Wow. These two really bring out the best in each other! A very solid, almost stately album, but also very sensual and rhythmic. Only a couple of misfires here, and really rather minor ones -- a real treat for fans who long for the glory days, yet certainly not a nostalgic step backwards. Plus, the English translations by Arto Lindsay are nice for a glimpse into Veloso and Gilberto Gil's highly political and rather surrealistic lyrics. Excellent.
Caetano Veloso "Fina Estampa" (Polygram Latino, 1994)
A Spanish-language songbook in which Veloso pays homage to many great Latin American songwriters such as Cuba's Armando Orifiche and Ernesto Lecuona, Mexico's Agustin Lara, Rafael Hernandez of Puerto Rico, Astor Piazzola, and so on. Slushy and romantic (as might be expected) and not entirely my cup of tea. Mostly it's the mildly synth-poppy arrangements, sculpted in part by cellist Jacques Morelenbaum, which I find off-putting. One of Caetano's biggest commercial successes in the 1990s, but still kinda blechhy.
Caetano Veloso "Fina Estampa - En Vivo" (Polygram Latino, 1995)
The live version of the studio album.
Caetano Veloso & Gal Costa "Tieta Do Agreste" (Soundtrack) (Blue Jackel, 1996)
Smooth MPB ballads and incidental music from a film by director Carlos Diegues. Both Costa and Veloso are in fine form, although overall this album may be too mellow for some. Cellist Jacques Morelenbaum's delicate arrangements have an Italian feel to them, like something from Fellini's Amarcord. But there's nothing overtly drekky here, just a few old pros knocking out another solid album.
Caetano Veloso "O Quatrilho" (Soundtrack) (Blue Jackel, 1997)
Caetano Veloso "Livro" (Philips, 1998)
Awesome. One of his best albums -- similar in style and production to 1989's technopop extravaganza, Estrangiero, though much smoother and with a stronger connection to older Brazilian styles. This album's samba flavor is particularly noticable, and is a nice change of pace for Veloso, who tends to favor bossa and acoustic balladry. Rock and pop motifs are skillfully woven throughout, making for one of the most skillful syntheses of Caetano's career. Some folks find this album too cluttered, but I think it's very listenable and highly recommended. You have to stick with it, and then its secrets will unfold.
Caetano Veloso "Prenda Minha" (Mercury-Brasil, 1999)
A lovely live record, which blends Afro-Brasilian percussion, bossa, and Gil Evans-y jazz... much like Livro, which it heavily draws from... This is a calm, beautiful album which only briefly dips into questionable territory. The tropicalia oldies are set aside in favor of more reflective material, such as a long, languid version of his 1978 song. "Terra," and other songs in a similar acoustic-based vein. Downturns include a jarring rock version of "Eclipse Oculto" which harkens back to his mid-'80s new wave phase, and a brace of double-time marchas which close out the performance. For the most part, though, this is beautiful, and well worth checking out.
Caetano Veloso/Various Artists "Orfeu" (Natasha/Nonesuch, 1999)
The soundtrack to Carlos Diegues' newly-retold Brazilian version of the film Black Orpheus, which in 1959 helped introduce the sounds of bossa nova to the world. Veloso's contributions here are limited to three vocal tracks, and about half of the incidental music. Although the instrumentals are a let-down (the last half of this album is dreadfully repetitive...), it kicks off with some wonderfully dynamic, vital new music. Caetano's duet with Braz-rapper Gabriel O Pensador ("Reza") is way better than you might think, and on the softer ballads he lends his usual air of class. One of the albums's highlights is a bit of a novelty number: Maria Luiza Jobim (presumedly the granddaughter of the bossa nova legend) sings a simple, stripped down, little-girl-voice version of Jobim's early classic, "A Felicidade"... one of the calmest, most arresting moments on the album.
Caetano Veloso "Omaggio A Federico E Guilietta" (Mercury, 1999)
Another gorgeous live album, dedicated to Federico Fellini and recorded at a performance near the filmmaker's hometown of Rimini. While the Prenda Minha concert aimed at capturing the cool thunder of Afro-Brasilian percussion, this is a stately, classy acoustic performance, with a band anchored by cellist Jaques Morelenbaum (who was also the bandleader for the Livro tour). For about half the album, Caetano goes Continental -- along with classic Brazilian songs such as "Coracao Vagabundo" and "Chega de Saudade," he delights his listeners with affectionate renditions of songs by Fellini's favorite composer, Nino Rota, and addresses the audience warmly in Italian. Ever the cosmopolitan, he also croons out an English-language version of Irving Berlin's "Let's Face The Music And Dance"... all in all, a real class act. Amazingly, Veloso only seems to be getting better and better -- and this is certainly one of his most magnificent albums. If you're looking for the right record to introduce someone to the wonders of Veloso, this'd be a good bet.
Caetano Veloso "Noites Do Norte" (Universal-Globo, 2000)
A languid album, which may be difficult for some fans to get into. Caetano's still working with Jaques Morelenbaum, but the mood is darker and subtly more impenetrable this time around. A few tracks play around with near-minimalist repetition, such as the unusual cover version of Jorge Ben's "Zumbi", which plays at a crawl and builds up strength as it goes along. An underlying theme is the music or mood of the Brazilian northlands, as well as Brazil's cultural legacy as a nation founded on a slave-based economy... One track that explores the Northeastern angle is "Rock and Raul", a tribute to '70s rocker-metaphysician Raul Seixas... Unfortunately, this song also is one of the few overtly awful songs that Veloso has ever recorded, with a wailing but ill-formed electric guitar lead... Still, this is an intriguing album, challenging for its disjointed meter and somewhat laggardly timing. Gentle, but odd, and certainly worth checking out. (Caetano discusses the album at length on the Universal-Globo website...)
Caetano Veloso "Noites Do Norte Ao Vivo" (Universal, 2001)
Caetano Veloso "Live In Bahia" (Nonesuch, 2002)
A 2-CD live show that features material from the Noites album, as well as some of Caetano's older, more difficult music (from 1972's Araca Azul) and some songs by other Brazilian artists. I've had a few Slipcue readers write me to complain about this disc, although I do have to say that it is an accurate reflection of the tour that it documents. Although I'm also not that wild about the more bluntly rock-flavored material, this does show the range of Caetano's passions and interests, and the quieter acoustic moments are quite lovely. The American version includes a lavish booklet, backed with song translations and footnotes that seem to have been adapted from Veloso's excellent autobiography, "Tropical Truth."
Caetano Veloso & Jorge Mautner "Eu Nao Peco Desculpa" (Universal, 2002)
A delightful, deliciously humorous collaboration between Caetano and one of his favorite tropicalia-era pals. Songwriter/violinist Jorge Mautner is not a particularly prolific recording artist, but his work is marked by a certain playful inventiveness, and he and Caetano are clearly both on the same wavelength when they get together, as evidenced on this warm, richly textured and stylistically varied album. Quiet acoustic numbers nestle alongside rollicking Afro-Brazilian samba tunes, jittery rock and mystical ballads. It's all quite good, although some songs worth noting include an interesting remake of Mautner's best-known song, "Maracatu Atomico" (previously heard on Gilberto Gil's 1975 Refrazenda album), a nerve-jangling rock tune ("Tarado") that sounds for all the world like a Portuguese-language Doors song, and the album's opener, "Todo Errado," in which Caetano crafts a flawless American-style country tune (with a few hints of Mexican bandera thrown in for good measure). Another brilliantly creative Caetano album... Recommended! [PS - yes, I know the album art is sideways... so does Caetano.]
Caetano Veloso "A Foreign Sound" (Nonesuch, 2004)
This set of English-language standards and whimsically chosen cover tunes may be a bit too restrained and evenly modulated, with Caetano mixing high culture and high camp, but tilting towards the highbrow end of the spectrum -- so much so that it's actually a bit stuffy and twee. The material is timeless -- pop standards from the likes of Cole Porter, et. al. alongside more modern classics from Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley and Kurt Cobain, as well as kitchier bits such as "Feelings," a Spanish-language song Morris Alpert covered en ingles, and made into one of the enduring lounge music classics. Likewise, the album's opener, "The Carioca," was chosen explicitly for its camp value, particularly in light of the album's ironic theme, the notion of "foreign" culture, as seen through the eyes of an "exotic" tropical celebrity from Latin America. The intellectual end of Veloso's enterprise is readily apparent, as is his affection for the songs and the various layers of popular culture they represent, and the level of intimacy he can impart to every line and lyric. What's missing, however, is the transcendant lightness he brings to, say, a live acoustic version of an old Hoagy Carmichael tune, amid the clamor of his thunderous Afro-Brazilian pop shows. The large, lofty arrangements are elegant to a fault, and are largely unvaried in tempo or tone... After a while, it all starts to sound the same -- the same sweet croon, the same charming sparkle, the same knowing smirk, as the same airy string sections underscore the same rarified jokes. Which isn't to say this album doesn't have a richness and warmth deserving of the songs, but it's a bit stilted and the arrangements a bit too lush and overripe... Ultimately, it just feel like that much fun; rather, it felt like he was trying too hard to make a point, and worse still, was travelling on ground he'd already covered before, with a much lighter, more delicate step. It's okay, but I'd hoped it would be much, much better.
Caetano Veloso "Ce" (Nonesuch, 2007)
Brazilian master songsmith Caetano Veloso has a long history promoting up-and-coming rock artists... He was one himself, long ago, jamming with Os Mutantes back in the heady hippie days of the late 1960s; not long after that he tapped teenaged guitarist Pepeu Gomes to back him and Gilberto Gil in their fabled "Barra 69" concert, before going into European exile for a couple of years. In the late '70s Caetano's band included Vinicius Cantuaria, formerly of the prog band O Terco, and in the early '80s he dipped into the shallow wellsprings of "new wave" pop, with mixed results. Now, hitting his mid-sixties, Veloso returns to rock music's explosive, joyous release, using it as the backdrop for a remarkably bitter album, Ce, much of which is inspired by a recent rancorous divorce. His son, Moreno Veloso, co-produced the album, along with Caetano's new protege, Pedro Sa, whose guitar work defines most of this record's sonic palatte. Sa and his youthful cohorts provide a forceful if somewhat brittle backing for Caetano's giddy yowlps... I wouldn't say they are the strongest, subtlest or most innovative rock stylists, but they hold their own with their various electrified contemporaries abroad. There are echos of Wire, Gang Of Four, Talking Heads, and in a modern sphere, Tortoise, Giant Sand and the newer "math rock" crowd... all good reference points to hit upon. Mostly, even though he's clearly sharing the spotlight with the young'uns, this record is really about Caetano... He may be expressing some pretty raw emotions, but more importantly he sounds like he's having fun, dipping into the greasy kid's stuff again, tapping into the live-wire dynamics of old-fashioned rock and giving a shout into the night. Definitely worth checking out.
Top photo by Maria Sampaiao, courtesy of Caetano Veloso.