This lost Jorge Ben stormer has a rawer sound and harder rock edge to it than usual during this, his greatest period. Relegated to an obscure soundtrack LP, it stomps all over the place at a slower, heavier and more menacing tempo than anything on "Ben" or "A Tabua De Esmeralda." The beat is anchored by that famous acoustic guitar sound, heavy bass and a loud cowbell, as Jorge yells out improvised nonsense in a hilarious mix of Spanish and English! "Rock Steady-O!!" Must be heard to be believed.
from A Volta De Beto Rockfeller (Soundtrack) (Polydor)
I own pretty much every Jorge Ben album, and I can say that this song is easily in my all-time top 5 Ben tracks. Only that it isn't on any of them!! An updated (and much-improved) version of a song he wrote for Gilberto Gil in 1968 called "Queremos Guerra," this is two minutes and 53 seconds of pure, propulsive joy. Charging, upbeat rhythm, an infectious hook, Jorge at his rocking best.
Completely delightful "Garra"-style Marcos Valle song, only available as an obscure B-side. Claudia gives a typically stirring vocal performance over an arrangement filled with strings, horns and probably the exact same rhythm section as on Marcos' classic tune, which Claudia also covered.
One of Brazil's classic pop hits of the late 60s, written by an incredible songwriting team responsible for dozens of similar gems between 1967 and 1971. Better known in the English version recorded by Brasil '66 as "Pretty World," but Wilson Simonal truly nailed this with his typically soulful vocals and a vintage soul-jazz-Brazil backing courtesy of pianist/arranger Cesar Mariano and his fantastic Som Tres trio. Also note the swirling strings-and-woodwinds arrangement and climactic hand-clapping singalong climax at the end.
from Alegria Alegria Vol. 2 (Odeon) available on CD - Alegria Alegria Vol.2 (EMI Brazil)
Perky, pint-sized bossa chanteuse Claudette Soares scored big in the late 60s by following Wilson Simonal's stylistic lead into an irresistible mix of pop, samba, French ye-ye, boogaloo, soul and bossa. This is a perfect example of the strangely Isaac Hayes-influenced arrangements to be found on her 1969-70 "pop" LP trilogy, and another winner from the then-unstoppable Adolfo-Gaspar writing team.