On Friday, March 8, Third Man Records will reissue an exclusive limited version of Caetano Veloso’s self-titled debut solo album. This will be the first authorized North American vinyl reissue of the release.
The work is one of the most important and influential Brazilian albums of all time. With the release of this seminal effort, Veloso became one of the leading voices of the Tropicália art movement, which took place in Brazil in the late 1960s.
The Tropicália movement with its flourishes in visual art, poetry, theatre, and music is one of Brazil’s most adored cultural concoctions. It was a movement begun out of necessity shortly after a repressive military dictatorship seized power after twenty years of peaceful democracy.
The songs on Veloso’s album immediately connected with the people. “Alegria, Alegria” was his breakout hit that gained traction as a hymn for liberty advocates, juxtaposing images of Coca Cola, guerrilla groups, bombs, and Brigitte Bardot as part of the everyday experience.
The album’s first song, “Tropicália,” was an anthem for the whole movement. It’s a fragmented allegory nimbly describing and critiquing the many contradictions in the new Brazilian dictatorship.
Unfortunately, these cleverly veiled jabs in the work of Veloso and his contemporaries gained greater exposure as the movement became more popular, leading to the arrest, imprisonment, and forced exile of Veloso and many of his cohorts. Of course, Veloso and the whole movement are now highly regarded universally.
The Third Man vinyl issue has been remastered from the original mono mixes by Warren Defever and Bill Skibbe at Third Man Mastering in Detroit, Michigan and sounds as warm and rich as its first pressing.
