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GILBERTO GIL Fé na festa EMARCY 2741055

1. Fé Na Festa
2. O Livre Atirador E A Pegadora
3. Assim Sim
4. Estrela Azul Do Ceu
5. Marmundo
6. Vinte E Seis
7. Nao Tenho Medo Da Vida
8. Norte Da Saudade
9. Maria Minha
10. Aprendi Com O Rei
11. Danca Da Moda
12. Sao Joao Carioca
13. La Vem Ela

Gilberto Gil (vocals, guitar): Sergio Chiavazzoli (guitar, Banjo, hand percussion): Arthur Maia (bass): Toninho Ferragutti (accordion); Nicolas Krassic (violin and rebeca): Gustavo Di Dalva, Jorginho Gomes (percussion); Angela Lopo and Tita Alves (backing vocals)

 

The hook for this disc by Gilberto Gil is the festive or carnivalesque, though you would need to do some digging as there are no notes, only a track listing and lyrics. Celebration in Brazil is a vitalising time, and this disc perhaps turns back somewhat to the 70s heyday Gil enjoyed and dishes out some righteous dance grooves, accelerated by the clattering rhythms and violin and accordion colours enshrined in his band. Of longeurs, alas, there are a few.

The fiesta vibe is strongest in the opening track, which gives its name to the album's title, Fé Na Festa. The next track, O Livre Atirador E A Pegadora is slower, and offers contrast, but is full of a similar, though more self-effacing, joie de vivre. This pert, sunny song is predicated on a battery of percussive support. Estrela Azul Do Ceu offers cool, laid back virtues, whilst Marmundo is a more conversational, sparkly piece. More charismatic and characteristic though is Vinte E Seis - it sounds more intimate and for want of a better word `authentic'. Gil's vocals and guitar playing remain unsullied, but even he struggles through several of the other songs to inject much sense of individuality; as so often in an album, padding is the enemy of the better tracks. When Gil essays the Gondim-Setton Maria Minha, things immediately resume a rising curve, the bouncy, popular rhythms retaining their sinuous, insinuating charm.

The motor here though is dance, and the apt lyrics too, which play off and through the sometimes percussion packed instrumentation. Admirers of Gil can welcome this sunny fiesta disc with delight. Others will rightly pick and choose with care.

Jonathan Woolf

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