In the 1970s, Brazilian rock'n'roll followed along on several parallel paths, which only occasionally intersected. Many of the groups from the heavily commercialized, early-60s prefab jovem guarda teenybopper scene kept making albums well into the 1970s. Generally speaking, these continued along the pop cover-tunes path of their earlier work, or dipped even deeper into bland pop vocals, as with Roberto Carlos, the king of the scene. Many of the great tropicalia artists who pioneered psychedelic rock in Brazil moved on to become the superstars of the "MPB" scene, which also turned towards an increasingly-ornate pop direction; some -- like Jorge Ben -- delved into funk and soul-flavored groove music.
A handful of artists pursued (more or less) straight-ahead rock music... Many were inspired by the inroads made by the tropicalia movement, but keeping up with the times, they spun off in different directions. Ex-Mutante Rita Lee became something of a stadium rocker, and several prog bands flourished in the mid-'70s, while a few hardcore rockers and psychedelic bands also roamed the land. To be honest, I haven't heard all that many of these records... but as I check them out, I'll add my reviews to the Slipcue site.
Fabio "Os Frutos De Mi Tierra" (Polydor, 1970)
Spacy, starry-eyed folk rock (there's even a Cat Stevens cover!) from this little-known Brazilian hippie pop singer. Some of this is fun in an archival, nostalgia time-capsule kind of way, although very little of it is really that satisfying to listen to: his vocals aren't always great, and the music often meanders. Some great folk-freak noodling, though, as well as some boring attempts at straight pop songwriting. Not a gem, but still a nugget. Fabio was also mildly infamous for recording a 1968 single called "LSD" ("Lindo Sonho Deliriante") which did not make it onto this album.
Raimundo Fagner - see artist profile
Os Famks "Os Famks" (Continental, 1975) (LP)
Formed in the late 1960s, Os Famks was initially a family band, with several brothers in the Cataldo family and some friends... They backed artists such as Ze Rodrix and had members coming in and out of other bands for years, but didn't record their first single until 1974 and only released two albums before morphing into the soft-rock band Roupa Nova in the '80s.
Os Famks "Famks" (EMI-Odeon, 1978)
The Fevers - see artist discography
Flenks "Flenks" (Visom, 2000)
A jittery set of hyperactive rock instrumentals by a trio of musicians who have worked extensively as backup for MPB stars such as Caetano Veloso and the late Cassia Eller. Sort of a discomforting mix between Steve Vai and the Meters, with just a smidge of Brazilianness in the margins. Not my cup of tea.
14 Bis - see artist discography
Walter Franco - see artist discography
As Freneticas - see artist discography
The Funky Funny Four "Let's Dance: 16 World Top Hits" (Young Records, 1971)
A cheapie-label bubblegum rock cover band, doing English-language versions of songs such as "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep," "Put Your Hand In The Hand" and "It Don't Come Easy." Improbably, the "band" featured some prog-psych heavyweights, including Liminha and Dinho, at the time the bassist and drummer for Os Mutantes, as well as guitarist Lanny Gordin. Who knew?
Brazilian Rock - Letter "G"
Other Brazilian Styles
Main Brazil Index
