Guilherme Arantes is a Brazilian rock/pop songwriter who started out with the rock band Moto Perpetuo and soon spun off into a long solo career, veering into a soft-pop direction which might be considered to fall under the "brega," or "corny" category. In addition to his career as a solo artist, Arantes is a successful MPB songwriter, composing material that has been recorded by stars such as Maria Bethania, Marina Lima, Elis Regina, and many others. Here's a quick look at his work...
Moto Perpetuo "Moto Perpetuo" (Warner, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Peninha Schmidt)
A noteworthy pop-rock album, featuring contributions from songwriter Guilherme Arantes and guitarist Egidio Conde (who later joined the experimental band, Som Nosso De Cada Dia). I think this was the only album Arantes recorded with the group.
Guilherme Arantes "Guilherme Arantes" (Som Livre, 1976) (LP)
This was his first solo album which, in the interests of fairness, I suppose I really should check out someday... But alas, I am weak and cowardly.
Guilherme Arantes "Ronda Noturna" (Som Livre, 1977) (LP)
Guilherme Arantes "A Cara E A Coragem" (Warner, 1978) (LP)
Guilherme Arantes "Guilherme Arantes" (Warner, 1979) (LP)
Guilherme Arantes "Coracao Paulista" (Warner, 1980) (LP)
Guilherme Arantes "Guilherme Arantes" (Warner, 1982) (LP)
Guilherme Arantes "Ligacao" (Som Livre, 1983)
Guilherme Arantes "Amanha" (Sony, 1996)
Guilherme Arantes "Ao Vivo" (Sony, 2001)
Guilherme Arantes "16 Sucessos" (Sony, 1997)
A best-of of this early rock-MPB composer. The liner notes don't say when these tracks were recorded, but from the production style, it was clearly in the early-to-mid '80s. Mostly pretty tacky, wimpy-sounding synth pop, of the Michael Jackson/A-Ha/Wham variety. I suspect that Arantes has some earlier work that's better, but this disc in particular lacks punch.
Guilherme Arantes "Serie Bis" (EMI, 2000)
Yeesh... maybe not. This 2-CD set is packed with ultra-tacky material from the early 1990s, stuff that evokes memories of Bread, Paul Davis, Supertramp and other, even less vigorous soft-pop artists. Placing this in a Brazilian pop context, I suppose you could say Arantes picks up where Lo Borges and Beto Guedes left off; in theory you could place some of this in the "prog" spectrum, but that's a pretty charitable interpretation. Really, there's not much on here that I'd ever need to hear again. Sappy and strained... and eminently avoidable.
Guilherme Arantes "Maxximum" (Sony, 2005)
Guilherme Arantes "Nova Serie" (Warner, 2008)
Guilherme Arantes "Warner 30 Anos" (Warner Brasil, 2008)
Guilherme Arantes "Sucessos Em Dose Dupla: A Cara A Coragem/Gui" (Warner Brasil)
A reissue of two albums, 1978's A Cara A Coragem and a self-titled album from 1982 that includes a guest appearance by the band Roupa Nova.
