Eduardo Araujo was a key member of the 1960's jovem guarda teenie-bopper rock scene, appearing on regional Bandstand-style television programs for several years before releasing his first solo album in 1967. Araujo was a restless artist, excelling at rock, funk, folk-rock and eventually a long career in Brazil's equivalent of country music. Here's a quick look at his rather remarkable career.
Eduardo Araujo "O Bom" (Odeon, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Tony Campello)
Although his later work (as described below) places Araujo among some of the most creative Brazilian pop experimentalists of the late 1960s, this rock'n'roll debut did little to lift him above the hordes of mid-'60s jovem guarda teenybop-rockers. Produced by JG veteran Tony Campello (sort of the Frankie Avalon of jovem guarda...) this disc has an energetic edge, but it doesn't quite quite have the perky, dorky charm of the genre's best recordings -- it's almost a punky, hard-edged rock record, but falls just short of being garage-y or cool... Worth checking out, but I was disappointed, coming to this album after being wowed by A Onda E Boogaloo, a chunky, powerful funk-fest that came out a couple of years later.
Eduardo Araujo "O Bom, v.2" (Odeon, 1967) (LP)
Eduardo Araujo "A Onda E Boogaloo" (Odeon, 1969) (LP)
Wow... this is pretty cool. Singer Eduardo Araujo strikes me as an artist who was kind of constantly in search of a "new sound" to latch onto. He was one of Brazil's early 1960s teenie-bopper rockers, and got a little wiggier in the '70s... This 1969 pop-soul album is a transitional work, but one that shows he could have done quite well pursuing a career in Brazilian soul music... He had a much stronger sense of American-style phrasing and a stronger band than many of the self-styled "Black Rio" artists such as Cassiano and Hylton who took up the mantle in the 1970s. His secret weapon was Brazilian funk pioneer Tim Maia, who was about to bust out on his own as a solo artist on the Philips label. Maia wrote punchy new arrangements for the numerous cover tunes on here, which range from Smokey Robinson's "Same Old Song" to Arthur Conley's "Funky Street," and for whatever reason this album avoids most of the clumsiness or self-consciousness that many similar imitations of American pop frequently suffer from. Together, Araujo and Maia really "got" the magical mix of rock and soul sensibility that late '60s soul singers such as Sam & Dave or Wilson Pickett created up North. This is an unusually strong album for the style... definitely recommended!
Eduardo Araujo "Eduardo Araujo" (Odeon, 1971) (LP)
Eduardo Araujo "Eduardo Araujo" (RCA, 1972) (LP)
Eduardo Araujo "Eduardo Araujo" (RCA, 1973) (LP)
(Arranged by Fernando Netto)
A pretty funky, diverse outing from Araujo, reflecting various musical movements of the time... There's a gradual tilt towards David Gates-y soft pop -- still in the background, but noticeable -- and even more soul crooning ala Tim Maia. On the perky, Latin-tinged "Ao Raiar De Um Novo Dia," Araujo flirts with post-boogaloo Latin soul in the style of War or Carlos Santana -- it's an album highlight, along with "Terra Prometida," a forceful, tightly arranged uptempo prog-MPB nugget that splits the difference between Chico Buarque's "Construcao" album and the rock-oriented early work of bands such as Azymuth. All in all, an interesting, inventive album, definitely worth checking out
Eduardo Araujo "Pelos Caminhos Do Rock" (RCA-Brasil, 1975) (LP)
An odd, offkilter mix of soul music, Santana-esque salsa-tinged hard rock and jittery stadium rock ala Rita Lee. It's easy to piece out the influence of Brazilian soulsters such as Tim Maia... Araujo even gets all worked up and shouts his way through several songs. Not the most blistering stuff ever, but interesting in the context of Brazilian rock and soul at the time...
Eduardo Araujo & Silvinha "Sou Filho Desde Chao" (Beverly Records, 1976) (LP)
Eduardo Araujo & Silvinha "Rebu Geral" (Fermata, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Eduardo Araujo)
A fairly dreadful synth/pop/soul outing from this husband-wife team, with a sort of try-anything-see-what-sticks approach. The opening track finds Araujo reaching back to his Black Rio soul days, but this time in a duet with Silvinha that evokes Ashford & Simpson as much as Tim Maia. There are a lot of disco tunes on here, making this one of those Brazilian pop albums that try to copy American trends, but is two or three years behind the times. Silvinha subsumes herself on the altar of tacky, bright pop, sounding like a more soulful Rita Lee, or really more like a Brazilian Sylvie Vartan. Still, despite the drekky musical direction, there are glimmers of life: the relatively restrained soul ballad, "Sob O Ouro Desse Eterno Sol," she gives a nice, soft vocal performance (which quickly undercut by his Tim Maia/Cassiano-style vocals...) and the lightweight country-rock-pop of "Rancho Allegre" points out another path for Araujo to take. Mostly, though, this is pretty disappointing... If you're super-into Brazilian soul, this could be a "lost nugget" album, but most folks will be better off skipping this one.
Eduardo Araujo "Nunca Deixe De Sonhar" (Pointer Records, 1985)
Eduardo Araujo "Um Homem Chamado Cavalo" (RGE, 1988)
Eduardo Araujo "Pe Na Estrada" (Independente, 1990) (LP)
Eduardo Araujo "Pegadas" (Europa Music, 1994)
Eduardo Araujo "Po De Guarana" (Over Records, 1997)
Eduardo Araujo "Serie Bis: Jovem Guarda" (EMI, 2000)
A 2-CD retrospective covering Araujo's early JG work...
