Hailing from Ceara, Belchior (ne Antonio Carlos Gomes Belchior Fontenelle Fernandes (1946-2017) was one of the first big MPB pop stars of the early 1970s to come from Brazil's northeastern region. Like many performers of the time, Belchior became known through the competitive song festivals as well as through television performances. Here's a quick look at his work...
Belchior "Mote E Glosa" (Chantacler, 1974) (LP)
Belchior "Alucinacao" (Philips, 1976) (LP)
An iffy effort by one of the early pioneers of Northeastern rock music... At heart this is pretty tame stuff, and his nasal vocals are... well... different. The most interesting aspects are some '70s folk rock/country touches (subtle pedal steel, some acoustic guitar), a dash of forro... and baiao... But mostly this is not mind-blowing. It sounds kinda like a Brazilian tribute to "Yellow Submarine" -- the song, not the album. Still, this guy was important to the development of a homegrown rock scene... Or so I'm told...
Belchior "Coracao Selvagem" (Warner, 1977) (LP)
Belchior "Todos Os Sentidos" (Warner, 1978) (LP)
Belchior "Era Uma Vez Um Homem E O Seu Tempo" (Warner, 1979) (LP)
Belchior "Objeto Direto" (Warner, 1980) (LP)
Belchior "Paraiso" (WEA-Elektra, 1982) (LP)
Belchior "Cenas Do Proximo Capitulo" (Paraiso, 1984)
Belchior "Um Show: 10 Anos Do Sucessos" (Continental, 1986)
Belchior "Melodrama" (Polygram, 1987)
Belchior "Elogia Da Loucura" (Polygram, 1988)
Belchior "Bahiuno" (Movieplay, 1993)
Belchior "Vicio Elegante" (Velas/Paraiso, 1996)
Belchior "Divina Comedia Humana" (Ovacao, 1998)
Belchior "Auto-Retrato" (BMG, 2005)
Belchior "Music From Uruguay (La Vida Es Sueno)" (HDW, 2010)
Belchior "Musica! O Melhor Da Musica De..." (Warner, 1998)
This CD best-of provides a slightly fuller picture of Belchoir's sound, spanning from 1976-81. Includes a couple of songs from the Alucinacao album, and about a dozen others. Acoustic-ish pop with tinkly keyboards, the sort of style that in the States is usually reserved for Christian evangelical singers. Doesn't do much for me.
Belchior "Serie Warner Arquivo: 25 Anos" (WEA, 2001)
I haven't heard this disc yet, but it seems to have a lot of overlap with the Musica collection above... This series, Warner Arquivo has some very strong, unusual albums, so it may be worth it if you want to check out Belchior's early work.
