Boca Livre was a Brazilian pop band formed in the 1970s by the quartet of Mauricio Maestro, Claudio Nucci, Ze Renato and David Tygel, a lineup that remained stable until the early 1990s when Tygel and Nucci left to pursue solo careers. Here's a quick look at the band's work...
Boca Livre "Millennium" (Mercury-Brasil, 1999)
Super-twee, perky, mainstream soft-pop vocals, with an acoustic instrumental base, and sweet vocal harmonies, sort of like a cross between the MPB-4 and Quinteto Violado. Mauricio Maestro, Ze Renato, Claudio Nucci and David Tygel were the group's original members, and that's the lineup on these recordings -- mostly from the years 1981-83. The material is generally saccharine and overwrought, but they do have their moments of charm. The smoothed out version of Os Mutantes "Panis Et Circenses" has an appealing quality to it; other tracks are way too muzak-y. These guys were pretty big, way back in the early '80s.
Boca Livre "A Arte De Boca Livre" (Universal, 2006)
Boca Livre "Serie Sem Limite" (Universal, 2008)
Boca Livre "Boca Livre" (Boca Livre, 1979) (LP)
Boca Livre "Bicicleta" (Boca Livre, 1980)
Incredibly twee, airy group vocals with tight harmonies and a high, treble-icious pop production style... There was very little on here that appealed to me (even with the strands of regional and bossa riffs woven into the mix...) It's just too poppy and cloying, too antiseptic and artificial-sounding. I guess this is the Quarteto Em Cy/MPB-4 school of gooey vocals taken to another level -- so if you like those groups, you'll probably want to check Boca Livre out as well. Not me, though -- this is just too breezy and saccharine for my tastes. I will say this, though, that this career album sounds a lot more interesting than their best-of sets... If you want to give them a shot, I think these individual albums are a better way to go, a more coherent, cohesive representation of their work. Such as it is.
Boca Livre "Folia" (Polygram, 1981)
Boca Livre "Boca Livre" (Polygram, 1983)
Boca Livre "Em Concerto" (Som Livre, 1989)
Boca Livre "Dancando Pelas Sombras" (Warner, 1992)
Boca Livre "Songboca" (Velas, 1994)
Boca Livre "Americana" (Velas, 1996)
Boca Livre "20 Anos" (Indie Records, 1997)
Boca Livre & 14 Bis "Ao Vivo" (Indie Records, 2000)
