1970 Erasmo Carlos E Os Tremendões “Erasmo Carlos E Os Tremendões” on RGE

Yeah, this record REALLY sounds like the year it was released, sort of a Brazilian happy hippie gameshow theme, Sonny & Cher, dance routine, baritone whomp effect, heavy shaker/castanet groovy outing, that, mainly because it’s sung in Portuguese and also has a slick bossa/samba vibe, avoids the American Cheese of the era and is pretty damn excellent. While you can hear snippets of the genius to come just a year later on “Erasmo, Carlos”, when it’s clear the man decided to let his true self loose and screw the consequences, here he’s still a bit penned into the rock/radio vibe the record company was no doubt expecting/demanding. The slower numbers in a way work better, as the backing vocals are lovely and playing introspective, and they feel more honest than the big production work, bringing in strings arrangements instead of studio effects that would have fit neatly into an episode of Benny Hill if scored by George Martin drunk at 2am and recreating the Rio version of “A Day In The Life” as a goof. Hey, I really like this record even if it maybe sounds like I don’t, it’s just a very specific document of a transitional time in a great musician’s development, and so is fun for that alone, Aglophone bubblegum pop becoming true sophisticated singer/songwriter expression. Oh yea.