from the LP Arthur Verocai, Continental Records, 1972It’s always an exhilarating experience when you hear a song you’ve never heard before that really rocks your world, and thus, there’s absolutely nothing better for a music obsessive like myself than discovering an entire LP of solid tunes by a previously unknown musician or band, a situation which typically only presents itself a few times a year anymore. This particular album, by Brazilian producer, multi-instrumentalist & composer Arthur Verocai, is so mind-blowingly stellar that it could have been the only great LP I heard all year, and that would have still been enough to sate my appetite--- yes, it’s that good. No two songs are alike, and yet there is a loosely experimental vein that runs through them all (not “experimental” like Throbbing Gristle mind you, but more like investigational and firmly open-minded), weaving bits & pieces of soul, funk, bossa, salsa, jazz, folk, & psych rock into a heady quilt of sweetly melancholic chord progressions and hazy enchanted melodies. Thanks to Bee for the heads up on this one.
