Caetano Veloso continues his free-thinking explorations of tropicalismo on this ambitiously arranged, elaborately packaged suite of songs devoted to whatever happens to cross his mind. Veloso says that he was listening a lot to the collaborations of Miles Davis and Gil Evans around this time, and Jaques Morelenbaum's charts often reflect their darkly urbane ethos. Yet for Morelenbaum's yin there is also the yang of the battering Bahian percussion that dominates many of the rhythm tracks. "Livros" in Portuguese means "books," so Veloso gives you a sample of his book Verdade Tropical in the booklet notes and pays eloquent tribute to them on the title track: "Books are transcendental things/But we can love them with our hands." He is alternately awestruck and appalled by the ambiguities of New York City on "Manhata"; here, the arrangement definitely contains haunting echoes of Evans. He can venture into atonality on "Doideca" (12-tone, but pointedly translated in the booklet as "loony"), recite the horrors of a slave ship voyage, tell someone off ("Nao Enche," which means "Piss Off"), or simply sing "How beautiful could a being be" over and over, presumably to a child, in falsetto to a hot groove. One of the most amazing songs is an epic about the life of Alexander the Great; it comes off like a great saga song. Finally, he runs down a long list of all his favorite Brazilian singers, seemingly leaving out no one, only to close with "Better than this there's only silence/And better than silence, only Joao." Can't add anything to that, except don't miss this CD if you love Brazilian music. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
Maria Bethânia (Special Participation), Caetano Veloso (Guitar), Caetano Veloso (Piano), Caetano Veloso (Arranger), Caetano Veloso (Vocals), Caetano Veloso (Main Performer), Caetano Veloso (Liner Notes), Caetano Veloso (Clapping), Caetano Veloso (Direction), Zeca Assumpcao (Arranger), Zeca Assumpcao (Bass (Acoustic)), Barney (Studio Coordinator), Carlinhos Brown (Percussion), Carlinhos Brown (Drums), Carlinhos Brown (Drums (Steel)), Carlinhos Brown (Sabar), Carlinhos Brown (Campana), Carlinhos Brown (Special Participation), Nara Gil (Arranger), Nara Gil (Vocals (Background)), Walmir Gil (Trumpet), Walmir Gil (Arranger), Walmir Gil (Flugelhorn), Walmir Gil (Soloist), Bernie Grundman (Mastering), Bob Ludwig (Mastering), William Magalhaes (Arranger), William Magalhaes (Keyboards), Carlos Malta (Flute), Carlos Malta (Arranger), Carlos Malta (Piccolo), Carlos Malta (Sax (Baritone)), Jota Moraes (Arranger), Jota Moraes (Xylophone), Jota Moraes (Vibraphone), Jaques Morelenbaum (Arranger), Jaques Morelenbaum (Cello), Jaques Morelenbaum (Clapping), Jaques Morelenbaum (Orchestral Arrangements), Jaques Morelenbaum (Soloist), Jaques Morelenbaum (Direction), Jaques Morelenbaum (Maculele), Ramiro Mussoto (Arranger), Ramiro Mussoto (Kalimba), Ramiro Mussoto (Berimbau), Ramiro Mussoto (Clapping), Ramiro Mussoto (Drum Samples), Fernando Nunes (Bass), Fernando Nunes (Arranger), Giancarlos Spala Pareschi (Arranger), Giancarlos Spala Pareschi (Spalla), Victor Santos (Trombone), Victor Santos (Arranger), June Murakawa (Mixing), Antonio "Moogie" Canazio (Engineer), Antonio "Moogie" Canazio (Mixing), Pedro Amorim (Arranger), Pedro Amorim (Cavaquinho), Maurício Carrilho (Guitar), Jorge Helder (Bass), Jorge Helder (Arranger), Jorge Helder (Clapping), Daniel Jobim (Vocals (Background)), Moreno Veloso (Arranger), Moreno Veloso (Tambourine), Moreno Veloso (Vocals), Moreno Veloso (Vocals (Background)), Moreno Veloso (Djembe), Moreno Veloso (Clapping), Moreno Veloso (Guitar (Tenor)), Moreno Veloso (Maculele), Jose Carlos Ramos (Sax (Tenor)), Paula Morelenbaum (Vocals (Background)), Marcelo Bernardes (Flute), Marcelo Bernardes (Arranger), Paschoal Perrota (Violin), Paschoal Perrota (Arranger), Marcelo Costa (Percussion), Marcelo Costa (Arranger), Marcelo Costa (Drums), Marcelo Costa (Tambourine), Marcelo Costa (Agogo), Marcelo Costa (Guiro), Marcelo Costa (Bacurinhas), Marcelo Costa (Percussion Arrangement), Marcelo Costa (Afoxe), Marcelo Costa (Maculele), Max Pierre (Art Direction), Gustavo de Dalva (Arranger), Gustavo de Dalva (Tambourine), Gustavo de Dalva (Djembe), Gustavo de Dalva (Clapping), Gustavo de Dalva (Kettle Drums), Marcelo Martins (Flute), Marcelo Martins (Arranger), Marcelo Martins (Sax (Alto)), Marcelo Martins (Sax (Tenor)), Marcelo Martins (Woodwind Arrangement), Geysa Adnet (Graphic Coordinator), Beth Araujo (Production Assistant), Luis Brasil (Guitar), Luis Brasil (Arranger), Luis Brasil (Drums), Luis Brasil (Berimbau), Luis Brasil (Agogo), Luis Brasil (Clapping), Luis Brasil (Orchestral Arrangements), Luis Brasil (Bacurinhas), Virginia Casé (Production Assistant), Drauzio Chagas (Tuba), Drauzio Chagas (Arranger), Silas Degodoy (Engineer), Paulo Sérgio Dos Santos (Clarinet), David Ganc (Flute), David Ganc (Arranger), Fábio Henriques (Engineer), Luiz Carlos Justi (Arranger), Luiz Carlos Justi (Horn (English)), Luiz Carlos Justi (Oboe), Dari Moraes (Clapping), Jesse Sadoc (Trumpet), Ubaldo Versolato (Sax (Baritone)), Luiz Zerbini (Graphic Design), Luiz Zerbini (Package Design), Luiz Zerbini (Paintings), Daniel Garcia (Arranger), Daniel Garcia (Sax (Tenor)), Pedro Sá (Guitar), Pedro Sá (Arranger), Pedro Sá (Vocals (Background)), Pedro Sá (Maculele), Mike Aarvoldo (Mixing), Dadi (Bass), Dadi (Arranger), Dadi (Clapping), Belo Veloso (Arranger), Belo Veloso (Vocals (Background)), Francois de Lima (Trombone), Francois de Lima (Arranger), Nahor Gomes (Arranger), Nahor Gomes (Flugelhorn), Proveta (Arranger), Proveta (Sax (Alto)), Du (Arranger), Du (Tambourine), Du (Drums (Snare)), Du (Clapping), Du (Bacurinhas), Du (Kettle Drums), Vittor Santos (Trombone), Vittor Santos (Arranger), Zé Canuto (Flute), Zé Canuto (Arranger), Zé Canuto (Sax (Alto)), Jó (Bass), Jó (Arranger), Jó (Conga), Jó (Tambourine), Jó (Bells), Jó (Drums (Snare)), Jó (Djembe), Jó (Agogo), Jó (Bacurinhas), Jó (Kettle Drums), Flávio Melo (Trumpet), Flávio Melo (Arranger), Flávio Melo (Flugelhorn), Phillip Doyle (Arranger), Phillip Doyle (French Horn), Cristiano Siqueira Alves (Clarinet), Cristiano Siqueira Alves (Arranger), Ismael de Oliviera (Arranger), Ismael de Oliviera (French Horn), Isabel de Sena (Translation), Duda Mello (Assistant Engineer), Fernanda Villa-Lobos (Graphic Design), Fernanda Villa-Lobos (Package Design), Jorge Ribeiro (Arranger), Jorge Ribeiro (Clapping), Márcio Victor (Arranger), Márcio Victor (Conga), Márcio Victor (Drums), Márcio Victor (Drums (Snare)), Márcio Victor (Djembe), Márcio Victor (Soloist), Márcio Victor (Bacurinhas), Márcio Victor (Kettle Drums), Victor Alcantara (Arranger), Victor Alcantara (Sax (Tenor)), Vanius L. Marques (Engineer), Leonardo Reis (Arranger), Leonardo Reis (Djembe), Leonardo Reis (Clapping), Sueli Faria (Arranger), Sueli Faria (Sax (Baritone)), Gê Alves Pinto (Package Design), Antônio Augusto (Arranger), Antônio Augusto (French Horn), Léo Bit Bit (Arranger), Léo Bit Bit (Tambourine), Léo Bit Bit (Berimbau), Léo Bit Bit (?), Léo Bit Bit (Djembe), Léo Bit Bit (Agogo), Léo Bit Bit (Clapping), Léo Bit Bit (Bacurinhas), Léo Bit Bit (Caxambu), Ulisses DeAbreu (Trombone), Ulisses DeAbreu (Arranger), Boghan (Arranger), Boghan (Tambourine), Boghan (Bells), Boghan (Drums (Snare)), Boghan (Djembe), Boghan (Agogo), Boghan (Clapping), Boghan (Barrel Drum), Boghan (Chocalhos), Boghan (Kettle Drums), Valdir Ferreira (Trombone), Valdir Ferreira (Arranger), Hudson Nogueira (Arranger), Hudson Nogueira (Sax (Alto)), Pinduca (Arranger), Pinduca (Chimes), Nelson Oliveira (Trumpet), Nelson Oliveira (Arranger), Eliezer Rodrigues (Tuba), Barrao (Graphic Design), Barrao (Package Design), Fabio Pareto (Photography)
