The other primary singer-songwriter prong of Tropicalia was Gilberto Gil. Born in Salvador and raised in rural Bahia, Gil remains one of Brazil’s most beloved performers, even serving as Brazil’s Minister of Culture under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from 2003-2008. On his second album, Gil is already a formidable artist, balancing the big bouncing orchestrations of arranger Rogério Duprat with the whiplash rock of his backing band, Os Mutantes, his guitar keeping the rhythmic pulse of his beloved samba throughout.

– Andy Beta