TOM ZÉ

"Complexo De Epico" is the less than 1 1/2 minute intro which had me begging for more until I noticed the album ends with the same song but there it's almost 7 minutes in length. This is very repetitive with vocals and backing vocals along with percussions. So rhythmic and relaxed with those almost spoken vocals. So playful and catchy. "Cademar" has percussions, organ, nylon stringed guitars and reserved vocals for less than a minute. it works! "Todos Os Olhos" is so catchy with those percussions and vocals along with backing vocals. Just boppin' around to this one. Some weird vocals too. Great track!

"Dodo E Zeze" has multi-guitars that are strummed and picked along with vocals. Kind of folky. Multi-vocals before 2 1/2 minutes then the tempo picks up. Really good. "Quando Eh Era Sem Ninguem" sounds excellent with that opening guitar as the vocals come in being quite playful along with the sound as backing vocals, strummed guitars and percussion help out. It settles to percussion, laid back guitar and reserved vocals before kicking in again as contrasts continue.

"Brigitte Bradot" has a simple sounding guitar with percussion and spoken vocals. It picks up briefly before 2 minutes then settles right down again with some whistling then more vocals. "Augusta, Angelica E Consolasao" is catchy with percussion, vocals and guitar. It turns fuller with drums, still it's catchy and relaxed as backing vocals come and go. "Betaram Tanta Fumaca" has determined vocals that soon turn into a party mode with drums, guitar and backing vocals.

"O Riso E A Faca" has a guitar melody and more as relaxed vocals join in. Sounds like violin too. "Um Oh E Um Ah" is pretty funny the way the vocals are off-set singing the words in the title. I like this one as guitar and percussion helps out. It ends with the song it opened with that I've already talked about and yes almost 7 minutes still seems too short.

A pretty cool album that can be quite uplifting at times. I don't enjoy it as much as those first two albums from SECOS & MOLHADOS but this is well worth tracking down.

It opens with the title track, which starts with a Windows sound like when you open your lap and start using your browser. Then little by little instruments appear along with the vocals, of course in Portuguese, and the music flows with a delicious rhythm, very Latin, very Brazilian. I like a lot the backing female vocals, they put sympathy to the already sympathetic music. The style is not truly progressive, not even rock, but it has some jazzy and avant hints.

"Ze a zero" has an old school style, reminding me a bit of Os Incríveis, just to put an example. The sound is cool, but definitely not really for a progressive rock fan, I think you need to be fan of latin and Brazilian music to truly enjoy it, and sing "fazendo propaganda do Tom Zé". Now it comes "Papa Francisco perdoa Tom Ze", in which soft electric guitar can be heard along with nice rhythmical bass lines and some funeral-like drums. The vocals are nice, very ad hoc with the old Brazilian school.

The next track is "Tai" which has a voice making some repetitive noises, while a trumpet illuminates the sound and female vocals greatly complete the track. This is a very nice composition, short as well, but cool. This EP finishes with "Irala Irala" which starts with something that sounds like a harmonica, but I'm not sure if it is one, this time it has an argentinian touch, but later the song changes a bit. Again, female vocals stand out, I love them, but they are nicely accompanied by winds and bass. Nice.

Well, this is not really a memorable EP, and in my opinion it is far from the progressive rock realm, however, I had a nice time and enjoy it when I listen to it. My final grade will be 2 stars, anyway?

? enjoy it!

Tom Zé is more than a free spirit: Its the roots of everything that would be Avant-gard in Brazil from the 1970's onward. He participated of the Tropicalia movement (mainly in his first album and in the Tropicalia Manifesto, Panes et Circenses) just to see that others musical paths were opened to him... and then "Todos os Olhos" were born.

The highlights of the album for me are various, but iniciating with "Complexo de Épico" (Epic Complex) and finishing with the same song... he attack one of the characteristic of the music he criticizes (academic, full of great intentions) while doing it! Its a great parody, he himself has putted in a humoristic fashion: "its a album that eat itslef, like a sanke". While the music shows a great negligence, with repetitive sounds and the lyrics going "there he goes completly serious / all brazilian composers are full of complexes / be serious like this / in hell" (in portuguese is more aligned, of course). Its a great track (in two parts) representing everything from him in this new phase. Even when you think the sound is going to be like this forever, with "Todos os olhos" without a proper ending and "Dodo e Zeze" playing with a musical narrative, the beautiful track "Brigite Bardot" comes with a poetry, accesible and full of meaning, maily the passage of time and our finitude.

Mixture of avant-gard, samba and poetry: The seeds of brazilian avant-garde were planted since the first guy tapped a box of matches in a bar to make samba - Tom Zé is just the logical conclusion of this history.

Todos os Olhos (1973) is the fourth effort by the brazilian composer and musician Tom Zé, where his avant-psychedelic-samba back to live. His orchestration includes from polisher machines to keyboards. You can notice the strangeness of his music from Cademar (the opening track) to the strange Complexo de Épico (ending track), without lose the Tropicalia vein. A nice experiment for open minded listeners and avant-garde music fans.

The third album from the avant-garde doctor, Tom Zé. This album is not a self-titled as the previous one. Well... this album is a boring listening. Really. Sounds a non-creative samba/mpb with some touch of the early material. But after years I had read an interview with Tom Zé, where he explained the meaning of the album and the ideas. This guy is a genius.

First of all, this was made for hit the commercial radio stations, BUT with an objective, an inner joke. The hit of the album, Se O Caso É Chorar, it's a full plagiarism. He wrote the lyrics planning the plagiarism and asked the plagiarized artist about the song release, telling him about his plans. The guitar sequence was Chopin, and he said it was already copied in another rhythm by Tom Jobim. Well, the song hit the crowd and radio stations, and nobody knows anything about the plagiarism until today.

Purposely boring plagiarism, so... it's boring. But the intelligence behind this album deserves 3 stars.

Grande Liquidação is a classic, the typic critical lyrics from Tropicalia scene, avant-garde music and psychedelic rock mixed with mpb, jazz and more. Very ecletic and strange. The intelligent, humouristic lyrics are the most interesting part of this debut album, sometimes following a parody way. Highlights of the album: "Catecismo, Creme Dental E Eu", "Curso Intensivo de Boas Maneriras", "Gloria".