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2LP
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FARO 217LP
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2021 restock, last copies, RSD 2020 release. Following the release of Milton Nascimento's Maria Maria (FARO 215LP), Far Out Recordings present Nascimento's 1980 follow-up. With the success of Maria Maria in 1976 behind them, Nascimento reunited with his writing partner Fernando Brant in 1980 to produce another ballet, Ultimo Trem (Last Train). This time, they chose to tackle a more contemporarily relevant subject, the impact of the closure of a train line that connected certain towns and cities in the North East of Minas Gerais to the coast. "The military government shut down the route and the whole region began to fade away," explains Milton. "I love train rides" adds the composer, "But today there are almost no trains to Brazil..." Featuring much of the same all-star line-up as Maria Maria -- including legendary Brazilian musicians Naná Vasconcelos, João Donato, Paulinho Jobim, and members of Som Imaginário, amongst many others, like Maria Maria, the album holds what Milton himself considers to be the definitive versions of some of his most beloved tracks, including "Saídas E Bandeiras" and "Ponte de Areia". The title track, "Ultimo Trem" -- performed exquisitely by Zezé Mota with a choir and piano -- is a mournful lament about the human consequences of the axed line. "A Viagem (The Trip)", launched with a train's steam whistle, sees Milton's guitar moving to a train's rhythm. "Bicho Homen (Beastly Man)" and "Decreto (Degree)" are atypically upbeat and funky, their vocals a mesh of wordless male voices resembling the then fashionable Swingles Singers' renderings of Bach. "E Daí? (And So What?)", and "Olho d'Agua (Water's Eye)" were both drawn from Clube Da Esquina (1972). The unusual "O Velho (The Old Man)" conjures up an image of an old shaman singing alone into the wind against the cries of nature. Perhaps the most affecting songs are Nascimento's "Itamarandiba" and "Oração (Prayer)". The latter is a cry for a change in the situation whilst "Itamarandiba" ends with an upbeat, whirling Hammond organ and guitar timepiece. The closing track "Ponta de Areia (Sand Edge)", was based on one of Fernando's newspaper stories and became one of Milton's most famous pieces, covered by musicians such as Wayne Shorter and Earth, Wind and Fire. After 27 years of being locked inside contracts and record company legalities, these sublime songs were finally released in 2003 as a double-CD package, along with Maria Maria. This is the first ever vinyl release, on limited edition red vinyl, for Ultimo Trem.
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2LP
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FARO 215LP
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2024 restock. Far Out Recordings presents the first ever vinyl release of Milton Nascimento's Maria Maria, originally released in 2003 as a double-CD package. Recorded in 1974 and unreleased until almost thirty years later, the album was written as the soundtrack to a ballet which dealt with the legacy of slavery in Brazil. Milton Nascimento possesses one of the most immediately recognizable voices in Brazilian music: high and sweet and as breathtakingly sublime as that of any soul singer. Along with journalist and song writer Fernando Brant, lyricist Marcio Borges, and his younger brother Lo Borges, Nascimento wrote and produced what would become Milton's milestone album, Clube da Esquina (1972) which shaped the local scene and reflects the essence of "the Nascimento Sound". Milton's religious upbringing as an Afro-Brazilian Catholic saw him exposed to church choral music from an early age. This collection also displays his early fascination with evocative, non-verbal, scat-style singing, spare, harmonic guitar work and local folk music, jazz, and rock. In 1976, Milton and Fernando Brant teamed up with a new contemporary dance company called Grupo Corpo, whose Argentinian choreographer Oscar Araiz, would become a collaborator with the two musicians. Together, they conceived a show based on the composite life story of the daughter of a black slave called Maria. Nascimento wrote music to Brant's lyrics and Maria Maria was premiered in the main theatre of the Belo Horizonte Palacio das Artes that year. The music on Maria Maria was performed by an impressive group of young Brazilian musicians, including Naná Vasconcelos (percussion and effects), Toninho Horta (guitars), and Paulo Moura (sax). Several vocalists, including Naná Caymmi, Fafá de Belém, Beto Guedes, and Milton himself, had hits in years to come with reworkings of these songs. On the title track, Maria's story is narrated and translated to music through the use of African Percussion, drums, and metal signifying the field slave tools of the day. "Trabalhos (Works)" runs to work rhythms and whip cracks. "Lília" documents the beating of the slave woman. After "A Chamada" and the triumphant "Era Rei e Sou Escravo", things begin to turn and Milton employs tropical jungle cries to symbolize freedom. "Santos Catholicos x Candomble" represents the battle between African and European religions through the music of both sides. Milton's heavenly falsetto pours into "Francisco" and "Pai Grande" and the outstanding "Eu Sou Uma Preta Velha Aqui Sentada no Sol" conjures images of an old woman sitting deep in the forest, her memories painted in drums, piano, and voices. 180 gram vinyl.
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