Gilberto Gil
Soy Loco Por Ti America
Braziloid, 1988
WEA, 1987
This album is a real treasure, its punchy, early worldbeat sound only enhancing Gil's roots-folk edge. The set leads off with a polished, super-funky update of "Aquele Abraco,'' ("I Embrace You All''), which he wrote upon leaving Brazil to go into exile in the late `60s, unsure whether he would ever return. The arrangement is masterful blend of samba and funk. Gil starts out alone with a scratchy guitar riff, setting the stage for a powerhouse, horn-section hook. Suddenly, everything stops, and Gil's unaccompanied vocal leads again, singing a lightly falling line just before the band pounces. When the dust settles, guitarist Ricardo Silveira's sly rhythmic chording propels an irresistible dance groove. The rhythmic shifts from verse to chorus and back trace a sharp, upward trajectory reaching ever more ecstatic plateaus. "Babá Ala Palá," another standout here, is boisterous funk, its modernity contrasting with lyrics that speak of African ancestor worship.*Gil wrote the tropicalia classic "Soy Loco Por Ti America'' for Caetano Veloso in 1966, but never recorded it himself until this session. As is typical in Gil's songs, the sweetness and ease of the music belies a serious message. Written in the wake of the Cuban revolution, the song talks about dreams of liberation, the freedom and redemption of people in Central and Latin America.
Contributed by: Banning Eyre
Originally published in: Boston Phoenix
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