Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil

Rating:
Summary: Like it or leave it
Review:

This is a very complex, very interesting account by an amateur writer. Caetano is not “dying to be an intellectual” (as one reviewer remarked) – he is one (though some seem to resent that) and was from the start – even before it was clear that he should choose a musical career. He’s not pretentious – he simply tells us what he had in mind at the time and how he thinks about it today.
If he thinks too much for you – fair enough, leave it then, but don’t blame the author for your personal tastes.

Besides the book is very honest, emotional, personal and candid (sexuality, imprisonment). Anyone who calls him pretentious or vain should read the chapter about his two month imprisonment titled: “Narcissus on Vacation”.
I loved the respect with which he writes about a lot of collegues (contemporary or of old).
In comparison I was taken aback by Ruy Castro’s superficial account of Bossa Nova, where I found the musicians lives more “used” for the sake of entertainment than respected.

Btw: it is really very funny when one reviewer tells us how disgusted he was to hear Caetano sing "Feelings" in a concert recently. Because that was such a "Tropicalia"-thing to do. Just like he provoked his audience when he recorded "Coracao Materno" or sang songs from Carmen Miranda. I wonder what that reader read that book for.
After 30 years Caetano seems to be still ahead of us.


Rating:
Summary: Dying to Be an Intellectual
Review: A great musician but a man desperate for intellectual respect. The book is virtually 400+ pages of an application for membership into some haughty Paris salon. Caetano should have stuck to what he knows best-music. The endless and mind-numbing name-dropping and references to obscure books, artists and philosophers are the written equivalent of a 5 minute arena drum solo. OK, we know you are smart, that you have ecletic and fine taste, etc. Now tell us about your music. How did you write it, how did you record it? There is sadly too little information about music and too much dismissal of others for perceived intellectual deficiencies, musical or otherwise.

Speaking of his music, I recently saw Caetano in concert and was shocked by the syrupy shmaltz--he actually performed "Feelings" in English and in total sincerity. He virtually refused to perform anything in Portuguese, perhaps it is not a cerebral enough a language...nothing more than feelings.

UPDATE:

Another reviewer found my review above to be in error, because Caetano is "30 years ahead of his time" in singing one of history's most painfully bad songs, Feelings. The reviewer found the whole thing very funny. I am sure that the reviewer has the famous Teutonic sense of humor to appreciate the joke. I for one, heard a corny song in accented English. Forgive me for missing the joke while I tried to cover my ears.

Rating:
Summary: first the music
Review: I believe good musicians should do music first and last. I own all of caetano's cds and I really appreciate his music, but I found this book a bit too apologetic and pretentious at times. It must be because I wasn't born at those times, so I cannot know how it was to live under a military dictatorship; yet I simply can't understand why you have to explain all those details inherent to one song (sem lenço, sem documento). The writer is definitely better as a musicians, so, buy one or ten of his cds first.

Rating:
Summary: Not your average pop star
Review: I can't think of any other pop musician in the world besides Caetano Veloso who could pull off writing a book that gives so much insight into the personal relationships, political climate, and artistic influences that help form their own work. The brilliant "Tropical Truth" is something of a combination between an autobiography of Caetano's earlier years, an analysis of his work, a document of the "Tropicalia" movement which he started, and a look at Brazilian counterculture and politics. It illuminates his early work in such a way that I felt after reading it I appreciated his early work on a much higher level. Non-portuguese speakers like myself will probably appreciate the explanations of the wordplay that occurs in songs like "Alegria, Alegria". Caetano writes knowledgeably on a variety of topics, and if there are particular weaknesses about this book, it is that is written in a quite roundabout way in places, and I imagine it would be difficult even for the relatively well-informed non-Brazilian to keep up with his discussion of Brazilian musical styles, European cinema, Brazilian "Cinema Novo", Latin American literature, and contemporary art. I found this book a joy to read however, and essential reading for anybody interested in Brazilian popular music.

Rating:
Summary: Crucial history of Brazilian popular music
Review: Songwriter Caetano Veloso is one of Brazil's most iconic artistic figures; along with Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa and others, he created the "tropicalia" movement, which reconciled the magic of bossa nova with the psychedelic splendor of '60s rock. This is an English translation of his autobiography, a densely-written, super-intellectual, but also quite charming and down-to-earth account of the "heroic years" of the tropicalia movement. Veloso gives an intimate, immensely informative account of Brazilian music, from the pre-bossa "radio singers" he grew up with to the intense ideological rivalries between the hippie-ish tropicalia artists and the left-wing party-liners of the bossa nova crowd. The book is also a memoir of life under the Brazilian military dictatorship which took power in 1964, eventually sending Veloso and Gil (and countless other artists) into political exile, while attempting to censor their work and silence their voices. The role of the artist in all aspects of life -- social, spiritual and aesthetic -- resonates throughout this book, as Veloso gives an invaluable insider's view of an artistic movement that changed the course of Brazilian culture. This book basically ends in the early 1970s... it would be great if he could follow up with a second volume exploring the growth (although some might call it decline) of Brazilian music in the decades that followed. (PS - this is the perfect companion to Ruy Guerra's similarly wonderful book, "Bossa Nova, The Sound That Seduced The World.")

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This is an exciting and unusual book -- it's a memoir of the life of one of the century's greatest songwriters (according to Rolling Stone), who is probably fairly unknown in the US because he sings in Portuguese. It's also a history of the 60's and 70's in Brazil, a time that included rule by military dictatorships (who imprisoned and exiled Veloso). It's also a passionate history of Brazilian music, through the lens of the tropicalia movement created by Veloso, Gilberto Gil (also imprisoned with Veloso, and recently named Minister of Culture by newly elected President Lula!), Gal Costa, Tom Ze and others. It's personal, scholarly, revealing, and will offer a glimpse into the mind and soul of a fascinating musical genius.