Psychedelic Pernambuco

Like a balding prog-rock lover at a record fair, European labels and DJs continue to trawl Brazil's 1970s back catalogue in search of the rare groove, whilst resolutely ignoring all that is new. Here we are presented with some scratchy, stoned-out and sitar-laden early-70s recordings from musicians who went on to success as part of the Pernambuco musical establishment. Alceu Valença, who contributes more than a quarter of the tracks, became one of the first artists to popularise north-eastern musical styles like frevo and maracatu in the 1980s, with a series of genuinely groundbreaking popular CDs. His collaborator on the tracks included here was Geraldo Azevedo, who began his career playing with the great Pernambuco percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, before becoming a frequent collaborator with Alceu from the 70s and a stalwart of north– eastern Brazilian MPB. Desert troubadour Zé Ramalho, who appears on this compilation with the rightfully obscure Lula Cortes, produced some of north-east Brazil's most enduring protest anthems during the dictatorship, including the classic ‘Admirável Gado Novo, later recorded by artists including Cassia Eller.

That these singers are presented here as if they were obscure discoveries says a great deal about how little Brazilian music is known or understood outside the country. That this CD is presented as an interesting example of their work is risible. That said, there are some delightful moments here, including Alceu and Geraldo's haunting LSD-laden ballad ‘Virgem Virginia’ and Ramalho and Cortes's lilting flute-garnished ‘Bailado das Muscarias’, but those in genuine search of their interesting work would do better to search their back catalogue on Amazon or iTunes.