Portal:Brazil/Selected article/21
Fôrça Bruta (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈfoʁsɐ ˈbɾutɐ] ⓘ) is the seventh studio album by Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Jorge Ben. It was recorded with the Trio Mocotó band and released by Philips Records in September 1970, during a time of political tension in dictatorial Brazil. Its title comes from the Portuguese term meaning "brute force".
The album introduced an acoustic samba-based music that was mellower, moodier, and less ornate than Ben's preceding work. Its largely unrehearsed, nighttime recording session found the singer improvising with Trio Mocotó's groove-oriented accompaniment while experimenting with unconventional rhythmic arrangements, musical techniques, and elements of soul, funk, and rock. Ben's lyrics explored themes of romantic passion, melancholy, sensuality, and—in a departure from the carefree sensibility of past releases—identity politics and elements of postmodernism.
A commercial and critical success, Fôrça Bruta established Ben as a leading artist in Brazil's Tropicália movement and pioneered a unique sound later known as samba rock. In 2007, Rolling Stone Brasil named it the 61st greatest Brazilian music record. That same year, the album was released for the first time in the United States by the specialty label Dusty Groove America, attracting further critical recognition.