Portal:Rock music/Selected albums/21

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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. Conceived at a time of political tension in dictatorial Brazil, its title comes from the Portuguese term meaning "brute force" and has been interpreted ironically due to the music's relatively relaxed style.

The album introduced an acoustic samba-based music that is 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 generally explore themes of romantic passion, melancholy, and sensuality, with women figuring prominently in his songs. In a departure from the carefree sensibility of his past releases, they also feature elements of identity politics and postmodernism, such as irony and reimagining of established idioms.

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. Renown among collectors and musicians but relatively rare outside of its country of origin, the album was released for the first time in the United States in 2007 by the specialty label Dusty Groove America, attracting further critical recognition. That same year, Rolling Stone Brasil named it among its 100 greatest Brazilian albums. (Full article...)