Blame it on the bossa nova. So pervasive was that intoxicating, romantic and gentle Brazilian beat that an alternative had to arrive. It came in the form of tropicalia, or tropicalismo, blending the popular with the avant-garde, fusing Brazilian and African rhythms with that old-time rock and roll. Tropicalia rose to prominence along with música popular brasileira (MPB), offering young people an alternative to bossa nova, which had by that point risen to international prominence. Emerging Brazilian artists of the day found a sound of their own. Real Gone Music and its Dusty Groove imprint have recently reissued one of the best and most beguiling examples of this distinctive Brazilian style. 1969’s Gal Costa (RGM-0257) was the first full solo album from the Brazilian vocalist, following an EP and a collaborative album with Caetano Veloso. The glamorous if pensive image of the singer on the cover might have been misleading as to the forward-thinking music contained within its grooves – alternately tense and relaxed, dark and sunny.

A major principle of tropicalia was antropofagia, basically a cultural “cannibalism” that encouraged the fusion of disparate influences to form something wholly new. The movement – which extended to literature, theatre and poetry, as well – had as its manifesto of sorts the album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis featuring contributions by Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé, Os Mutantes and Gal Costa. The eponymous Gal Costa LP chronologically followed both Domingo, the traditional, bossa nova-flavored album with Veloso, and the radical Tropicália. Beautiful and unsettling, Gal Costa – sung in Portuguese, save one English track – continued to push the musical envelope with antropofagia in mind.

Rogerio Duprat, Gilberto Gil and Lanny Gordin provided the expansive, varied arrangements to frame Costa’s resonant voice. The politically-charged environment of young artists bristling at Brazil’s military government (which would arrest and imprison both Veloso and Gil in 1969) contributed mightily to Gal Costa’s countercultural, psychedelia-goes-to-the-tropics feel.  There's more after the jump!

The opening seconds of the LP augur for some freakiness to follow, with a menacing blast of keyboard and reverb-laden strums, before organ and strings combine for a moment’s relaxation. This initial track, Caetano Veloso’s “Não Identificado,” is melodic yet finds tension never far from the surface. Costa’s flexible, expressive voice is put to the test on the uptempo, tongue-twisting “Sebastiana.” As the track builds to a lively freak-out, she’s joined by Gilberto Gil. He also appears on “Namorinho de Portão” with its searing electric guitar. Indeed, rock is at the forefront of much of Gal Costa, including on the funky “Se Você Pensa” (“If You Think…”), an early hit for its co-composer Roberto Carlos, and his “Vou Recomeçar” (“I Will Start Again”).

Caetano Veloso wrote or co-wrote five tracks on the LP and appears on two songs (including one he didn’t write). Of the tracks composed by Veloso, the smoky “Lost in the Paradise” features a powerful brass interlude – and is actually sung in English. Veloso’s “Saudosismo” (or “Nostalgia”) has a marked bossa nova influence in its soft percussion, at least until the harsh electric guitar near the end of the track heralds the new age. One lyrical reference in the song is made to “A Felicidade,” a song by bossa pioneers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes from the Black Orpheus soundtrack, a key bossa nova breakthrough. Later, Costa announces “Chega de Saudade,” or “Enough longing!,” quoting another song title by Jobim and de Moraes, but this time sounding as if she’s firmly rejecting the once-dominant idiom.

The most striking highlight is “Divino Maravilhoso” (“Divine, Marvelous”), written by Veloso and Gil. This forthright, politically inflammatory track declares in no uncertain terms that attention must be paid; Peter Margasak’s fine new liner notes in Real Gone’s reissue translate its lyrics as “Pay attention/To the stanza, to the refrain/To the curse words/To the slogans/Pay attention/To the exultant samba.” The last phrase makes reference to the protest singers who felt more comfortable setting socially-conscious lyrics to traditional sambas, often clashing with the tropicalistas. (The traditional samba-exaltação was a patriotic type of samba often used by nationalist propagandists during the regime of Getúlio Vargas in the 1930s and 1940s.) The song, with its ironic title refrain, builds in its shattering imagery: “Pay attention/To the blood on the ground!” Costa’s urgent, dramatic performance, demanding “Atenção!,” verges on the (Janis) Joplin-esque.

At least one entire CD has been filled with Costa’s interpretations of Veloso’s songs, and her affinity for his style is apparent here. The singer-songwriter appears on Jorge Ben’s “Que Pena (Ele Já Não Gosta Mais de Mim)” (rough translation: “The Penalty (He Does Not Like Me More),” a musically breezy track with string accompaniment and atmospheric flute. “Que Pena” and Veloso’s own “Baby” (first recorded by Veloso and Costa for Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis) are musical respites, with Veloso lending particularly ethereal harmonies to the latter. Another atypical rack is Gilberto Gil’s “A Coisa Mais Linda Que Existe” (or “The Most Beautiful Thing That Is”), with its brassy lounge swing. The closing cut, “Deus é Amor” (“God and Love”) by Jorge Ben ends the album on a melodically upbeat note as Costa’s vocal float as if on air, over the strings, winds and percussion. It was the calm before the storm; Costa’s next album, also self-titled, would go even further in an outré direction.  Today, she's rightly venerated as a musical pioneer and a national treasure in Brazil.  Her 2011 album Recanto was produced and composed by her old friend Caetano Veloso.

Real Gone’s reissue has no additional material but the vivid sound quality won't disappoint (there is no remastering engineer credited). Fans of bossa nova and tropicalia alike, as well as adventurous listeners, would do well to explore this haunting yet mesmerizing snapshot of a country and musical landscape in upheaval.

Gal Costa can be ordered at Amazon U.S. and Amazon U.K. !