Album released by Gilberto Gil in 1975, Refazenda represents an artist at his peak
Close to completing ten years of phonographic career, Gilberto Gil decided to retire. farm (1975), recorded after the creative and expansive apex that was his album with Jorge Ben (Gil Jorge), goes to the opposite extreme of the Bahian musicality and seeks his country roots, which he had never hidden. Gil it’s as much about samba as it is about forró and, more than that, from both the big city and the countryside. Perhaps for this reason, the contradictory juxtapositions defended dylanesquely by Caetano Veloso during the time of Tropicália are not reflected so much in the work of his brother in music.
And with farm, Gil piggybacks on hippie neo-arcadeism and returns to an interior as nostalgic as it is new. Once again, the composer does not see the opposite poles as discrepant, but as complementary, and points this out from the title’s neologism. “Refazenda” means a return to the farm, but also a reconstruction of a new farm, a new interior, and he retraces the route he had taken between England and Brazil in Express 2222three years earlier, to observe with candor and pride the Brazilian countryside so dear to his education.
For that, Gil has an irresistible secret weapon: the sweetness and sensitivity of the accordion dominguinhos. farm is a disk Gil takes the opportunity to immerse himself in the northeastern sertaneja culture, as if to emphasize that tropicalism could only happen from its roots in the region. Just the presence ofSorry Sertanejo”, one of the greatest songs in Brazilian music, would make farm an essential record for our culture and for the career of its author. But she is not alone.
On the contrary, farm it’s one of those albums that even look like a compilation, with so many perfect songs gathered in a single work. The album opens with the swinging “She”, which seems to refer to the recent creative encounter with Jorge Benbut soon calls the listener in, again with dominguinhos as the guide, in the wonderful “I am thirsty”.
The title track deconstructs words to deconstruct concepts, something that also persists in the beautiful “Father and mother“, on what Gil talk openly about their sexuality with their parents. ”Jeca Total” It is “This is to play on the radio” assume the urban point of view and influences from jazz and funk of the period, but without taking their feet from the interior, ending the A side with a discreet finger in electricity, almost absent from the rest of the disc.
Side B is facing even more inwards. It begins with the festive and melancholy “ê, people, ê” and continues with the tropicalist introspection of “Spiritual Retreats”, in which he once again mentions the moonlight of Celly Campelo in his discography, in an introspection in front of the television. Then comes acoustic rock”The Nightingale”, composed alongside Jorge Mautnerand the immortalSorry Sertanejo”, which, by itself, would be worth the indication of Gilberto Gil to the chair of Brazilian Academy of Letters.
“Within oneself / even if outside / outside oneself / even if distant / and so on / from oneself, ad infinitum” are the verses that close a perfect record, in the conclusive and definitive “Meditation”. “All of oneself / even if for nothing / nothing for oneself / even because everything / always ends up being / what was to be expected.” farm represents an artist in his prime.
farm (1975) is one of the albums reviewed in the Special 80 Years of Musican exclusive edition of Rolling Stone Brazildedicated to 1942 generationwhich gathers essential names from the MPBlike himself Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Paulinho da Viola It is Caetano Veloso, as well as a global overview of those born this year. The printed special is already on newsstands and digital newsstands. Click here to learn more. Listen to the full album below:
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
