Ok so here’s an intersting situation… I’ve had these Gal records fer awhile in a sketchy
bootleg form and low and behold the records are in the wrong order… Always a nice
touch… so disregard my previous references to “Gal” being her first record… It is
however her first “rock” record… so not too far off.. 

So needless to say here we have her actual first record (though there were some earlier
records she was on, including one with caetano Veloso)… anyhow it’s a decidedly less
noisey affair then “Gal”… The band seems to be the same … once more raising the
question of whether it’s Os Mutantes or not … alot of sources basically default the “band”
on almost all tropicalia records as being the Mutantes … but personally I find this vaguely
misleading… on Veloso’s first record it’s pretty obvious that the vast majority of the
record is session guys with the bulk of the Mutantes contributions being the occasional
fuzz tone and rowdy backup vocals… but then again there’s an awful lot of Os Mutantes
tracks that are more than “bolstered” by session assistance as well… Anyhow needless to
say i’m sure the Mutantes are on here somewhere but for the most part this seems to be a
decidedly session man affair…

Anyhow … The searing heavy mutantes influence is kept relatively in check on this one
(unlike the positively chaotic “gal”) for the most part they serve more as a garnish on the
proceedings … The bulk of the sound is made up of incredibly pretty orchestral
arangements… While some might find this off putting personally I find it to be one of the
records most endearing qualitites ( my favorite track “mi nom e gal” from “gal” sounds the
most like this record… soaring strings over beautiful vocals with some wild fuzz thrown
in for good measure)… The arangements aren’t run of the mill late sixties variety (ie.
school of Martin, Webb, Bacharach etc..) they’re much more eccentric and quirky.. more
along the lines of the work Van Dyke Parks… Which is a fine thing indeed… 

While “gal” obviously gave her the chance to just cut loose and scream like a wild banshee
it also ends up being a tad to “longhaired” and “freaky” … a little too much primal
screaming perhaps.. this is the one where we can really hear just how hauntingly beautiful
Gal’s voice and delivery really is… this is best showcased on the incredible version of
“baby” (also covered by the Mutantes, twice, and written by Chao Gilberto?… can’t
remember) … it starts with a rather odd percussive intro (very similar to the kind of things
Wilson and Parks were doing on “Smile”) … this is about the only thing it shares with the
mutantes version (which is incredible too) .. just the basic rhythm.. but where the
Mutantes version is like a cheesy organ / fuzz tone ballad this is a huge sweeping epic …
the strings fade in super slowly and then in comes Gal floating over the whole track…
possibly one of the most beautiful vocal performances of all time .. complete shiver down
the spine material … just absolutely incredible… for some reason the track heavily reminds
me of the beautiful “Smile” version of “Surfs up” .. there’s something in the vocal delivery
that just operates on a very similar emotional plane… incredible … 

Anyhow obviously this isn’t a crazy “freak out” record like “gal” is but it’s still every bit
as intense .. just in a different way… Personally I have a big weakness for alot of stuff
done in this interesting marriage of hard pop, orchestration, and just enough whiff of spliff
in the proceedings to float the it up to that next level… It’s hard to really compare this
record to anything (especially since the lyrics are in portugeese) but it has a real affinity
with the previously mentioned works of Wilson and Parks, the Zombies, the great great
Gandalf ( the earlier one on Capital ), Margo Guryan, and also some of the work of the
mighty Serge Gainsbourg (particularly in the oddball arangements and super funky bass )
… While definatly not as wacked out as “gal” this is still a fantastic lil record and definatly
worth a spin on a nice mellow evening.. even better get the two on one cd (in the right
order of course) and you’re good to go…