Caetano Veloso: Noites Do Norte

The renewed popularity of Brazilian music pioneer Caetano Veloso, which may have peaked with 1999's excellent Livro, arrived with a corresponding load of cultural baggage. Veloso made his name in the late '60s as a musician willing to buck Brazilian music conventions, and he was eventually branded a counterculture radical and pushed toward a self-imposed London exile. But his early efforts set the stage for the rise of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira), itself an increasingly eager hybrid of styles both North and South American. In a way, the music's development paralleled the rise of rock 'n' roll, since both Brazilian and American pop music can be traced back to the arrival of slaves and the subsequent transformation of traditional music. Noites Do Norte ("northern lights") tackles the quagmire of cultural imperialism, addressing the problem artists can have maintaining their national identity in the face of constant external (and international) stimuli. Yet, cleverly, Veloso often makes his point by caving in. The funky "Zera a Reza" and "Zumbi" take their inspiration from D'Angelo's brand of layered R&B, while "Rock 'n' Raul" pays tribute to fellow Brazilian pop star Raul Seixas, who played American rock 'n' roll. Veloso subtly mixes more styles on the fresh bossa nova take "Ia," featuring the frenetic beats of his son Moreno's percussionist Domenico. Elsewhere, on "13 de Majo," Veloso heralds Princess Isabel, a key figure in the Brazilian abolition movement, while with "Sou Seu Sabiá," he reclaims his song from contemporary Brazilian star Marisa Monte, another smart style-blender. If the theme of Noites Do Norte doesn't always seem consistent, that's part of the point: Veloso's work, like all popular music, draws from many disparate sources, from electric guitar to traditional Bahian drums. In that way, it ultimately becomes its own distinct, eclectic entity.