Best new (to me) album of 2016: v/a, “Tropicalia” (1968)

In February I listened to the BBC Documentary “Tropicalia: A Revolution in Sound” and was blown away by what I heard. I sought out the 1968 compilation “Tropicalia” because I loved the idea of Brazil-based, vintage “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”-influenced music that wasn’t by the Beatles. The album fulfilled my wildest expectations and launched me down rabbit holes exploring subsequent works by the movement’s principle figures: Gil Gilberto, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Os Mutantes and Jorge Ben.

If anything, I was a little disappointed I didn’t find these artists sooner. I could have been obsessing for decades at this point.

Of the recordings these artists made aside from the compilation, Gal Costa’s work grabbed me the most. Her immediate progression is the most striking, moving from bossa nova roots to a hybrid style that mixed tradition and rock influences (as was the Tropicalia movement’s modus operandi) on her self-titled album, to pure acid rock on “Gal” to a deeper blend of styles on “Legal” and “India.”

Gil Gilberto and Caetano Veloso tend to grab the lion’s share of attention, since both were soon arrested and forced into exile in the UK. To my mind, that disrupted the natural progression of their work, but they still produced groundbreaking records that documented their distance and alienation. Veloso, who tends to be the most revered of the group, recorded “Transa,” probably the most accomplished of the post-Tropicalia albums, while he was there.

Os Mutantes’ trajectory is equally fascinating, as the core trio shifted from psychedelia to prog rock over the course of three fantastic records before eventually disintegrating.

Yet the 1968 compilation remains the movement’s crown jewel. Nearly every song is pitch perfect, and the album showcases all these exceedingly talented, key players at early peaks.