By 1968, the Brazilian Tropicalia movement was well under way. Young upstarts like the genre-bending Os Mutantes and the provocative chanteuse Gal Costa had released landmark full-lengths, while Jorge Ben, the elder statesman of Brazilian pop, demonstrated his support of Tropicalia with the lush, psychedelic JORGE BEN.
Also in 1968, Gilberto Gil released his second full-length, GILBERTO GIL (FREVO RASGADO), a multi-hued concoction that married samba rhythms to the far-out sonic experimentation then being pioneered by Pink Floyd and the Beatles. Though the mournful orchestration and whispered vocals of tunes like the celebratory "Domingo No Parque" and the lovestruck "Luiza Luluza" are perhaps a shade more well mannered than the unrestrained cacophony of Gilberto's debut, they must have seemed nothing less than revolutionary to the young people of Brazil.
Gil's sophomore outing is one of the high points of his career and represents a vital chapter in Brazilian musical history.
