We’re re-releasing Tom Zé’s Massive Hits—thirty years after it first came out!—chock full of avant garde pop hits ready to be discovered and exalted by the mainstream.
On The Best of Tom Zé: Massive Hits (Brazil Classics 4), compiled by the guy who’s great idea this record label was, David Byrne, here’s what you have in store:
Brazilian pop hits Avant Garde/misc. Household appliances and tools in arangements with horns, strings “prepared” guitars (punctuated by grunts, screams and other wild percussion) meld with eccentric metaphorical lyricism. The results: sounds of “sambas and archangels / street and street riot”, sometimes hypnotic, sometimes dissonant and always a beautiful amalgamation of unusual noises and pop songs. Although many songs have a samba / pop feel, lyrically they go much further than the typical samba texts about nature, sex and love. Lyrics aside, these songs remain on the Brazilian continuum of music with incredibly complex diversity. It’s historical music, the historical legacy of the song, i.e., the Brazil = music equation. An integral part of the culture and important in the world of musical exploration.
The Best of Tom Zé: Massive Hits (Brazil Classics 4) now comes in unlimited black vinyl and a limited Brazilian Blue vinyl version—both in a gatefold jacket.
Tracklist: