Araçá Azul

Araçá Azul (Portuguese for "blue Cattley guava") is the fifth studio album by Caetano Veloso, released in November 1972 by Philips Records. The album was recorded shortly after Veloso returned from his exile in London. Araçá Azul is Veloso's most experimental album to date, influenced in part by the poetics of invention of the Brazilian concrete poetry movement and the experiences in popular music by Walter Franco. It was negatively received by the market upon its release, and is Veloso's lowest-selling album despite receiving critical acclaim.

Araçá Azul
Studio album by Caetano Veloso
Released	November 1972; January 1973 (wide release)
Venue	São Paulo
Studio	Eldorado
Genre	Experimental avant-garde folk
Length	38:55
Label	PolyGram[1] Philips[2]
Producer	Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso chronology
Caetano e Chico - juntos e ao vivo (1972) Araçá Azul (1973) Temporada de Verão - ao vivo na Bahia (1974)

Background

After an exile of 2 years in London, Veloso recorded Araçá Azul in São Paulo over a single week at Eldorado Studio, the only studio in Brazil equipped with 8-channel recording technology at that time. Veloso reports that he made the record alone, with help from a technician and his assistant, under permission of then president of PolyGram, André Midani.[3][4] He used experimental techniques to record the album, recording "Épico" in an avenue in São Paulo.[5]

Music

The album is characterized as experimental[6][7] and avant-garde folk.[3] It also draws influences from samba[8] and psychedelic rock.[9] It is influenced by Walter Franco.[10]

Artwork

The cover art is a photograph of Veloso, taken by photographer and director Ivan Cardoso,[8] and produced by Luciano Figueiredo and Oscar Ramos.[3]

Release and reception

As registered in the first print of the LP, and confirmed by the artist himself and the record company, the album was released in November 1972 and broadly commercialized after January 1973.[11] It was badly received by the general public, adding a mark as the most returned LP from that period.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]

Upon release, Araçá Azul was acclaimed by critics.[6][4] Antônio do Amaral Rocha of Rolling Stone Brazil placed the album at number 97 in the list of the 100 best Brazilian albums.[12] John Bohannon of PopMatters compared the album to Jean-Luc Godard's film Breathless, stating that both "were made at critical turning points in the histories of their mediums, and both stand as testaments to the innovative approaches of their creators."[13]

Philip Jandovský of AllMusic gave it a less positive review, as he felt the album was too experimental and relying too much on sound effects, but said it was a good record "for a fan of experimental music or for someone in the right mood".[6]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Viola, Meu Bem" (traditional)	0:49
2.	"De Conversa/Cravo e Canela" (Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Ronaldo Bastos)	5:44
3.	"Tu Me Acostumbraste" (Frank Domínguez)	2:58
4.	"Gilberto Misterioso" (Veloso, Sousândrade)	4:50
5.	"De Palavra em Palavra" (Veloso)	1:20
6.	"De Cara/Eu Quero Essa Mulher" (Veloso, Monsueto, Lanny Gordin, José Batista)	4:14

Side two

No.	Title	Length
7.	"Sugar Cane Fields Forever" (Veloso, Sousândrade)	10:15
8.	"Júlia/Moreno" (Veloso)	3:19
9.	"Épico" (Veloso)	4:06
10.	"Araçá Azul" (Veloso)	1:20

Notes

Adapted from Discogs.[14]

• "De Conversa/Cravo e Canela" is listed as "Cravo e Canela" in the inner sleeve.
• "Gilberto Misterioso" is listed as "Gil Misterioso" in the inner sleeve.
• "De Cara/Quero Essa Mulher" is listed as "Quero Essa Mulher Assim Mesmo" in the inner sleeve.
• "Araçá Azul" is listed as "Araçá Blue" in the inner sleeve.

Personnel

Adapted from Discogs.[15]

• Antonio Perna — piano (track 7)
• Caetano Veloso — producing
• Edith de Oliveira — vocals (tracks 1, 7)
• Ivan Cardoso — photograph
• Lanny — guitar (track 6)
• Luciano Oliveira — pandeiro (tracks 1, 7)
• Luciano Figueiredo — artwork
• Marcus Vinicius — technician[3]
• Moacyr Albuquerque — bass (tracks 6, 7, 8)
• Milton Nascimento — cowriting
• Oscar Ramos — artwork
• Ronaldo Bastos — cowriting
• Rogério Duprat — arranging[16]
• Tusé de Abreu — flute (track 7)
• Tuti Moreno — percussion, drums, vibraphone (tracks 4, 6, 7, 8)

References

1. "Caetano Veloso Oficial". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
2. "Release "Araçá azul" by Caetano Veloso". MusicBrainz. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
3. Souza, Tárik de. "Caetano Veloso - ARAÇÁ AZUL" (in Portuguese). Retrieved July 9, 2017.
4. Veloso, Caetano (2017). Verdade Tropical. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras. pp. 473–478.
5. "Experimentalismo, censura e partes íntimas: artistas revelam segredos de 5 capas clássicas da MPB". UOL (in Portuguese). Retrieved July 9, 2017.
6. Jandovský, Philip. "Araçá Azul - Caetano Veloso - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
7. Feitosa, Taynã (June 3, 2014). "Quando a capa se torna mais famosa do que o conteúdo do disco". A Gazeta (in Portuguese). Rede Gazeta de Comunicações. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
8. "Experimentalismo, censura e partes íntimas: artistas revelam segredos de 5 capas clássicas da MPB". UOL (in Portuguese). Retrieved July 9, 2017.
9. Nunez, Irma (April 20, 2005). "'S wonderful". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
10. Preto, Marcus (October 9, 2009). "Walter Franco busca acerto de contas histórico" (in Portuguese). Retrieved July 26, 2017.
11. Veloso, Caetano (2003). Letra só; Sobre as letras / Caetano Veloso; organização Eucanaã Ferraz. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras. pp. 326–327.
12. "Os 100 maiores discos da música brasileira" (in Portuguese). Umas Linhas. December 20, 2007. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
13. Bohannon, John (June 25, 2008). "Finding Common Ground". PopMatters. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
14. "Images for Caetano Veloso - Araçá Azul". Discogs.
15. "Caetano Veloso – Araçá Azul". Discogs.
16. Ratliff, Ben (November 3, 2006). "Rogério Duprat, 74, Producer of Defining Tropicália Albums, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2017.