At the end of my last post I was mentioning how I hadn’t really kept up with Valle’s more recent music. And then yesterday I asked Teresa to select a few Valle CDs to have in the car for a while. She picked Samba ’68, his US Major label debut, Vento Sul, his most out there album (a 1972 collaboration with Som Imaginario and others, which flopped at the time, but has now, and quite rightly, garnered a cult status), and Escape, a 2001 release on the Far Out label.
All three of these albums are superb, and share a lot musically, whilst also covering a vast and diverse territory. One thing that really struck me was how good Escape is. I’m rather prejudiced against modern ‘world’ music versions of what I regard as classic ’70s stuff. And I don’t much like when artists of that vintage allow themselves to be seduced by the trappings of trendy modern production (e.g. programmed rhythm tracks, or DJ-scratching, etc.).
Fortunately Valle’s musical spirit overcomes any such prejudices, and what we have here is totally organic anyway. The video atop this post is from Feb, 2016, and finds Marcos fronting a tight little band, just a bass, drums and keys trio, essentially, with the addition of a two-piece horn section and a lady singer. They play a superb mixed selection of old and new stuff, and it all sounds totally fresh and groovy. What a talent Marcos is! And what a great band.
Here’s the set list:
0:00 Samba De Verao
4:35 Garra
7:22 A Paraiba Nao Chicago
11:44 Arranca Toco
15:05 Mentira
18:41 Os Grillos
23:57 Estrelar
28:54 Parabens
35:30 Batucada
38:36 Freio Aerodinamico
44:19 Esperando O messias
48:11 Bar Ingles
53:29 Estatica