Jorge Ben

LP reissue from this 1970 album, originally out on Phillips. Totally brilliant. A unique blend of samba and soul, that apparently transformed Brazilian music from the release of this record onwards. Trio Mocoto joins Jorge Ben on this album, and it's their percussive sound, Jorge's voice and the light string arrangements that create pure magic... Highly recommended!

The combination of Jorge Ben and Trio Mocotó had already produced great things when Força Bruta first appeared in 1970. Ben's self-titled album of the year before had reeled off a succession of Brazilian hits, including "País Tropical" and "Cadê Teresa," and made the four musicians very busy as a result. Força Bruta was a slightly different album, a slice of mellow samba soul that may perhaps have been the result of such a hectic schedule during 1969. One of the hidden gems in Jorge Ben's discography, it's a wonderful album because it kept everyone's plentiful musical skills intact while simply sailing along on a wonderful acoustic groove that may have varied little but was all the better for its agreeable evenness. The songs may have been more difficult to distinguish -- virtually every one began with acoustic guitar, similar instrumentation, and Ben's caressing vocals over the top -- but it made the record one of the best in Ben's hearty career.