Discos Nada / Brazil / RE 2022
"Mysterious Acid Bossa Psychedelic Folk masterpiece recorded in 1971 and released in 1973 on a small Brazilian label. Recorded by students of the law school in São Paulo, under the influence of "Sgt. Pepper's" mixed with Bossa Nova. It's a chaotic yet delicate and sophisticated.
I can't imagine it being composed or recorded by amateur musicians that they were, except by Renato Mendes, who has been active as a first-class musician since the Jazz Bossa period and was a brazilian pioneer recording an album using a Moog synthesizer in 1974. It can be said that it greatly contributes to the miraculous perfection of this work.
Known among record collectors as a record that attracts not only Brazilian music fans but also Psychedelic and Acid Folk fans, the original version is a gem and sells for over USD1000."
One of the rarest and most enigmatic LPs in the Brazilian discography from the 1970s, Pra Quem Sabe das Coisas, released in 1973 by the label EBRAU (Editora Brasileira Artistas Unidos), finally has a refined reissue and its mysteries revealed, exactly half a century later, considering that it was recorded in 1971, but put in the market as a 12-inch record only two years later.
During a telephone chat packed with affectionate memories, Cau Pimentel (Cláudio Gama Pimentel), singer, songwriter and occasional guitarist with great sensibility and talent whose main professional activity involves criminal law, brought to the surface a story of passion for music that allowed great friendships to flourish, in the bubbling environment at the University of São Paulo’s Largo do São Francisco Law School, where he graduated as a lawyer. It was at the famous Coral da USP choir that the group gathered. The shared talent for music, by the way, explains the title “pra quem sabe das coisas” – for those who know the stuff. When the subject was popular music, Cau, Marcão, Benê, Bi, Vera, Eulália e Liliana were unquestionable amongst their peers.
Over two years, between 1969 and 1971, the group of instrumentalists and singers develop the repertoire recorded on the LP. They also have a crucial support: the polished assistance of Renato Mendes (1939 – 2013), Cau Pimentel’s cousin and one of the most celebrated organ players in the country, established in samba-jazz albums such as Renato Mendes & Seu Orgão (Mocambo, 1963) and Orgão de Vanguarda (Chantecler, 1965).
Gathered by Cau, the tracklist of Pra Quem Sabe Das Coisas remains, 50 years later, impactful and hard to label. The vocal harmonies, the sophistication of the arrangements and the existential density of the lyrics produce an atmosphere of rare beauty and unusual perception of aesthetic unity, as this is a collective record. A curiosity that might explain the difficulty in finding original copies of the LP: a significant share of the batch of 500 unities, which was paid by the XI de Agosto Students Union, was distributed amongst relatives of the artists and students at São Francisco law school.
Below, Cau Pimentel reveals other mysteries of this small treasure of Brazil’s best popular music.