TRACK 1
“Que Beleza”
From Tim Maia’s Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia
LUAKA BOP
Liner notes: Leading a mellow orchestra of tropical brass, sexy percussion, and smoking funk guitar, Maia celebrates beauty and joy on this ’74 gem.
Behind the music: The notoriously eccentric Maia (1942-1998) brought deep R&B to Brazil’s fertile ’70s scene, sparking the Black Rio movement that fused African and local sounds. An acid enthusiast, he spent two years in the UFO-obsessed Racional Energy cult.
Check it out if you like: Eclectic innovators like Funkadelic, Os Mutantes, and the Isley Brothers.
This review originally appeared in our November/December issue of Mother Jones.