10 Essential MPB Albums from the 1960s and ’70s

It might not be apparent now, but this 1972 self-titled gem flew under the radar for over 20 years before it became one of the most collected MPB albums on Discogs. Arthur Verocai, at the time an experienced music arranger and television musical director, gave his first shot at writing and recording his music. It didn’t pan out: Verocai’s bold mixture of jazz, samba, and psychedelic music didn’t find an audience in Brazil. 

But the self-titled LP was rediscovered in the early 2000s when rappers like MF DOOM and Ludacris started sampling the beautiful intro to the track “Na Boca do Sol.” Since then, Verocai has rereleased the record, which then became a cult classic. The artist has received praise from Brazilian rappers like Mano Brown and has worked with international bands such as BADBADNOTGOOD and Hiatus Kaiyote. 

It was 1971, and Caetano Veloso, while exiled in England by the military dictatorship in Brazil, was allowed to spend a month in his home country for the commemoration of his parents’ 40th anniversary. Ironically, the military asked him if he could make a song in homage to the Transamazônica highway, which was in construction at the time. While he denied the request, it kicked off the idea for his legendary LP Transa, released the next year.

Transa is a picture of Caetano’s bittersweet experience in London. He flows between Portuguese and English and sounds of rock music and reggae, which are reflections of his time spent abroad. There’s also a clear sound of grieving the loss of what Brazil was before military occupation. The album is widely perceived as Caetano’s masterpiece.

In 1978, Rod Stewart released his most popular track, “Do You Think I’m Sexy?” Unbeknownst to millions of listeners, Stewart “accidentally” took the melody from Jorge Ben Jor’s single “Taj Mahal,” which he heard while in Rio de Janeiro. The two went to court, and Stewart later admitted to the error.

The incident speaks to África Brasil catchiness and prowess, an album where Jorge Ben Jor, already coming from a trajectory of more than 10 years and a handful of successful albums, made the permanent change from his acoustic guitar to an electric one. An affirmative work for the afro-Brazilian culture, Ben Jor tied pandeiros, cuícas, surdos, and atabaques with pianos, bass, and brass instruments in the album to create a trademark sound.

On the search for something with a side of psychedelia touch and bossa nova? Start with Acabou Chorare, a well-packed ten songs ingrained in almost every Brazilian’s brain. The sophomore record from the group Os Novos Baianos marked a changed for the band, having recently come under the mentorship of  João Gilberto, one of the revered bossa-nova artists.

Famously, Gilberto told the group, formed by nine musicians, to look inward instead of outward for inspiration. This starting point, topped by Pepeu Gomes‘ electric guitar and the group’s playful compositions, produced some of the genre’s most popular tracks, like “Mistério do Planeta” and “A Menina Dança.” 

Clube da Esquina was the name given to a group of musicians formed in the 1960s in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, a state in South East of Brazil. Together, led by Lô Borges and Milton Nascimento, they recorded the legendary album of the same name. An experimental and atmospheric collection of songs that sometimes sound like an interplanetary trip, Clube da Esquina has become an influential record both in and outside Brazil — evident during a viral moment of Ye, fka Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams jamming to Quarteto em Cy’s cover of “Tudo o Que Você Podia Ser” while sitting front row at a Louis Vuitton fashion Show in 2021.

Gal Costa is the diva’s first solo appearance in the mainstream. After a joint record with Caetano Veloso and an appearance on the collaboration album Tropicália Ou Panis et Circencis, Costa started paving her way to becoming one of the most important Brazilian singers.

In this LP, she is moving away from bossa nova and heading toward more modern influences — from international icons like James Brown and Janis Joplin to artists making waves in Brazilian music, like Jorge Ben Jor. This self-titled debut holds MPB classics like “Baby” and “Que Pena.”

It’s hard to say which of Secos & Molhados‘ unique features makes this self-titled album so appealing. The debut record from the São Paulo outfit, led by guitarist João Ricardo and fronted by vocalist Ney Matogrosso, takes inspiration from all over the place: Portuguese folk music, Brazilian traditions, Latin rock, glam rock, psychedelic pop, and more. To this day, it is a unique listening experience — not just because of the outstanding instrumentation but also for Matogrosso’s high-pitched and heartfelt vocals.

By 1971, Chico Buarque already had a few albums and hit songs under his belt, but his songwriting broke through with Construção. The artist’s veiled criticism of the military dictatorship — of course, veiled because he was at risk of being censored — was well known. Still, the level of poetry and complex commentary of songs like “Construção” and “Deus Lhe Pague” make Construção one of the more representative albums of that dark time in Brazil’s history. The orchestrations by maestro Rogério Duprat are the icing on the cake. 

Caetano’s debut solo album is often considered the first glance of what came to be known as Tropicalismo, a movement that radicalized MPB aesthetics by mixing the popular with the avant-garde, the Brazilian with the international.

Caetano made those intentions very clear in his self-titled album, bringing electric guitars, lyrics in Spanish, and tales of Brazilian day-to-day life to this album — which also gave us hits like “Alegria, Alegria” and the appropriately titled “Tropicália.” 

It’s impossible to talk about Brazilian rock music without citing Os Mutantes. However, the band also couldn’t help but be part of the MPB movement by, in this self-titled album, recording songs by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Jorge Ben Jor.

The blend of psychedelic, experimental rock with irreverent writing and use of noise and unconventional “instruments” like an aerosol can in “Le Premier Bonheur Du Jou” makes Os Mutantes one of the most inventive and fun MPB albums.