Nobody Can Live Forever

Tim Maia : Nobody Can Live Forever

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Fresh out of the Racional cult which held the belief that humans are really dirty aliens who will be rescued by spaceships, Brazilian R and B star Tim Maia made his return to the real world with a funky self-titled album in 1976. Among the best cuts on the album is "Nobody Can Live Forever", which became the title track of the essential Luaka Bop collection.  Talk about your reality check! And what a groove!.

40 Year Itch: Que Beleza

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By 1975, Brazilian R and B star Tim Maia had become involved in a religious group called Cultura Racional that held the belief that humans are really dirty aliens who will be rescued by spaceships as long as they find balance in nature by reading a book called Universo Em Desencanto (Universe in Disenchantment).  He quit drugs and made beautiful music with instructional lyrics. His 1975 album Racional Vol 1 has spoken word interludes that bang you over the head with his cult's messages:   

     “Listen you all we’re gonna tell you the most important thing that you ever heard in your life, you never heard that before. We came from a super world, world of rational energy and we live in the empty world, world of animal’s energy. Read the book, the only book, the book of good, universe in disenchantment and you’re going to know the truth.”

40 Year Itch : Samba Soul from 1973

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Inspired by a West Coast heat wave, I present here three great Samba Soul tunes from 1973. 

Let's begin with Tim Maia and "Gostava Tanto de Voce" from his 1973 self-titled album. Maia was one of music's great wild men and ranked by Rolling Stone as the greatest Brazilian singer. Ever.

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Nobody could fuse Brazilian samba with soulful jazz rhythms like Luiz Melodia who released his highly acclaimed solo album, Perola Negra, in 1973. The title track is a classic.

Marku Ribas , the King of Samba Soul, died in April of this year. A master percussionist and vocalist, Ribas had already been recording for 20 years when he worked on the Dirty Work album with the Rolling Stones and even appeared in the music video for "Just Another Night". 1973's Underground is the place to start with this artist.