Wilson Simonal – Alegria! Alegria! Vol. 3 & 4 (1969)

Booklet notes:

Recorded under the uncontrollable shadow of the hit “Sá Marina”, Alegrie Alegria Vol 3, or Cada Um Tem o Disco que Merece, is a move in the direction toward a maturation of a style, of unity in the middle of the diversity that the public had already accustomed itself with Simonal. “Sá Marina” (from Alegria Vol. 2) loaned its soul-music romanticism to various songs on the album. “Meia Volta (Ana Cristina), “Moça” and “Aleluia Aleluia” all from Antonio Adolfo and Tibério Gaspar, are the clearest examples. But practically the whole album is calm and serene. From the delicate “Menininha do Portão” to the rhythm and blues “na lingua da matriz” of “What You Say,” Simonal and Som Três move their music into an area that is more adult, and more black. The reinterpretations of classics attest to this: ‘Pensando em ti” brings bassoons and flugelhorns to the old hit by Nelson Gonçalves; “Prece ao Vento” uses the riff from “Sunny”, a classic by Elizeth Cardoso; “Atire a Primeira Pedra” plays with Atualfo Alves for a generation enchanted with ‘Barbarella’.

Simonal and Som Três also grew in structure. Cesar debuts his electric piano and the synthesized sounds to the tone of different songs (especially “Mustang Cor de Sangue”). Sabá begins using to the electric-acoustic bass common to salsa groups. Also the “brass with mushrooms” (??) gain force here too, with the arrival of Aurino, Darcy and the singer’s brother, José Roberto Simonal, joining with the veterans Maurílio and Juarez. It is this era that saw the vertiginous sky-rocketing professional ascension of Simonal, exploding after his performance at Maracanãzinho on July 5, 1969, when the singer stole the show from Sergio Mendes and was dragged back to the stage by 30,000 fans. Soon after this show, Simonal joined up with Shell in a series of mega-events that brought him back to the sports arena, repeating the success of his first presentation.

The photo of this second show adorns the cover of Alegria! Aelgria! Vol.4. The alternative title (Homage to the Grace, Beauty, Charm and the Venom of the Brazilian Woman) comes from that which, maybe, could be the biggest hit of his career: “País Tropical,” composed by Jorge Ben and freely adapted by the singer, who cut entire passages of the lyrics, changed other parts, and through it created the expression “patropi”. Nothing seemed to conatin this great, exciting phase of Wilson Simonal.

—Ricardo Alexandre
Journalist and author of the biography “Nem Vem Que Não Tem: A Vide e o Veneno de Wilson Simonal”

Free translation by Flabbergast

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ALEGRIA, ALEGRIA VOL. 3 ou CADA UM TEM O DISCO QUE MERECE
Wilson Simonal (1969)
Released in April of 1969 as Odeon MOFB 3576

1 Silva lenheira
(Jorge Ben)
2 Mustang cor de sangue
(Paulo Sergio Valle, Marcos Valle)
3 Menininha do portão
(Nonato Buzar, Paulinho Tapajós)
4 Silêncio
(Eduardo Souto Neto, Sergio Bittencourt)
5 Prece ao vento
(Gilvan Chaves, Fernando Luiz Câmara, Alcyr Pires Vermelho)
6 What you say
(Wilson Simonal)
7 Moça
(Tibério Gaspar, Antônio Adolfo)
8 Aleluia aleluia
(Tibério Gaspar, Antônio Adolfo)
9 Mamãe eu quero
(Vicente Paiva, Jararaca)
10 Meia-volta (Ana Cristina)
(Tibério Gaspar, Antônio Adolfo)
11 Pensando em ti
(Herivelto Martins, David Nasser)
12 Atira a primeira pedra
(Ataulfo Alves, Mário Lago)
13 Mulher de malandro
(Celso Castro, Oswaldo Nunes)

BONUS TRACK
14. Se Você Pensa
(Roberto Carlos / Erasmo Carlos)

Recorded in November 1968, January and March 1969
Arrangements and orchestration, César Camargo Mariano (1-3,5,6,8-10, 12) Laércio de Freitas (13), Erlon Chaves (4,7,11).
Artistic director: Milton Mrianda
Musical director: Lyrio Panicali
Technical director: Z.J.Merky
Sound engineer: Jorge Teixeira da Rocha
Mixing and editing of the LP: Reny Rizzi Lippi
Art director: Moacyr Rocha
Photos: Studio Maitiry

Som Três: Cesar Camargo Mariano (piano), Sabá (upright bass and voice), Toninho Pinheiro (drums and voice).

Brass: Aurino (baritone sax), José Roberto SImonal (alto sax), Maurilio and Darcy (trumpets), and Juarez (tenor sax)
Electric guitar: Geraldo Vespar
Percussion: Chacau

Bonus track recorded in July and released by Odeon as since 7B 380 in August 1969.

ALEGRIA, ALEGRIA VOL. 4 ou HOMENAGEM À GRAÇA, À BELEZA, AO CHARME E AO VENENO DA MULHER BRASILEIRA

Odeon MOFB 3613 released November 1969

15 Maquilagem
(Nonato Buzar, Wilson Simonal)
16 Porque hoje é domingo
(Tibério Gaspar, Antônio Adolfo)
17 Evie
(Jimmy Webb)
18 Brasileira
(Sergio Augusto, Rubinho)
19 Olho d’água
(Nonato Buzar, Paulinho Tapajós)
20 Canção da criança
(René Bittencourt, Francisco Alves)
21 Eu fui ao Tororó
(Foclore)
22 Que maravilha
(Jorge Ben, Toquinho)
23 Uma loira
(Hervé Cordovil)
24 Quem mandou
(Sergio Bittencourt, Eduardo Souto)
25 País tropical
(Jorge Ben)
26 Adios, muchachos / Adios
(César Vedani, J.C.Sanders. E. Madrigeura)

Recorded in July, October, and November of 1969.

Arrangements, orchestration, horn charts: Cesar Camargo Mariano (15,16,18-24,25) Lyrio Panicali (17), Erlon Chaves (18,26)

Musician credits and technical credits same as Alegria Alegria Vol 3

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Reissue info:
Remastered in 24 bits and digitally edited from the original master tapes by Carlos Freitas and Jade Pereira at Classic Master, São Paulo, in February 2004.
Production and project coordination: Max de Castro and Wilson Simoninha
Reproduction of original album covers: Rogério Alonso

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One more Simonal brings us two more albums full of joy in this series. Tons of gems here, with the hard-swing accompaniment of Som Três. More songs by Jorge Ben, Antonio Adolfo & Tibério Gaspar — definitely moving into more soul territory here. There is even a cover of a rather obscure song, Evie, by Jimmy Webb (By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, and the notorious MacArthur Park). On that song Wilson’s singing in English has improved from “What You Say” (on Vol.3), which is pretty frankly awful but also charming in its awful-ness.

These four albums of ‘Alegria! Alegria!’ mark a hugely important phase in Simonal’s career and in many ways, taken as a whole, could be the centerpiece of his discography. There was a live album (show em Simonal) released in the middle of them, recorded earlier in 1967, that I may share here although frankly it is kind of for the die-hard obsessive collectors (more details later).

More ALEGRIA for the holiday seasons from Flabbergasted Vibes!

Wilson Simonal – Alegria! Alegria! Vol. 3 & 4 (1969) in 320 kbs em pee three

Wilson Simonal – Alegria! Alegria! Vol. 3 & 4 (1969) in FLAC LOSSLESS AUDIO

Complete artwork included. Composer credits are included in the ID tags, as well as restored Portuguese orthographic and diacriticals.

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