February 11, 2013

Music Milestones, 1971: Chico Buarque – Construção


A close follower of the bossa nova movement and dedicated apprentice of earlier composers such as Tom Jobim and João Gilberto, Chico Buarque had a flying start in his musical career with the release of four stellar eponymous records in the late 1960s. These records blended bossa nova and samba to great effect, and cemented Buarque’s position among the MPB giants. However, the best of Buarque was yet to come. Construção, released upon Buarque’s return to Brazil after exile, is arguably his most accomplished effort to date and undoubtedly one of the best records of Brazilian music. Here, Buarque broaches darker topics than those in his previous discography, while his lyrics are more politically engaged. “Deus lhe Pague” constitutes the most biting political comment in the record, where Buarque openly criticizes the Brazilian dictatorial regime and its social aftermath. “Cotidiano” and “Construção” are also socially concerned, and address the boredom of daily routine and the debasement of the workingman, respectively. “Valsinha” is a sad love song about a couple that experiences a brief moment of joy after a long period of dullness. “Minha História” imaginatively retells the story of Jesus Christ as the son of a sailor and a prostitute. My favorite song in Construção is “Samba de Orly”, a tribute to the exiles during the military dictatorship that was composed by Buarque, Toquinho and Vinícius de Moraes:


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