Chico Buarque’s 10 Greatest Songs and Greatest Discs (Representative Songs and Hidden Masterpieces)

In this issue, we have created a ranking of Sico Buarchi.

He is a very popular artist in his native Brazil.

He is very popular in his home country of Brazil, where his lyrics are called “the art of words” and his melodies are easy to relate to.

We hope you will take a listen and see for yourself why he is considered one of MPB’s leading artists.

This blog is an automatic translation of a Japanese blog into English.

Please understand that it may be difficult to read.

No.1「Fantasia」(Album:Vida)

■Song Title：Fantasia
■Album Name：Vida
■Video link：「Fantasia」

The composition of this song is brilliant.

The song starts off quietly, but then the rhythm kicks in, followed by the addition of various instruments.

After a quiet moment, at 3:07, the song transitions into a duet with a female singer.

After that, the chorus and many instruments are added to create a grand ending.

Unfortunately, this album is now out of print.

But unfortunately, this album is now out of print, even though it contains another great song, “Bye Bye Brasile”.

It’s a shame that such a song has not been released yet.

No.2「Vai Passar」(Album:Chico Buarque(1984))

■Song Title：Vai Passar
■Album Name：Chico Buarque(1984)
■Video link：「Vai Passar」

This album is often said to be his best work.

He made his debut in 1966, which means 18 years have passed since then.

He is a very prolific artist, and it is not unusual for him to release two or three albums in a year.

I counted the number of albums on Wikipedia, and found that there were as many as 50, not including DVDs.

However, many of them have not been released in Japan or have been discontinued, so the availability of their albums is limited.

This album is indeed a masterpiece, so it is available.

I think the reason why this album is so popular is because of this song.

From the very first note, you can feel the richness of samba.

No.3「Samba de Orly」(Album:Construcao)

■Song Title：Samba de Orly
■Album Name：Construcao
■Video link：「Samba de Orly」

In recent years, there has been a remarkable reevaluation of this work.

There was a reason for this.

The Brazilian version of Rolling Stone magazine’s feature “100 Greatest Albums of Brazilian Music” ranked it third.

By the way, No. 1 was “Acabou Chorare” by Novos Baianos.

I was surprised that it surpassed Joao Gilberto’s “Chega de Saudade”.

The version of this song covered by Tania Maria is probably more famous.

The original version is also excellent.

This song was co-written by Chico, Toquinho, and Vinicius de Moraes.

The song expresses their feelings while they were in exile in Italy.

No.4「Rosa Dos Ventos」(Album:Chico Buarque De Hollanda Vol.4)

■Song Title：Rosa Dos Ventos
■Album Name：Chico Buarque De Hollanda Vol.4
■Video link：「Rosa Dos Ventos」

In terms of genre, he is classified as MPB.

He is a contemporary Brazilian music artist.

This means that he is not only a bossa nova or samba artist.

From his early days, Sico was regarded as an outstanding professional composer and wrote many hit songs.

This song, released in 1970, is a pop song with a familiar melody.

However, the structure and arrangement are strange.

I like this song, including its strange development and arrangement.

I think this song shows the charm of Siko as a melody maker.

No.5「Amor Barato」(Album:Almanaque)

■Song Title：Amor Barato
■Album Name：Almanaque
■Video link：「Amor Barato」

In this song he sings that he wants to bring love to people.

He says that love has value like a flower in the end.

Siko was born into a privileged family and grew up without any money.

However, his empathy for the people was such that he was sometimes described as naïve.

When he was deemed undesirable by the military regime that was oppressing the people, he fled to Italy in 1969.

The following year, in 1970, he was the first to return to Brazil, ahead of the other exiled artists.

He returned to Brazil under the oppressive regime and tried to protest with the people.

He was from the upper class and was an intellectual.

But at the same time, he was a man who stood by the people and showed through his actions that he was willing to fight with them.

No.6「De Volta Ao Samba」(Album:Paratodos)

■Song Title：De Volta Ao Samba
■Album Name：Paratodos
■Video link：「De Volta Ao Samba」

This song is from the most recent album presented here, released in 1993.

Incidentally, Siko also released a good album in 2017 called “Caravanas”.

He doesn’t have many ebbs and flows, and there is a masterpiece in every period of his life.

Maybe he is in his prime all the time.

This time, the songs are more from the 1970s and 1980s.

However, considering the appeal of the songs, there are times when I think that songs from later periods are better.

This song is one of them.

I don’t think I’m a very good singer.

I don’t think he is a very good singer, and his voice is not as sexy as Caetano Veloso’s. However, his voice has a strange quality.

But his voice makes me want to listen to him forever.

If I were to use the word “clothing,” I would say it is like comfortable everyday clothes.

No.7「Acorda Amor」(Album:Sinal Fechado)

■Song Title：Acorda Amor
■Album Name：Sinal Fechado
■Video link：「Acorda Amor」

In this album, he sings other people’s songs, which is rare.

Many of the songs featured are by famous people, but there was one name I didn’t know.

The song was written by Leonel Paiva and Julinho Da Adelaide.

Actually, Julinho Da Adelaide is an alias of Chico, who posed as someone else to escape the censorship of the military regime.

Outwardly, he looks calm and musically, he is not that radical.

But he was not a man to be at the mercy of the military regime.

Chico’s anti-government activities led to his arrest in 1968 and his exile to Italy in 1969. He then returned to Brazil in 1970 and began to use his fame to produce protest songs against the dictatorship.

シコ・ブアルキ　ウィキペディア

This song is also a criticism of the military regime, although it is expressed in a way that tries to slip past the censors.

No.8「Ate Segunda-Feira」(Album:Chico Buarque De Hollanda Vol.3)

■Song Title：Ate Segunda-Feira
■Album Name：Chico Buarque De Hollanda Vol.3
■Video link：「Ate Segunda-Feira」

He has been a force to be reckoned with since his debut.

He debuted in 1966 with “Chico Buarque de Hollanda Vol. 1” and had hits like “A Banda”.

Since then, he has released four albums with the Dutch name.

This is the third album in the Holland series, and one of his early masterpieces.

The most famous song on this Album is “Retrato Em Branco E Preto” which has been covered by many people including Joyce.

Chico Buarque – Retrato Em Branco e Preto

The song I chose instead, “Ate Segunda-Feira,” is not a famous song.

But it is a song that I personally love.

No.9「Apesar De Voce」(Album:Chico Buarque(1978))

■Song Title：Apesar De Voce
■Album Name：Chico Buarque(1978)
■Video link：「Apesar De Voce」

I think this guy is often compared to Caetano Veloso.

Yes, there is a slight resemblance.

But if I dare to look for a difference, I would say that Sico is not as musically radical as Caetano.

Also, the biggest difference in my opinion is about samba.

I think that Sico is more active in samba than Caetano.

He put his wish for freedom into the traditional samba.

The slightly veiled protest single “Apesar de Você” (In spite of you) somehow slipped through the military censorship and became an anthem of the democratic movement. 100,000 copies were sold, but it was eventually suppressed and all disappeared from the stores.

シコ・ブアルキ　ウィキペディア

This song is about the people’s desire for freedom.

No.10「O Que Sera (A Flor Da Terra)」(Album:Meus Caros Amigos)

■Song Title：O Que Sera (A Flor Da Terra)
■Album Name：Meus Caros Amigos
■Video link：「O Que Sera (A Flor Da Terra)」

First of all, please pay attention to the jacket.

It looks like a movie film.

This album contains songs written for film, stage and TV dramas.

Milton Nascimento also participates in this album.

Siko is active in many fields and music is only one part of it.

He also writes stage scripts, novels and other forms of writing.

In particular, his novel “Budapeste” has won two literary awards: the Jabuti Literary Award and the Passo Fundo Literary Award.

I can’t read Portuguese, so I don’t know how great he is in terms of language.

I don’t read Portuguese, so I don’t know how great he is in terms of language, but I do know that he is a great artist in terms of music alone.