Gilberto Gil’s Refazenda

Description

Refazenda connects a remarkable album by one of the 20th and 21st centuries' great musicians to a dazzling, often unexpected, array of people and places spread across the globe from Brazil to England to Chile to Japan. Critics and fans often project (or impose) desires and interpretations onto Gil that don't seem to fit. This book explores why familiar political and musical categories so often fall flat and explains why serendipity may instead be the best way to approach this mercurial album and the unrepeatable artist who created it. Based on years of listening to, studying, and teaching about Gil, and the author's own encounters with the album around the world, this book argues that Refazenda does, in fact, contain radical messages, though they rarely appear in the form, shape, or places that we might expect. The book also includes the first English-language translations of the album's lyrics, never-discussed-before 1970s Japanese liner notes, and a recounting of a forgotten moment when censors detained Gil during the album's debut tour. 33 1/3 Global, a series related to but independent from 33 1/3, takes the format of the original series of short, music-basedbooks and brings the focus to music throughout the world. With initial volumes focusing on Japanese and Brazilian music, the series will also include volumes on the popular music of Australia/Oceania, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and more. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements Note on Translations Chapter 1 Directions to a Serendipitous Encounter Chapter 2 Race and Radical Serendipity Chapter 3 Cover to Cover (and an Invitation) The Songs Chapter 4 Elastic, Fractured, Connected Worlds Divided and United by Dictators Japan Chapter 5 Gil’s Early Work and Influences Gil’s Trinity Pushing Back against (and Sometimes Embracing) Racial Essentialism Tropicália Chapter 6 From Bahia to London and Back Gilberto Gil, 1969 London and the Paths to Refazenda Trying to Find Home Back in Bahia An Uncertain Future Chapter 7 “Returning to the Depths of History” Reconsidering Everything An “Early” Turn to Africa Through the Sertão to the Roots of History Chapter 8 Thirsty but Not Quite Alone Dad and Mom Chapter 9 The Avocado Tree A Japanese-Marxist Reading Chapter 10 “This Is to Be Played on the Radio” “To Live Is Just a Big Balloon” Chapter 11 The Tour, the Critics, the Censor The Critics “Two Children from the Same Belly” Censoring the Censor, and Getting Censored Again Chapter 12 The End? Radical Serendipity, Revisited Song Lyrics Notes Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Bibliography Index