Gil and Milton

Gil and Milton reflects the first collaboration between Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento, who between them have shaped the whole tradition of Brazilian music since the 1960s. Gil hails from Salvador, where he helped launch the "tropicalismo" music whose political subversiveness forced him into exile in London, though he's now back home as a celebrated political figure. Nascimento comes from Minas Gerais, had an equally subversive political start, and he too gravitated to London where his music was heavily influenced by the Beatles. Track 6 of this lovely CD is George Harrison's "Something", though it was never so charmingly sung: charm is in fact the keynote of everything these two men sing. Milton--once described by his colleague Caetano Veloso as "mil tons"("a thousand tones")--revels in his rich vocal palette, offsetting Gil's more laid-back softness. But behind these songs, with their beguilingly gentle backing, there lurk hard truths. About love and war, poverty and oppression: great to have the full lyrics, but serious listeners will have to invest in a Portuguese dictionary. --Michael Church

Label: Unknown
Studio: Wea
Released: 2001-04-30
Format: Audio CD