O bidú (Silêncio no Brooklin) / O bidu (Silencio no Brooklin)

Jorge Ben was a good decade older than the young tropicalistas who transformed the Brazilian music scene in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, but his fearless eclecticism, and his willingness to enliven traditional Brazilian forms with amplified instruments and psychedelic production flourishes won him their undying admiration. 1967’s O bidú was greeted with particular excitement. Both Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil recall being stunned by its aggressive fusion of samba rhythms and rock ‘n’ roll instrumentation. The beat heavy “Si manda” and the breathlessly celebratory “Amor de carnaval,” have all of the rag-tag charm and casual insouciance of the Stones, Beatles and Kinks albums that were then capturing the hearts and minds of Brazilian youth. Elsewhere on the album Ben returns to the hard samba style that characterized his earlier hits. The charmingly straightforward “A jovem samba” sings the praises of youth culture, but stylistically would not have sounded out of place on Ben’s 1963 debut. O bidú effortlessly distills the sound of young Brazil poised on the cusp of the brief but glorious tropicalia revolution.