An Original Debut
Here is some of what was said about this debut album:
“Rosa Passos’s little voice speaks of Bossa Nova and Tropicalism, samba and bolero. Rosa Passos simply goes beyond the traditional limits of a promising debut album.”
(Tárik de Souza)
“The best of it all is really Rosa Passos’s little voice. The diminutive here is not derogatory, but instead a praise. The impression of purity and sweetness from her easy and yet very creative singing suggests and affectionate closeness with what Rosa Passos has to say.”
(João Ramos Tinhorão)
Unfortunately, this album has never been released in the CD format. Even vinyl copies are hard to find. Not much else can be said besides what those two critics wrote about this debut album. Recriação not only showcased Rosa Passos the interpreter, but it also presented us with this strong songwriting team of Rosa Passos and Fernando de Oliveira. As we would see in subsequent releases, Passos and Oliveira wrote some excellent songs, and the team is often quite admired for their writing talents. Some of Rosa Passos’ best albums have been the ones that are more authorial. It is also interesting to note that from the very first track, Rosa already proclaimed her admiration for João Gilberto (his name is mentioned in the lyrics).
In Recriação we already have a sample of things to come from the minds of Passos and Oliveira. In the album liner notes, Fernando de Oliveira wrote the following:
| Versificar é como bater um papo, Fotografar, contar, lembrar. Métrica e rima não limitam a inspiração, A imaginação, a inteligência. |
To write verses is like chatting, Photographing, telling tales, remembering. Meter and rhyme do not limit inspiration, Imagination, intelligence. |
This proposal to tell stories as if chatting is present, for example, in “Procura-se um Samba.” Rosa is looking for a different kind of samba, and that is what she sings about in this soft samba-canção with its final ultimatum: “Caia fora do banal (Out with the banal).” Through sambas, boleros and even a tango (“Estrela-Cine-Teatro”), Rosa Passos is nothing but commonplace. Sambas such as “Saudade da Bahia” and “Fossamba” fit very well in her original proposition. From this album, one of the most well-known songs that first emerged was the bolero “Formicida, Corda e Flor,” which was also recorded by Nana Caymmi.
ALBUM INFORMATION
Rosa Passos
Recriação
Chantecler 2.08.404.101 (1979)
Time: 28’25”
Tracks:
All tracks by Fernando de Oliveira and Rosa Passos.
- Recriação
- Bolero de Esperar
- Procura-se um Samba
- Estrela-Cine-Teatro
- Saudade da Bahia
- Fossamba
- Formicida, Corda e Flor
- Caminho de Santana
- Noturno
- Ai, o Fantástico
