Audio CD
Original Release Date: 1973
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Studio
Label: Warner Brasil 1-01-800-007
ASIN: B00000ILJQ
Track Listing:
1. Sangue Latino
2. O Vira
3. O Patrao Nosso de Cadla Dia
4. Amor
5. Primavera Nos Dentes
6. Assim Assado
7. Mulher Barriguda
8. Rey
9. Rosa de Hiroshima
10. Prece Cosmica
11. Rondo Do Capitao
12. As Andorinhas
13. Fala
Outstanding Brazilian rock
June 6, 2002
Reviewer: Paul A. Scofield (Review for Twofer)
I recently had the pleasure to fall truly in love with these 25
songs. They are from Secos e Molhados' first two lps, released
in 1973 & '74. The music, often referred to as Brazilian
prog-rock, is somewhat hard to describe to an Anglo-Saxon
audience. All the lyrics are in Portuguese, which I don't
understand. On the first lp (the more famous and consistent), I
find 4 different styles. One song is slow blues/rock with few
lyrics and some great solo guitar throughout. 2 songs sound
similar to The Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack- fast, giddy
dance music. Most songs are of the 'prog rock' style, but very
few are longer than 4 minutes. I suppose the only thing that
connects them with classical prog rock is the generous use of
flute, harmonica and moog synthesizer. The songwriting, too, is
intelligent and creative. Finally, there are a few gorgeous
ballads which might remind one of Jorma or Cat Stevens...these
are usually nothing more than Ney Matogrosso's incredible vocals
along with an acoustic guitar. The second lp (tracks 14-25) has
a few great songs which may well be even better than the many
highlights on the first. Yet, it is also less concerned with
'rock' and more concerned with capturing/creating Brazilian
music. These musicians are all superb (esp. the bassist)...the
main instruments are 6 & 12 string guitars (electric and
acoustic), bass, drums, piano, flute, harmonica, moog
synthesizer, percussion...Ney's singing is inspired and
certainly makes these songs special (perhaps this helps explain
why he left the band and went solo- but maybe not...as far as I
can tell, neither Ney nor Joao Ricardo (guitarist and main
songwriter) ever had nearly the success they had with these two
lps). Apparently, the 1st lp was a huge success back in '73 in
Brazil. Too bad there are only these two. ... These are
certainly lost classics...that capture the era well... San
Francisco based dj, Joe Sixpack ... writes that these two lps
are some of the best Brazilian rock from the 70s... ps: the
name of the group translates to 'Dry and Wet'...in English, at
least, that's an awfully strange name for a rock band...and
don't let the costumes fool you- these guys have far more in
common with early Elton John than with Kiss....enjoy.
FABULOUS album by a band to be missed
September 28, 2004
Reviewer: P. Priess "priess@9zero9.com" (Blumenau, SC, Brazil)
This album was released in 1973 (I was a few months old) but
it's music is still modern and touching.
It one of those albums with no fillers, every song is an
amazing display of creativity and originality.
It's hard to get them into a category, but it's a blend of
rock, psychedelia and more.
Don't bother looking for the "one album" cd, get the cd with
their 2 albuns in one, it's a best buy. The second album is
almost as good as the first one.
A curious fact: their makeup is said to be the origin of Kiss'
makeup. The story told is that Kiss' manager saw Secos e
Molhados playing live and got blown away by their stage
presence and perfomance and took the idea of painting the
musicians to Kiss. Secos e Molhados debut album was released
in 1973 and Kiss debut album in 1974. So you see. ;o)
Biography by Alvaro Neder
Formed in 1971 by Ney Matogrosso (vocalist), Gerson Conrad
(vocalist/composer/violão) and João Ricardo (singer/composer
/violão/harmonica), Secos & Molhados is inscribed in a
privileged category of few bands and musicians who led Brazil
from bossa nova through Tropicália then to Brazilian rock,
a style which only blossomed in the '80s. Much of the group's
importance, apart from the huge success of its first album,
which sold 700,000 copies in 1973, was the heavy use of stage
makeup and dramatic elements. These served as reference for
a generation of underground bands which wouldn't accept MPB
as their expression, finally drawing a definite outlook in
Brazilian music in the '80s through collective contribution.
João Ricardo, a journalist from the newspaper Última Hora
(São Paulo), leader and founder of Secos & Molhados, is a
Portuguese from Ponte do Lima (1949). His father, the poet/
critic João Apolinário, was a major influence in his literary
life, and would even contribute lyrics to two songs in the
opening album, and one for the second. The project Secos &
Molhados ("dry and wet goods," a typical upcountry warehouse)
was devised by Ricardo, who found in the two partners the
perfect vehicles for his definite concepts. Ney, who would
explode on the stage with his magnetic presence, his counter-
tenor voice and extravagant androgynous outfit, remaining as
the only successful artist of the trio after the end of the
group, was introduced by singer/composer Luli, a common
friend; Gerson was already a neighbor and friend of Ricardo's.
In December, 1972, the group did a successful series of shows
in the nightclub Casa de Badalação e Tédio (São Paulo). With
the scenic/vocal talents of Ney's, the spectacle was highly
visual, dynamic and energetic, exploring in a sexually
ambiguous way the new sounds of the band. Texts of important
poets like Cassiano Ricardo, Manuel Bandeira, Solano
Trindade, and Vinícius de Moraes were used as song lyrics,
which was unusual. In 1973, the success in live presentations
yielded an invitation from Continental, and Secos & Molhados
was recorded. The album sold 700,000 copies, a nationwide
hit. Among the packed shows which followed, especially
deserving of mention is the one performed in the
Maracanãzinho stadium, for 25,000 people (which was recorded
and released in 1980), and in the Presidente Médici
Gymnasium, in Brasília. The following year, the group was
featured on Mexican TV, and recorded the second LP, Secos &
Molhados, which also sold very well. Secos & Molhados could
have anticipated Brazilian rock, but were dissolved before
that could happen, in 1974. Disagreements about finances
arose between Gerson and Ney, and between father and son, who
were directly responsible for the disbanding. João Ricardo
released an album in 1975, João Ricardo (Philips), and tried
to resurrect the band for four times, always with a different
formation with no original members. Gerson continued to
perform and record, with not much expression. Ney departed
for a highly successful career, where by and by he evidenced
a true reverence for MPB.
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