Spotlight: Caetano Veloso

Livro
PRODUCERS: Jaques Morelenbaum, Caetano Veloso
Nonesuch 79557
The trouble with living legends is that they seldom live up to the lofty standards that they inadvertently set for themselves. Happily, once in a while, a veteran master pulls out all the stops and creates a piece of work that ranks with the most enlightened moments in his or her oeuvre. Such is the case with Brazilian icon Caetano Veloso's latest, "Livro," a work of complex beauty that harks back to the artist's Bahian roots, with samba percussion outweighing the lighter, bossa nova touches that have permeated much of his work over the years. A musical companion to Veloso's 1998 book of the same name, "Livro" is also a meditation on the modern history of Brazil-a subject Veloso knows only too well, having established himself as one of the architects of the late-'60s Tropicálista movement and having subsequently endured years of exile. An artist who-having already cast a giant shadow over the artistic landscape of his country, and the world at large-steps into the light with a work that will take a prominent place in his canon.