Os Paralamas Bounces Back From Tragedy

The story of Brazilian rock band Os Paralamas do Sucesso spans two decades of fame, tragedy and a spectacular comeback.

The latest chapter in their saga culminated with last month's release of live album "Uns Dias—Ao Vivo" (EMI).

Unusually for the Brazilian market, the recording was released in four different formats: a 14-track CD, a 26-track double-CD set, a DVD and a CD/DVD combo.

What makes this live set compelling is the presence of wheelchair-bound lead singer/songwriter Herbert Vianna.

Three years ago, Vianna nearly died following a small-airplane crash that killed his wife. Although Vianna's initial chances for recovery were minimal, he survived. Today, he cannot walk and hasn't fully recovered all his cerebral functions.

Despite this, 18 months ago, Vianna returned to the recording studio with bandmates Bi Ribeiro and João Barone.

The result of those sessions was a set of new tracks, titled "Longo Caminho."

The album helped Paralamas get back on the tour circuit again. Paralamas is not only Brazil's biggest touring rock band but the only one that has found consistent success abroad, even though the group sings in Portuguese.

"Uns Dias—Ao Vivo" is a recording of a concert from Paralamas' latest Brazilian tour, taped last November at the Olympia Theater in Sao Paulo.

"We hesitated a little before releasing one more live album," Barone says. "But at the same time, we wanted to register that tour, which is very special to us for several reasons. First, there is Herbert's recovery. And second, there is the fact that we started all the concerts with just the three of us playing onstage. A lot of people had never seen that before, because for many years, we always had additional musicians onstage with us."

The concert featured on "Uns Dias—Ao Vivo" begins with Vianna, Ribeiro and Barone playing on a small, intimate stage. Halfway through the concert, the group moves to a bigger stage, where it joins other musicians.

"We spoke to the people at EMI, and the executives got all excited with the idea of releasing the DVD," Ribeiro says. "But they warned us that if we released the title only on DVD, it would surely end up being sold on the streets as an illegal CD. Therefore, we decided to release the official CD as well."

EMI Brazil president Beto Boaventura says, "Nowadays, we have to think about the consumer and offer several options. We wanted to offer something for all budgets."

To date, Boaventura says, the single CD version has sold 100,000 copies, and the two-CD set has sold 40,000 copies. The DVD is close to 40,000 copies and is No. 4 on Brazil's top-selling DVD list after four weeks in stores.

In the late 1980s, the band also began recording in Spanish, which opened up markets in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Following Vianna's recovery, the band returned to Argentina, its biggest market outside Brazil, for a series of concerts in late 2003.

Paralamas is now touring in Brazil after playing three U.S. shows in late April.

If the group's tenacity is remarkable, it's not surprising. Os Paralamas, which originally came together in 1983, has remained with the same label and the same manager, José Fortes, for two decades.

"This is a very well-respected band that has done many things in Brazil's musical history," Boaventura says. "And to see Herbert today is a miracle. He had been given up for dead. And to do what he does, with such self-confidence, is spectacular. It's one of those examples of how life can be a special and fantastic thing."