Dig Deep: Tim Maia – Tim Maia – Polydor (1973)

Tim Maia – Compadre
Tim Maia – Over Again
Tim Maia – Gostavo Tanto De Voce

Just in case you don’t know, Tim Maia is one of the founding fathers of the Brazilian Soul movement. His 1970s output is highly prized because of its soulfulness, in terms of his own vocalizing, always big and strong with at times a wild falsetto in the early days, and the music, which stood in stark contrast to the Tropicália produced by Caetano Veloso and others, because of it’s solitary emphasis on US styled soul and funk. This record was his fourth for Polydor, all of which simply carry his name without an album title.

I’d heard tracks from the prior releases before tracking them down, but hadn’t heard anything from this one. When I first got it I was disappointed, the sound isn’t as sharp as prior releases, it’s a bit smoother and generally more laid back. Over time however, this record has become perhaps my favorite (the 1971 album is a close second) precisely because of those reasons, the groove is oh so mellow throughout and the use of acoustic guitar on many tracks brings a new flavor to a still very expansive funky palette.

My favorite Portuguese tracks are “Compadre” “Reu Confesso” & “Gostava Tanto De Voce.” “Over Again” is maybe the best thing Maia EVER wrote in English, and like virtually all his English language songs (including “New Love” another favorite on this record) it’s about losing love and the hope of gaining love again. The other English song on here that I really really dig, is completely nonsensical in terms of its message, “Do Your Thing, Behave Yourself.” Philosophically, I can’t reconcile the first half of this directive with the second, if you’re gonna have to behave yourself, what’s the point of doing your thing? It’s like one of my favorite lines from a 1950s instructional video, “Be yourself, but your best self.” The groove here is mega funky and ultimately that’s all that matters. This record even has a rare Maia instrumental “Amores,” super heavy, like a more smoothed out early Funkadelic track. While all the Maia records from 1970 – 1975 are very necessary, I’d put this one at the top.