FORRÓ LUNAR

Alceu Valença won't let go of the electricity even when the format is unpluggged as in this Forró Lunar. The one-of-a-kind MPB artist, godfather of the forrock, he does here what seems like a sequel to his 1998 album, Forró de Todos os Tempos. But that's not quite true. Regardless of the typical forró instruments (zabumba and sanfona) this is one unpredictable disc - in fact, the first career album since Maracatus, Batuques e Ladeiras, from 1994. His compositions are all over Forró Lunar - good songs with simple and clean arrangements. The title track is a lot of fun. Two xotes (slightly on the reggae realms) stand out: Sonhei de Cara and Xote Delicado. Strings embellish the pretty Quando Fugias de Mim, while Noite de São João is good to rock the party. Pé de Rosa, Balalaica and Vô Embolá (Zeca Baleiro) feature smart lyrics in beautiful poetries. It is also good to remember that Alceu has always recorded forró; he didn't just catch the train before it left town. (Silvio Essinger)