Brazilian soul has never really gotten its due outside of Brazil, and quite frankly it's hard to see why (other than the obvious language barrier that basically insulates most American/British listeners from most of the world's music). Tim Maia, rest his soul, is viewed as one of Brazilian music's most benevolent gods, despite the fact that he basically repackaged American rhythm and blues for a Portuguese-speaking audience, while Hyldon ruled the Brazilian charts during the 70's with his sensuous soul-inspired croon. Here we must introduce the third figure in our triumvirate of Brazilian soul, Cassiano. Cassiano is certainly the least well-known of the three Brazilian soul godfathers, despite his run of hits in the early 70's. Apresentamos Nosso Cassiano, however, stands its own against even the finest American smooth soul albums of the era. There are echoes here of everything from What's Going On to Philadelphia International Records, with a healthy smattering of Al Green's boss make-out jams. But Cassiano's real strength lies in his synthesis skills; everything here sounds distinctly Brazilian. There are aspects of Wilson Simonal's smooth samba and Jorge Ben's Afro-Brazilian funk fusion, but tracks like "Castical" are grandiose experiments in pop that would do David Axelrod (or Brazilian counterpart Arthur Verocai) very proud. "O Vale", a syrupy ballad draped over layers of mesmerizing electric keyboards, is perhaps the album's foremost highlight, but the laid-back funk of "Calçada", with its Stevie Wonder-esque frills, and "Me Chame Atenção", with production that sounds like a wonderful collaboration between Isaac Hayes and Willie Mitchell, are both timeless examples of Brazilian soul at its most thrilling and unique.
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