Soares, Elza – “Deus E Mulher” – [Deck Disc]

Devlyn   7/25/2019   CD, International

Brazilian Samba legend Elza Soares (pronounced So-Ar-Ez) was married at 12. Lost her first two kids to malnutrition. Then she signed a recording contract in 1954 and has never looked back. She just turned 80, but like James Brown you could not tell that by the wall of sound that escapes from her throat. She is still a big enough star in Brazil that they chose her as one of the opening acts for the recent Rio Olympics.

The current incarnation of Soares’ music is dubbed dirty samba, an in-your-face combination of punk rock rage, with taut Afro-Brazilian backing rhythms coming from her large band of 30 somethings. Soares vocal delivery is percussive, hip hop-like, with an occasional gargle or moan to punctuate the chorus. All the while various drums bang, guitars soar and synthesizers wail out energetic Samba beats.

This album is only available in the States as digital download, so we got the CD from Brazil. So I had a Brazilian relative provide me with the English translation of titles I provide above. She tells me the stories that the songs tell are just as harsh and in-your-face as the vocal delivery. Lots of tales of men treating women badly and women pushing back just as hard. Track 3 Banho” (Shower), tells of various bodies of water churning up in response to life’s oh-so-many injustices. In track two, it is Exú, an Afro Brazilian deity that is doing his women wrong