Tim Maia: Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia (2LP) [LUAKA BOP]

Why you'll love it

Tim Maia was the king of Brazilian soul and funk, and this 15-song Luaka Bop collection gathers his deepest, strangest and grooviest '70s recordings, including songs from his legendary Racional period.

This edition

• 2LP set, 15 tracks
• Luaka Bop pressing
• World Psychedelic Classics 4

About the album

Tim Maia was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1942, spent his late teens in the US soaking up soul and doo-wop, and came home to Brazil with a new sound: American soul and funk mixed with samba and baião, sung in Portuguese and English. By the 1970s he was a huge star and a leading figure of the Black Rio movement, famous for his voice and his larger-than-life personality.

In the mid '70s he joined a UFO-minded cult called Rational Culture and made a pair of deeply spiritual, wildly funky albums that he later disowned, and which became some of the most sought-after records in Brazil. Luaka Bop's collection draws on that period and the albums around it: "Que Beleza" and "Ela Partiu" are pure joy, "Nobody Can Live Forever" and "Rational Culture" are hypnotic, and "Do Leme ao Pontal" is a Rio beach anthem. Essential listening for anyone who loves soul.

Also at Kops: more Tim Maia on vinyl · browse World

Tracklist

Listen

On Luaka Bop, a compilation first out in 2012.