Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private Archive

Sun-Sentinel, Sunday, August 19, 1990 JUDGMENT Gilberto Gil BRAZILIAN Gil pieces musical mosaic GILBERTO GIL: O Eterno Deus Mu Danca 'WEA After a six-year absence, Brazil's superstar singer-songerwriter returns with O Eterno Deus Mu Danca (The Eternal God of Change) sublimely subdued Brazilian- flavored pop offering far removed from the non-stop overdrive of his 1984 funkified reggae release Raca Humana (Human Race). Gil, 48, who was exiled between 1969-1972 as a political threat by Brazil's military government, still wraps his political thought in poignant, often sarcastic lyrics. The best example of Gil's biting wit is on De Bob Dylan a Bob Marley (From Bob Dylan to Bob Marley), a delicious samba offering that takes stab at Michael Jackson "because besides becoming white he became sad." Surprisingly, the weakest entry on the album is the derivative pop/funk title track, which features guest vocals from Gil's fellow musical titan Chico Buarque. The rest of the 10-song set showcases Gil's ability - typical of many Brazilian songwriters - to pen tunes filled with fragments of flowing poetic imagery strung together just loosely enough to allow the listener to paint a personalized aural mosaic. - JOHN LANNERT