Gilberto Gil's Discography: 'All albums have a biography' - Part 4

Gilberto Gil was elected councilman in Salvador in 1988, and, during that time, he reconfigured his thoughts on human relationships and the modern world. Youngest to Flora, José was born in 1990. Still in the City Council, with all his children born and an established career, in 1992, he released Parabolicamará.

The title track raises a discussion of how past and present can live together in a flow, pointing towards the future. Tradition and modernity mix in the parabolic antenna and in the “camará”, so frequent in capoeira.

Now away from politics, in 1993, Gil joined Caetano in celebrating 26 years of tropicalism and 30 of friendship, with the album Tropicália 2.

That same year, record label PolyGram started releasing remastered CDs of all of Gil’s old albums which had been released by Philips as vinyl records (the audio is a recording of part of Caetano Veloso's rehearsal for the album tour).

In early 1994, Gil recorded the program Acústico MTV. The performance was recorded and later released worldwide by Warner Music, as an album and home video titled Gilberto Gil: Unplugged.

In 1997, Gil launched Quanta. Before reaching the final result, he consulted the physicist César Lattes to help him define the concepts of the album he would like to make. To which the physicist replied, in a letter:

“I ask that you allow me to say that the meaning that physics currently gives to some words that you used, with great happiness, but that in some cases seem to me poetic license: The 'infinitesimal' is a mathematical fiction; Quantum is the minimum of action (energy x time)..."

In 1998, the artist prepared the live album Quanta Gente Veio Ver. Released in the United States under the title Quanta Live, the album recorded at Teatro João Caetano, in Rio de Janeiro, won a Grammy in 1998.

That same year, Gil released the album O Sol de Oslo. Except for the songs Onde o Xaxado Tá and Oslodum, O Sol de Oslo was recorded in Norway four years earlier and shelved because it was considered a non-commercial album by the label.

In 1999, a box called Ensaio Geral was released containing the entire discography from the time when Gil was hired by PolyGram (today, Universal Music) and other rarities discovered by researcher Marcelo Fróes, the subject of Part 6 of this discobiography.

In 2000, Gil teamed up with Milton Nascimento to record Gil & Milton, an album in which the Bahian takes up his first instrument, the accordion.

In the same year, he immersed himself in the forró universe when recording the soundtrack of the film Eu, Tu, Eles, called As Canções de Eu Tu Eles.

The year 2001 ended up becoming the year of forró music. Gil recorded the São João Vivo album, then went back on stage for Arraial de Gilberto Gil, performed at the Aterro do Flamengo, in Rio, marking the beginning of filming for Andrucha Waddington’s documentary, Viva São João.

Finally, also in 2001, the Bahian took up his passion for reggae, embarking for Jamaica again, this time to record re-recordings or versions of Bob Marley in an album entirely focused on rhythm, Kaya N'Gan Daya.

The disc was released in 2002, also on DVD, bringing, in addition to images from a documentary made in Jamaica, the recording of a show in São Paulo produced especially to be included in this release.

Also in 2002, Gil released another box set directed by Marcelo Fróes: Palco came out with thirty CDs, containing his discography on the Warner label between 1975 and 2002, and including soundtracks.

In 2003, Gilberto Gil became Minister of Culture, but he did not leave the stage: the album dedicated to reggae won a version recorded at a concert. Kaya N'Gan Daya Ao Vivo was recorded in Rio de Janeiro, at Teatro João Caetano.

Continues on Part 5.