The e xis TenTia l soul of

Tim maia

nobody Can liveforever

In the early 1970’s, Brazilian popular music was approaching a high water mark of creativity and popularity. Artists like Elis Regina, Chico Buarque and Milton Nascimento were delivering top-shelf Brazilian pop, while tropicalists Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Os Mutantes (see World Psychedelic Classics 1) were entertaining the college set with avant-garde fuzz-pop poetry. Enter Tim Maia with a massive cannonball into the pool. It was the only dive Tim knew. Standing just 5’7 (6’ with the Afro) Tim Maia was large, in charge and completely out of control. He was the personification of rock star excess, having lived through five marriages and at least six children, multiple prison sentences, voluminous drug habits and a stint in an UFO obsessed religious cult. Tim is also remembered as a fat, arrogant, overindulgent, barely tolerated, yet beloved man-child who died too young at the age of 55. Sebastião Rodrigues Maia was born in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, on September 28, 1942. He was the 18th in a family of 19 siblings. At six he started to contribute to the family income by delivering homemade food prepared by his mother, Maria Imaculada Maia. Tim learned to play guitar as a child and was 15 when he formed his first band. They called themselves The Sputniks and were notable for also including Roberto Carlos, a neighborhood pal of Tim’s who would later become one of Brazil’s biggest stars. In 1957, at the age of 17, the singer went to America. He left home with $12 in his pocket and no knowledge of English. He adopted the name ‘Jimmy’ and lied to the immigration authorities, saying that he was a student. Living with distant cousins in Tarrytown, New York, he worked odd jobs and committed petty crimes. Having a prodigious ear he quickly learned to speak, sing and write songs in English. He formed a small vocal group called The Ideals who even recorded one of Tim’s songs, “New Love.” Intent on starting a career in America, Tim never planned on going back to Brazil, but like a badass Forrest Gump, he also

had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a 1964 early pre-cursor to Spring Break’s modern debauchery, Tim was busted in Daytona, Florida for smoking pot in a stolen car and served six months in prison. U.S. Immigration caught up with him and he was deported. Back in Brazil, Tim told his friends that he hadn’t spoken a word of Portuguese for the last 3 years of his stay in the U.S. Not surprisingly, he was completely out of step with the prevailing mode of MPB and Tropicalia. Eventually he got a huge break when legendary singer Elis Regina fell in love with his song “These Are the Songs” which had been released as a single on the Fermata label. She invited him to sing a duet of it with her in Portuguese and English on her 1970 album “Em Pleno Verão”. This high profile debut forced people to take notice of the unknown singer /songwriter with a big voice, bigger afro and huge ambitions. Soon after, Philips signed Tim to a recording contract. In 1970 his first album spent 24 weeks on the charts, beginning a new chapter in Brazilian music. His close friend, Nelson Motta, who was the A & R rep who signed Tim to the Philips label remembers Tim’s initial impact on the scene:

He was something absolutely new. Until then, Brazilian music was divided into nationalist MPB Tropicalia and international rock. All really white and really English. Tim Maia changed the game, introducing modern black music from the U.S. to national pop music, linking funk and baião, bringing soul closer to bossa nova and opening windows and doors to new forms of music that were not Tropicalist, nor MPB, nor rock n’ roll: they were quintessentially Brazilian. They were Tim Maia.

Prior to the 1970’s, the average white, urban Brazilian imagined him or herself living in a harmonious melting pot of European, African and indigenous heritage, but racism, despite being distinctly different than in North America, still permeated Brazilian society. There were no shortages of prominent Afro-Brazilian musicians, singers or composers,

World Psychedelic cl assics 4

Nobody caN live Fore ver : The e xisTeNTial soul oF Tim maia

but black Brazilians were primarily typecast as nothing more than happy-go-lucky samba singers. Tim wasn’t the first Brazilian artist under the sway of North American black music: Wilson Simonal and Jorge Ben experimented and synthesized different soul and funk rhythms into their styles, but Tim was the first to completely flip the equation, embracing soul and funk music wholeheartedly, adding indigenous Brazilian touches if and when they fit. Tim’s first commercial records showed that a black Brazilian singer could assert his identity with confidence and power. His music helped to build the Black Rio movement, a new Afro-Brazilian music culture influenced by the U.S. civil rights struggle. As a result, Tim Maia’s soul music described a modern Black Brazilian identity that blew the doors off mass culture’s tightly circumscribed role for Afro-Brazilians. More importantly, as Tim basically says in “Let’s Have a Ball Tonight:” ‘Fuck politics! Let’s make love and party!’ According to Nelson Motta, the impact of his music was felt where it mattered the most: on the dance floor and in the bedroom:

With his thundering and sultry voice he enchanted and seduced legions of dancers and lovers along his explosive and turbulent career of 40 years. Sweetening and adding velvet touches to his voice, then downing the lights, he crooned his ballads and inspired hot romances and lots of sex, like a tropical Barry White (one of his idols, together with Isaac Hayes and James Brown). Like no other pop star — including most of the best comedians in the land — he made the people laugh. “I don’t burn, I don’t snort, and I don’t drink. My only problem is that sometimes I lie a little.” (Often said with a joint in hand). He was the funniest (and smartest) man in the Brazilian music scene. With hit after hit, he started his brilliant career, cheered by critics and adored by the big audiences, rich and poor, black and white, rockers and bossanovistas as well.

A funny thing happened when Tim Maia launched his career in Brazil: he kept on writing and recording songs in English. Every album (all titled Tim Maia with only the copyright years to differentiate) included at least one, if not a few songs in English. Obviously, Tim “Jimmy” Maia’s teenage dreams of international soul success didn’t die when he was deported from the U.S.

As Motta notes:

He always dreamed of coming back to America to be successful. But, in Brazil none of his songs in English, not even “These Are the Songs” were hits. Critics and musicians loved it, but nobody else cared. The songs never played on the radio and he rarely sang them in his shows. He had so many huge hits in Portuguese, there was no point in any one listening to songs in English. He always did whatever he wanted, so the record label people, who were basically afraid of him, would take whatever he gave them. In 1971, fresh from the big hit of his first album, Tim went to London and spoiled himself. He smoked, inhaled, drank, traveled on acid, listened to music, argued with his wife and returned to Brazil with 200 doses of LSD to distribute amongst his friends. As soon as he arrived, he went to (recording company) Philips’ offices, which he called “Flips,” where he visited various departments, beginning with those he considered most “square,” like the accounting and legal departments, where he acknowledged the boss and repeated the same introduction, in a calm and friendly voice:

“This here is LSD, which will open your mind, improve your life, and make you a better and happier person. It’s very simple: there are no side effects. It is not addictive and only does good. You take it like this . . . “ He would place the acid in his mouth, swallow it and leave another at the front desk. Since he was one of the best-selling artists for the company, everyone thought it humorous. In the production and journalism departments, the gifts were a success. Even André Midani, the president of the company, received his. Tim returned home in his jeep, certain that he had saved “Flips’” soul.

It’s hard to believe, considering the tossed off brilliance of his songs, that Tim Maia did not care much for lyrics (or lyricists for that matter). Motta says, “Tim would ‘fill-up’ the music with good sounding words and that was that.” His English lyrics were so spontaneous and off the cuff that they sound more like Tim is having a conversation, with whomever was around, about his own tumultuous life.

One line that seems to sum up his restless feelings after his initial success is “I am so groovy now and I don’t care.” Considering Tim’s sense of largess, not to mention his largeness, it’s not surprising he would quickly grow jaded and continued to search for new sensations. In 1974, touched by who knows what, he converted to a religious sect, the cult of Racional Engergy. The sect was based in the faith that we are perfect beings from a distant planet, exiled on Earth to suffer but able to purify through the reading of a single book and to finally be rescued by flying saucers of our original home. It was a perfect fit for someone like Tim. At the moment of his illumination, he was finishing his fifth solo album with what would later become known as the Vitória Régia Band, the band that would be with him the rest of his life, almost. When he joined the cult, he dressed in white, shaved his ever-present facial hair, he quit alcohol, drugs and red meat and always kept a strange book in-hand. He would say things that, for him, were completely out of character, like “Pot and booze are the devil’s stuff.” He decided that all the songs he recorded and sang would be in celebration of his new faith in the Superior Rational from outer space. He rewrote the lyrics and recorded the funky devotional albums Tim Maia Racional I (1974) and II (1975). Philips had no interest in these bizarre and uncommercial songs, but that did not stop Tim Maia. Always a pioneer, he started the first independent music label in Brazil, called Seroma, and arranged for the albums to be produced and distributed by his company. The label name was taken from his initials: S E bastiao RO drigues M A ia. Having given up smoking and drinking, he had lost a lot of weight and his voice had never been so clean and strong. His singing on the Racional albums is unrivaled, but to most the lyrics didn’t make any sense. Radio refused to play the Racional albums, which were mostly purchased by fellow cult members. He left the sect one year later, broke, disillusioned and fed up with the hypocrisy of the cult leader. He ordered the destruction of all the Racional recordings and forbade anyone to record the songs. As someone who prided himself on being street smart and prison wise, Tim may have felt a bit ashamed of having been duped by a charlatan in a white robe preaching about UFOs. On his first post-Racional album Tim Maia 1976, Tim made sure to include a couple of ‘answer’ songs, possibly to assure fans that he was no longer under the sway of extra-terrestrials.

Leaving Racionalism behind, Tim once again embraced the earthy reality of life. In “Nobody Can Live Forever,” he confronts human loneliness (“Nobody will know how I feel”) alongside the absence of God (“There’s no heaven / there’s no god / there’s no devil / there’s no hell), and concludes with existential resolve. “Play your music,” he chants. As his career carried on through the 70s, 80s and 90s Tim became more like the folkloric characters he liked to sing about — the malandros — someone you had to be careful about trusting. He was famous for not showing up at his own shows and for sometimes appearing so drunk that he was not able to perform. When he did show up, he would terrorize the sound guy with demands for “More Bass! More Treble! More Volume! More EVERYTHING!” Four months before his death, at his own cost, he played a chaotic show at a hotel lounge in Miami attended by 50 Brazilian nuts. He then filmed a fabulous road trip from Miami to New York, including the Daytona pen, New York City and Tarrytown, all the places he visited 40 years earlier, talking to people along the way. It was a like a wrap-up of his unfinished history. He died on March 15, 1998, at the age of 55. “I am bicão,” he used to say about himself, which is slang for people who go to a party without an invitation. He may have crashed the party, but he never failed to warm it back to new levels of fun and decadence.

— Allen Thayer, Paul Heck and Nelson Motta

1. imuNiz ação racioNal (Que belez a)

“hoW beauTiFul (raTioNal immuNizaTioN)”

Que beleza é sentir a naturezaTer certeza pra onde vai e de onde vemQue beleza é vir da purezaE sem medo distinguir o mal e o bem

oo, oo, oo que beleza (Repeat × 2)

Que beleza é saber seu nomeSua origem, seu passado e seu futuroQue beleza é conhecer o desencantoE ver tudo bem mais claro no escuro

oo, oo, oo que beleza (Repeat × 2)

Abra a portaE vá entrando Felicidade vai brilhar no mundo

Que beleza (Repeat × 4)

How beautiful to feel natureTo know where you’re going and where you’ve beenHow beautiful to come from purityAnd without fear of knowing good from bad

Ooh, ooh, ohh, how beautiful (Repeat × 2)

How beautiful to know your nameYour origin, your past and your futureHow beautiful to face the disenchantmentAnd to be able to see more clearly in the dark

Ooh, ooh, ohh, how beautiful (Repeat × 2)

Open the doorAnd come on inHappiness will brighten the world

How beautiful (Repeat × 4)

Written by Tim Maia Published by Seroma From Tim Maia, Racional Vol. 1 1974 (Seroma) Produced by Joáo Marcello, Boscoli, André Szajman, and Cláudio SzajmanTim Maia (vocals)Paulinho Guitarra (guitar, bass)Paulinho Trompete (trumpet)Oberdan Magalhães (saxophone)Robson Jorge (electric organ, piano, keyboard)Serginho Trombone (piano)Beto Cajueiro (bass)Robério Rafael (drums)Luiz Carlos (drums)

2 . le T ’s have a ball ToNighT

There are so many politiciansTrying hard to find the wayAnd peace is not so farAnd yet, it seems that nobody can see that

Love is all that you’re needingLove is all that you have to doLove is really the answerWhy waste time with war?

There are so many conversationsMeeting parties and cocktailsTo preserve peace on earthBut they never find the wayYou know why?

Love is really the answerThis, you have to agreeIt will be celebrationWhen all people be free

And if you keep doing things like thatPeace gonna be farDeep and overFar from overThere are so many politiciansTrying hard to find the wayTo preserve peace on earthBut they never found the wayDo you know why?

There are so many politiciansTrying hard to find the wayAnd peace is not so farAnd yet, it seems that nobody can see that

Love is all that you’re needingLove is all that you have to doLove is really the answerWhy waste time with war?

There are so many conversationsMeeting parties and cocktailsTo preserve peace on earthBut they never find the wayYou know why?

Love is really the answerThis, you have to agreeIt will be celebrationWhen all people be free

And if you keep doing things like thatPeace gonna be farDeep and overFar from over

There are so many people tryingTo preserve peace on earthIt seems that nobody can seeBut yet it’s not so difficult to seeIt’s fundamental necessary to have love in your lifeAll the people living togetherIt’s going to be like 4th of JulyLet’s have a ball tonight (Repeat × 3)

Written by Tim Maia, ReginaldoFrom Tim Maia 1978 (Seroma)Produced and arranged by Tim MaiaTim Maia (vocals, drums, congas, percussion)Paulo Ricardo (6 and 12 string guitars, vocals) Reginaldo Francisco (piano, organ, harp, synthesizer, vocals)Carlos Simoes (bass)

O caminho do bem (Repeat × 3)

Já iniciouEstá acontecendoFase racionalNão estou sabendo

O caminho do bem (leia logo, saiba logo)O caminho do bem (está na hora, é agora)O caminho do bem (acredite, não duvide)O caminho do bem

O caminho do bem é um só caminho O caminho do bem é para todos O caminho do bem é racional O caminho do bem (Repeat × 4)

Pode aguardarQue o mundo inteiroLogo saberáNo Brasil primeiro

O caminho do bem (leia logo, saiba logo)O caminho do bem (está na hora, é agora)O caminho do bem (acredite, não duvide)O caminho do bem (Repeat × 4)Vida modesta e fecundaAmor de um doce paraísoReino prepotencial racionalAonde viver sempre o bem, e não o mal

Leia logo, saiba logoEstá na hora, é agoraAcredite, não duvideDo que já aconteceu

Já aconteceuEstá acontecendoFase racionalNão estou sabendo

O caminho do bem (leia logo, saiba logo)O caminho do bem (está na hora, é agora)O caminho do bem (acredite, não duvide)O caminho do bem

Numa natureza onde não existe regulagem, não pode existir o bem O bem só pode ser encontrado na imunização racional

O caminho do bem (Repeat × 4)

Pode aguardarQue o mundo inteiroLogo saberáNo Brasil primeiro

O caminho do bem (Repeat × 2)

3. o camiNho do bem “ The good PaTh”

The good path (Repeat × 3)

It’s already begunIt’s happeningRational phaseI don’t know

The good path (read it right away, you’ll get it right away)The good path (it’s time, it’s now)The good path (believe it, don’t doubt it)The good path

The good path is the only pathThe good path is for allThe good path is rationalThe good path (Repeat × 4)

You can be sureThat the whole worldWill soon understandHas already come to Brazil

The good path (read it right away, you’ll get it right away)The good path (it’s time, it’s now)The good path (believe it, don’t doubt it)The good path (Repeat × 4)

A modest and fertile lifeLove of a sweet paradiseThe superior rational kingdomWhere you live always with the good and never the bad

Read it right away, you’ll get it right awayIt’s time, it’s nowBelieve it, don’t doubt itWhat has already happened

It’s already begunIt’s happeningRational phaseI don’t know

The good path (read it right away, you’ll get it right away)The good path (it’s time, it’s now)The good path (believe it, don’t doubt it)The good path

In a natural state where there are no rulesGood cannot existGood can only be found in the rational immunization

The good path (Repeat × 4)

You can be sureThat the whole worldWill soon understandBrazil will be the first

The good path (Repeat × 2)

Written by Tim Maia Published by Arlequim From Racional Vol. 2 1975 (Seroma)Produced by Joáo Marcello, Boscoli, André Szajman, and Cláudio SzajmanTim Maia (vocals)Paulinho Guitarra (guitar, bass)Paulinho Trompete (trumpet)Oberdan Magalhães (saxophone)Serginho Trombone (piano)Robson Jorge (electric organ, piano and keyboard)Beto Cajueiro (bass)Robério Rafael (drums)Luiz Carlos (drums)

4 . el a ParTiu“she’s goNe”

Ela partiuPartiu e nunca mais voltouEla sumiu, sumiu e nunca mais voltou

Se souberem onde ela estáDigam-me e vou lá buscá-laPelo menos telefone em seu nomeMe dê uma dica, uma pista, insista

Ei! e nunca mais voltouEla sumiu, sumiu e nunca mais voltou

Ela partiu, partiuE nunca mais voltouSe eu soubesse onde ela foi iria atrásMas não sei mais nem direçãoVárias noites que eu não durmo um segundoEstou cansadoMagoado exaustoE nunca mais voltou

She’s goneGone and she hasn’t come backShe disappeared, disappeared and hasn’t come back

If you know where she isTell me and I’ll go and find herAt least call me up on her behalfGive me a hint, a clue, I’m begging you

She’s goneGone and she hasn’t come back

She’s gone, goneAnd she hasn’t come backShe disappeared, disappeared and will never come backIf I knew where she went, I’d go look for herBut I don’t know which way to turnSo many nights that I can’t sleep even for a secondI’m tiredHurt, exhaustedAnd she hasn’t come back

Written by Tim Maia and Beto Çajueiro Published by SeromaFrom the Seroma 45

5. Quer Queir a , Quer Não Queir a“like iT or NoT”

Queira ou nao queiraTodos vao lerO Universo Em DesencantoQue são mensagens de um lugar superior

E o que e preciso e muito simplesLer e relerPro seu sucesso aqui na terraAte o tempo da materia terminar

Viva a cultura racionalLinda cultura transcendental

Nao e historia, nao e doutrinaNao e ciencia, seita ou religiaoE coisa limpa, e coisa puraPara o caminho da eterna salvacao Viva a cultura racionalLinda cultura transcendental

Estando imune da energia AnimalTodo o vivente fica ligadoA sua origem o supermundo racional

De la recebe o que e precisoTodo equilibrio toda orientacaoPara que tudo, tudo de certoEm sua casa, seu trabalho ou conducao

Mas e preciso que nao se esquecaMelhor passeio e ter o livro na maoPara que possa ficar mais pertoO seu transporte para a eterna salvacao

Like it or notEveryone will readThe Universe in DisenchantmentIt holds messages from a superior place

What you need is very simpleRead and rereadFor your success here on earthUntil the time when matter ceases to exist

Long live Rational CultureBeautiful transcendental culture

It’s not history, it’s not doctrineIt’s not science, cult or religionIt’s a clean thing, a pure thingFor your journey to eternal salvation

Long live Rational CultureBeautiful transcendental culture

We are immune to animal energyAll living things are connectedTo your origin in the rational Super World

From there we receive what we needAll equilibrium, all orientationSo that everything, everything is perfectIn your house, your work or your travels

But what you cannot forget isThe best way to go is with the book in handSo that you can always stay closeTo your path to eternal salvation

Written by Tim MaiaPublished by SeromaFrom Racional Vol. 2 1975 (Seroma)Produced by Joáo Marcello, Boscoli, André Szajman, and Cláudio SzajmanTim Maia (vocals)Paulinho Guitarra (guitar, bass)Paulinho Trompete (trumpet)Oberdan Magalhães (saxophone)Serginho Trombone (piano)Robson Jorge (electric organ, piano, keyboard)Beto Cajueiro (bass)Robério Rafael (drums)Luiz Carlos (drums)

6. broTher FaTher moTher sisTer

Brother, every time I call you home you are dancingSister, please don´t put your children on initiation‘Cause there is no heavenThere is no God‘Cause there is no devilThere is no hell

Mother, every time I call you home you are in churchFather, every time I call you home you are sayingTrue devotion is the wayWake up AfricaNow today

Sister, every time I call you home you are shoppingFather, every time I call you home you are drinkingToo many brothers in the moodAnd some are dancing rock and roll

Everybody is the same, everybody is the sameEverybody is the same, everybody is the sameEverybody has a heart and feels the painEverybody is the sameChinese, Japanese, Africans, Americans, Canadian, RussiansSpanish people, Italian people, HungariansEverybody is the sameGermans, everybody is the sameYou are not better than meAnd I am not better than youEverybody is the sameEverybody is the same

Written by Tim Maia Published by Seroma (Sicam)From Tim Maia 1976 (Polydor Phonogram)Tim Maia (vocals, drums, guitar, percussion, flute)Paulo Ricardo (guitar solos, percussion, vocals)Paulinho Roquete (rhythm guitar)José Maurício (rhythm guitar)Reginaldo Francisco (keyboard, vocals)Carlos Simões (bass)Antonio Pedro (funky bass machine, percussion, vocals)Paulinho Batera (percussion, drums)Antonio Claudio, Luis Endes, Jr., Gastão Lamounier (additional vocals)Arrangements by Tim MaiaString Arrangements by Miguel CidrasString and Horns/Woodwinds Arrangements by Arthur Verocai

7. do leme ao PoNTal“From leme To PoNTal”

Do Leme ao PontalNao há nada igualDo Leme ao PontalNao há nada igual

Sem falar no CalabouçoFlamengo, Botafogo,Urca, Maracana.

Do Leme ao PontalNao há nada igual Do Leme ao PontalNao há nada igual

Do leme ao PontalNão há nada igualDo leme ao PontalDo leme ao PontalNão há nada igual no mundoSem contar com Calabouço, Flamengo BotafogoUrca Praia VermelhaDo Leme ao PontalNão há nada igual

From Leme to Pontal There’s no place like RioFrom Leme to PontalThere’s no place like Rio

Not to mention Calabouço,Flamengo, Botafogo,Urca, Maracana

From Leme to Pontal There’s no place like RioFrom Leme to PontalThere’s no place like Rio

From Leme to Pontal There’s no place like RioFrom Leme to PontalFrom Leme to Pontal There’s no place like Rio in the worldNot to mention Calabouço, Flamengo, Botafogo,Urca, Praia VermelhaFrom Leme to PontalThere’s no place like Rio

Drink a guaraná, cashew juice,Guava jam for dessert

Written by Tim MaiaPublished by SeromaFrom the Seroma 45

8. Nobody caN live Fore ver

One thing you have to agree with meThat nothing’s for sure, nothing’s for sureNobody can live foreverAnd everybody is the same

Here we go, how we doin man?What’s happenin’?Alright, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Sooner or later, sooner or laterYou’re gonna understand that

Here we go

Nobody can live foreverNobody will know how I feelNobody can give you the answersNobody can play but for real

Nobody can live foreverNobody will know how I feelNobody can give you the answersNobody can play but for real

There’s no GodThere’s no heavenThere’s no devilThere’s no hell

There’s no GodThere’s no heavenThere’s no devilThere’s no hell

Don’t you worry! (Don’t you worry)

(Repeat × 3)

Play your music! (Play your music)

(Repeat × 4)

Written by Tim MaiaPublished by Seroma (Sicam)From Tim Maia 1976 (Polydor Phonogram)Tim Maia (vocals, drums, guitar, percussion, flute)Paulo Ricardo (guitar solos, percussion, vocals)Paulinho Roquete (rhythm guitar)José Maurício (rhythm guitar)Reginaldo Francisco (keyboards, vocals)Carlos Simões (bass)Antonio Pedro (funky bass machine, percussion, vocals)Paulinho Batera (percussion, drums)Antonio Claudio, Luis Endes Jr., Gastão Lamounier (additional vocals)Arrangement by Tim MaiaString Arrangement by Miguel CidrasString and Horns/Woodwinds Arrangement by Arthur Verocai

9. i doN’ T care (Não Quero Nem saber )

You leave him, leave him and he’ll dieBut think it, think it if you’re smart

I don’t need youI don’t have to plead youYou know my nameWell, I feel the sameI am so groovy nowAnd I don’t care

You know who will loseI’m not a foolAnd if you think I amWell, I feel the sameI am so groovy nowAnd I don’t care

I don’t careI don’t careI don’t care

I just don’t careAbout anything at allI just do what I feel like doingAnd I feel

I don’t careI just don’t care

Come on

I don’t care

I wanna do itI don’t give a damn about anything at all I just wanna do

Written by Tim MaiaPublished by MusiclaveFrom Tim Maia 1971 (Polydor Phonogram) Produced by Tim MaiaTim Maia (vocals)Capacete (bass)Paulinho (drums)Chacal (percussion)Hyldon (backing guitar)Paulo (lead guitar)Tim (acoustic guitar)Peter (organ, accordion)Pinduca (vibraphone) Waldir (first brass player)Darcy (second brass player)Zé Bodega (tenor saxophone)Aurino (baritone saxophone)Zeca and Silvio (trombone)Homero Gelmini – “Spala” (violin)Marcelo Pompeu Filho (violin)Quinidio Faustino Teixeira (violin)Gentil Dias (violin)Natércia Teixeira da Silva (violin)Adolpho Pissarenko (violin)Pesach Nisembau (violin)Otávio Canabrava Waladares (violin)Octávio Miranda Ilha (violin)Murillo da Silva Lourdes (viola)Nelson de Macêdo (viola)Ana Bezerra de Mello Devos (cello)Alceu de Almeida Reis (cello)

10. bom seNso“good seNse”

Já virei calçada maltratadaE na virada quase nadaMe restou a curtiçãoJá rodei o mundo quase mudoNo entanto num segundoEste livro veio à mão

Já senti saudadeJá fiz muita coisa erradaJá pedi ajudaJá dormi na ruaMas lendo atingi o bom senso

Já virei calçada maltratadaE na virada quase nadaMe restou a curtiçãoJá rodei o mundo quase mudoNo entanto num segundoEste livro veio à mão

Já senti saudadeJá fiz muita coisa erradaJá pedi ajudaJá dormi na ruaMas lendo atingi o bom sensoMas lendo atingi o bom sensoA imunização racional

Leia o livro Universo em Desencanto

Nao perca tempoLeia o livro Universo em Desencanto

I’ve been down in the gutter beaten and abused And turned the corner to find nothing at allLeft with only fun and games I’ve traveled the world nearly speechlessBut then all of a suddenThis book fell in my hands

I’ve had the bluesI’ve made so many mistakesI’ve asked for helpI’ve slept in the streetBut reading I’m grasping the good senseBut reading I’m grasping the good senseThe rational immunization

Read the book, The Universe in Disenchantment

Don’t waste timeRead the book, The Universe in Disenchantment

Written by Tim Maia Published by Arlequim From Racional Vol. 1 1974 (Seroma)Produced by Joáo Marcello, Boscoli, André Szajman, and Cláudio SzajmanTim Maia (vocals)Paulinho Trompete (trumpet)Paulinho Guitarra (guitar, bass)Oberdan Magalhães (saxophone)Serginho Trombone (piano)Robson Jorge (electric organ, piano, keyboard)Beto Cajueiro (bass)Robério Rafael (drums) Luiz Carlos (drums)

Every man deserves a womanEvery woman deserves a manSo, I’m about to askI have felt this strange vibrationAnd I had a lot of patienceBut where is my other half?Can’t somebody say?Can’t somebody tell I love her?Can’t you hear my prayer?Many, many days, I wonderI wonder why she left meI wonder why she left meI wonder why, I wonder whyI wonder why she left me, I wonder whyI wonder why she left me

Written by Tim MaiaPublished by Seroma (Sicam)From Tim Maia 1972 (Polydor Phonogram)Produced by Tim MaiaTim Maia (vocals, guitar)Luis Carlos (drums) Rubens (bass) Salvador (piano)Pedrinho (organ) Garoto (vibrafone)Paulinho (guitar)Chacal, Hermes and Ariovaldo (tumba, conga, percussion)Oberdan (sax, flute)Serginho (trombone)Waldir and Barrosinho (horns)Arranged by Waldir and Barrosinho

11. Where is my oTher hal F ?

Open letters when you’re down and out, waiting for newsHoping high and let a lot of things, happen to doFeel so lonely but I don’t know why, I’m gonna tryWant somebody to be on my side, and I’m gonna try

I’m gonna try, try, try, oh, tryTry it over and over and over, over againTry, try, try, oh, tryTry it over and over and over, over again

(Verse and chorus repeat)

Written by Tim Maia Published by Vitale From Tim Maia 1973 (Polydor Phonogram)Produced by Tim MaiaTim Maia (vocals)Pedrinho (organ)Cidinho (piano)Barbosa (bass)Myro (drums)

12 . over agaiN

14 . you doN’ T kNoW WhaT i kNoW

Tim Maia (vocals)

13 . The daNce is over

The dance is overFace realityForget the sorrows,There’s a lot to liveHave a ballWhile you canThere’s a lot to romance

(Repeat × 4)

Written by Tim Maia, Hyldon, ReginaldoPublished by Seroma/Direto (Sicam) From Tim Maia 1976 (Polydor Phonogram)Tim Maia (vocals, drums, guitar, percussion, flute)Paulo Ricardo (guitar solos, percussion, vocals)Paulinho Roquete (rhythm guitar)José Maurício (rhythm guitar)Reginaldo Francisco (keyboard, vocals)Carlos Simões (bass)Antonio Pedro (funky bass machine, percussion, vocals)Paulinho Batera (percussion, drums)Antonio Claudio, Luis Endes Jr., Gastão Lamounier (additional vocals)Arrangement by Tim MaiaString Arrangement by Miguel CidrasString and Horns/Woodwinds Arrangement by Arthur Verocai

15. r aTioNal culTure

We are gonna rule the worldDon’t you know, don’t you knowWe are gonna rule the worldDon’t you know, don’t you knowWe’re gonna put it together(Want to put it together)We’re gonna put it together(Want to put it together)

(Repeat × 4)

Listen you all, we’re gonna tell you the most important thing That you ever heard in your lifeYou never heard that beforeWe came from a super worldWorld of rational energyAnd we live in an anti-worldWorld of animals’ energyRead the book, the only book, the book of GodUniverse in DisenchantmentAnd you’re gonna know the truth

Alright man, play that guitar, come on, do it

We are gonna rule the worldDon’t you know, don’t you knowWe are gonna rule the worldDon’t you know, don’t you knowWe’re gonna put it together(Want to put it together)We’re gonna put it together(Want to put it together)

(Repeat × 4)

So listen, once more, don’t forgetRead the book, the only book, the book of GodUniverse in Disenchantment

Don’t waste your time, don’t waste your timeRead the book, Universe in DisenchantmentAnd you’re gonna know the truth

We are gonna rule the worldDon’t you know, don’t you know

We’re gonna put it together(Want to put it together)We’re gonna put it together(Want to put it together)

(Repeat × 4)

Written by Tim MaiaPublished by ArlequimFrom Racional Vol. 1 1974 (Seroma)Produced by Joáo Marcello, Boscoli, André Szajman, and Cláudio SzajmanTim Maia (vocals)Paulinho Guitarra (guitar, bass)Paulinho Trompete (trumpet)Oberdan Magalhães (saxophone)Robson Jorge (electric organ, piano, keyboard)Serginho Trombone (piano)Beto Cajueiro (bass)Robério Rafael (drums)Luiz Carlos (drums)

Tim Maia’s Polygram/Universal tracks are courtesy of Universal Music Latino and Universal Music Brazil, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ Universal Music Brazil, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc., Av. Erico Verissimo, 918, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 22621-180. Tim Maia’s Seroma tracks are courtesy of the Estate of Tim Maia.

We’ve been working on this album for 10 years! A lot of people helped make this album possible. From Beco Dranoff who started talking to Tim Maia’s family for us ten years ago and was the one who originally told Paul Heck about the Racional albums to Allen Thayer who suggested a lot of great tracks we hadn’t considered to the DJ in Williamsburg, Ross1, who loaned us an album to master from even though we had never met, to Greg Cassis who has loved and spins Brazilian music for years and was able to provide clean copies of some tracks to Nelson Motta who signed Tim Maia to Polygram in the 1970’s and would write us the most amazing letters about him to Denise Romano at Universal Brazil and to the wonderful Marcelo Goyanes and Neil Jacobs who I have discussed, cajoled and every other adjective to help make this music you are encountering able to come out through our label enterprise. And most importantly thanks to Carmelo Maia, Tim’s only legal heir, for allowing this album to finally see the light of day.

Lyrics reprinted by permission.All rights reserved. All tracks copyright control unless otherwise noted.

For more information, go to: www.timmaia.comwww.luakabop.com

Compiled by: Paul Heck

Cover design by: Rodrigo Corral

Cover Illustration by: Sam Weber

Portuguese lyric translations by: Allen ThayerProject coordination by: Tara AndersMastered by: Scott HullExecutive Produced by: Yale Evelev

Que beleza 3:29

leT’s have a ball ToNighT 5:11

o camiNho do bem 6:08

ela ParTiu 4:40

Quer Queira, Quer Não Queira 4:52

broTher FaTher moTher sisTer 3:21

do leme ao PoNTal 3:14

Nobody caN live Forever 2:54

i doN’T care 2:57

bom seNso 5:09

Where is my oTher halF 4:02

over agaiN 3:23

The daNce is over 2:32

you doN´T kNoW WhaT i kNoW 0:34

raTioNal culTure 12:19

& 2012 Luaka Bop, Inc., 250 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10107. All rights reserved. Warning: Unauthorized reproduction of this recording is prohibited by federal law and subject to criminal prosecution.

Tim Maia, THE Brazilian Funk Soul Godfather was the real thing. His 1970 debut album introduced his audacious talent, as well as North American soul and funk musical influences, forever changing Brazilian popular music. His legendary appetites sought out carnal AND spiritual fulfillment in equal measure. He bought 100 hits of LSD and handed them out to the staff of his record label. At the height of his mid-70s success he joined the Cult of Racional Energy; watching for space-ships while wearing only white clothes and playing only white instruments! Yet the two albums he record for the Cult are among his best. His songs search for love, and they dig into the existential. His own lyrics say it best: “I am so groovy now and I don’t care!”

Compiled by: Paul Heck Executive Produced by: Yale Evelev

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