Txai
Studio album by
Milton Nascimento
Released1990
LabelColumbia
Milton Nascimento chronology
Canção da America
(1990)		 Txai
(1990)		 Noticias do Brasil
(1992)

Txai is an album by the Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento, released in 1990 in Brazil and in 1991 in the United States.[1][2] It is dedicated to Aliança dos Povos da Floresta, a Brazilian environmental organization.[1] The album title translates roughly to "comrade" in the Kashinawa language.[3] Nascimento supported the album with a North American tour.[4] Txai peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's World Albums chart.[5] It was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best World Music Album" category.[6]

Production

The album was inspired by an 18-day expedition Nascimento made in the Amazon rainforest, along the Juruá River.[7][8] He included field recordings of indigenous Amazonian music, and ensured that royalties were sent to the appropriate tribes.[9][10] "Nozani Na" was composed by Heitor Villa-Lobos.[11] River Phoenix provided a spoken word piece on "Curi Curi".[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Calgary HeraldC[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[14]
Entertainment WeeklyB[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[15]

The Washington Post wrote that "nearly all of [the songs] are lushly produced and equipped with hummable melodies that often belie the grave concern for the equatorial region that Nascimento expresses through his Portuguese lyrics."[16] Entertainment Weekly determined that, "musically and conceptually, Txai wanders more than it should."[12] The Chicago Tribune deemed Txai "sort of a travelogue of the Amazon rainforest."[17] The Edmonton Journal concluded that Nascimento's "voice—all alone, in reverberating harmonies, polyphony, or in traditional chants—makes for the overwhelming feel of the record."[18] The Calgary Herald dismissed the album as "fake folk."[13] The San Antonio Express-News stated that the album "melds Nascimento's refined melodies with the living sounds of the rain forest and the musical and poetic images of its indigenous peoples."[19]

The Rolling Stone Album Guide called "Yanomami e Nós" "hauntingly emotional."[15]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Abertura" 
2."Txai" 
3."Baü Mētóro" 
4."Coisas de Vida (That's Life)" 
5."Hoeiepereiga" 
6."Estórias da Floresta (Stories of the Forest)" 
7."Yanomami e Nós – Pacto de Vida (Yanomami and Us – Pact of Life)" 
8."Awasi" 
9."A Tercera Margen do Rio (The Third Edge of the Water)" 
10."Benke" 
11."Sertão das Águas (Hinterlands of the Waters)" 
12."Que Virá dessa Escuridão? (What Will Come Out of This Darkness?)" 
13."Curi Curi" 
14."Nozani Na" 
15."Baridjumokô" 

References

  1. 1 2 Lannert, John (8 June 1990). "Rains Forests Comes First with Singer". Features Showtime. Sun Sentinel. p. 22.
  2. ↑ "Brazilian Beat". Onward. Austin American-Statesman. 21 Feb 1991. p. 17.
  3. ↑ Rohter, Larry (4 Apr 1991). "For Nascimento, a Leap to Mass Popularity". The New York Times. p. C15.
  4. ↑ Holden, Stephen (5 Apr 1991). "Sounds Around Town". The New York Times. p. C15.
  5. ↑ "Milton Nascimento". Billboard. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "Milton Nascimento". Recording Academy. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Knox, Paul (16 June 1990). "Music". The Globe and Mail. p. C3.
  8. ↑ Mackie, John (25 Apr 1991). "Songs from the heart speak in every language". Vancouver Sun. p. F5.
  9. ↑ Gonzalez, Fernando (4 Apr 1991). "Music with a Message". The Boston Globe.
  10. ↑ Preston, Julia (14 Apr 1991). "The Songs of the Forest". The Washington Post. p. G1.
  11. 1 2 "Txai Review by Richard S. Ginell". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Burr, Ty (April 12, 1991). "Txai". Entertainment Weekly.
  13. 1 2 Brennan, Brian (27 July 1991). "Jazz Discs". Calgary Herald. p. H7.
  14. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  15. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 495, 496.
  16. ↑ Joyce, Mike (12 Apr 1991). "Nascimento's 'Txai' Has Native Appeal". The Washington Post. p. N15.
  17. ↑ Kot, Greg (2 May 1991). "Rock really comes rolling into Chicago". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 1.
  18. ↑ Levesque, Roger (5 May 1991). "Amazon inspires master's spare work". Edmonton Journal. p. D4.
  19. ↑ Ragland, Cathy (23 Oct 1992). "Nascimento". San Antonio Express-News. p. 20H.
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