Rita Lee - Balacobaco (2003)

After a long row of opaque and uneven albums during the '80s and '90s, Rita Lee returned to form in 2000 with the critically acclaimed rock album 3001. The following year she recorded the equally impressive Aqui, Ali, em Qualquer Lugar, with its inventive renditions of Beatles' classics. With Balacobaco, Rita Lee has done it again, but this time with a sound very similar to the type of spirited pop that characterized her music in the early '80s. The opening track, "Sexo e Amor," was a big hit in Brazil and definitely has the potential to become a new Rita Lee classic. As has the catchy "As Minas de Sampa," (with witty lyrics about the girls of São Paulo) which has a touch of ska to it. The sweet and romantic "Já Te Falei" was written by Arnaldo Antunes, Marisa Monte, and Carlinhos Brown, and has the same luxurious and unmistakably Brazilian pop feel as the songs on that trio's own 2002 mega-success Tribalistas. "Hino Dos Malucos" is a funny rock song paying general homage to "mad" people, "A Gripe do Amor" is a glossy disco track and "Copacabana Boy" a cool, elegant pop tune. From start to finish, Balacobaco is clearly the work of an inspired Rita Lee.