Mythical discs by Tim Maia
Two LPs recorded in the 70s for the sect Universo em Desencanto become cult objects in Brazil and England
Silvio Essinger
18/10/2000
What do a Rio de Janeiro rapper and a former race driver’s son have in common? Marcelo D2, Planet Hemp vocalist, and Paul Stewart, Jackie Stweart’s son are some of Tim Maia’s fans who have paid a small fortune for one of the few available copies of the two volumes of Tim Maia Racional. Released in 1975 and 1976 (by his own label, Seroma) during an obscure phase of the singer, the albums have not yet been put out on CD, but can be found in second-hand record stores for about U$ 100. Both discs are delicious, and reflect the time when Tim got heavily into the teachings of the sect Universo em Desencanto.
The lyrics that promoted the "Rational" philosophy are confusing and a bit bizarre, but go unnoticed if compared to Tim’s musical talent, which was peaking. There’s prime quality funk and soul in tracks like Imunização Racional (Que Beleza), Rational Culture, Bom Senso, You Don’t Know What I Know, (all of them in Volume 1), and Quer Queira Quer Não Queira and Que Legal, in Volume 2.
Extraterrestrial motel
Little is known about why a character like Tim Maia, who always fomented his reputation as a rebel, started singing verses like "I no longer depend on madness/Now I know what to do/ Now I know a new truth/ I’m living with the pleasure/Of being alive" (excerpts from the track Paz Interior, or Peace of Mind). During his messianic period, which lasted for about 6 months, Maia gave up drug use and had a son (Carmelo Maia), but he also realized that he wouldn’t be chatting with beings from other planets anytime soon – which was his goal as he joined the sect.
"When I got there, I realized that the whole thing was about African-Brazilian religions. He (Manoel Jacinto Coelho, founder of the Rational Culture) owned a huge piece of land in the suburbs of Rio, which included a motel for ETs.", claimed the singer, in an interview for Playboy magazine in 1991. Tim never wanted to look back on those albums again.
In a recent interview for a local newspaper, singer Marisa Monte told that, as she decided to review the song Que Beleza, Tim talked her out of it: "hey, why don’t you forget about it, Marisa Monte? Let go of it, Marisa Monte!", he is supposed to have said to her.
Paulinho Guitarra, who plays with Ed Motta (Tim’s nephew) and with the reformed Black Rio band, was in two recording sessions for the two Tim Maia Racional albums. The late notoriety achieved by the LPs surprises him: "They might be cult objects now, but at the time, the critics pretty much buried them". But most of the songs had been written before Tim’s joining the sect, and started being recorded in 1974. As Tim was converted in the middle of the process, he modified songs’ titles and lyrics. Adios San Juan de Puerto Rico, for instance, became Quer Queira Quer Não Queira (Whether You Like It Or Not).
Serginho Trombone, who played on both Tim Maia Racional albums, keeps a few memories from that time but has fun recalling them. " It was a very crazy period. Tim would be staring at the sky all day, looking out for flying saucers. The worst part is that he convinced the rest of the band to join the sect. We painted all instruments white, even the drums. But it damaged Tim the most, for he had to get rid of all the furniture in his apartment: the fridge, the stove and even the carpet."
The singer founded the label Seroma (after the first syllables of his full name, Sebastião Rodrigues Maia) so as to put out these albums independently. It was hard to promote and distribute them, though. "We would take the albums to the stores ourselves", says Paulinho Guitarra. "People would look for Tim Maia’s new release and see that crazy cover and they’d get scared." As a result, except for the track Que Beleza (the least explicitly doctrinal in the albums), the songs weren’t radio-friendly and sales were disappointing. The Tim Maia Racional shows were an excuse to promote the Rational Culture, being attended mostly by sect followers. In spite of all this, everything was fine, but only before Tim’s disillusionment with Manoel Jacinto. When that happened, according to Paulinho, the singer went for the scandal, shouting out the window that the whole Universo thing was bull.
Can’t put this one out
Tim’s son, Carmelo, says that many labels have shown interest in releasing the two discs on CD, but that hasn’t happened due to legal complications among Maia’s heirs. Meanwhile, the albums are being hunted both in Brazil and abroad. Paul Stewart practically summoned Brazilian pilot Luciano Burti (who works for Paul’s dad’s Formula 1 team) to get him the two albums. After a pilgrimage to Brazilian second-hand record stores, Burti eventually paid U$ 100 for the albums and secured his job in the team. Marcelo D2 managed to get the albums for a sweeter price (he paid about U$ 50). He has sampled the song Rational Culture and mentioned "the sound of Tim Maia Racional" in O Império Contra-Ataca, a track from his solo release, Eu Tiro É Onda.
The lyrics that promoted the "Rational" philosophy are confusing and a bit bizarre, but go unnoticed if compared to Tim’s musical talent, which was peaking. There’s prime quality funk and soul in tracks like Imunização Racional (Que Beleza), Rational Culture, Bom Senso, You Don’t Know What I Know, (all of them in Volume 1), and Quer Queira Quer Não Queira and Que Legal, in Volume 2.
Extraterrestrial motel
Little is known about why a character like Tim Maia, who always fomented his reputation as a rebel, started singing verses like "I no longer depend on madness/Now I know what to do/ Now I know a new truth/ I’m living with the pleasure/Of being alive" (excerpts from the track Paz Interior, or Peace of Mind). During his messianic period, which lasted for about 6 months, Maia gave up drug use and had a son (Carmelo Maia), but he also realized that he wouldn’t be chatting with beings from other planets anytime soon – which was his goal as he joined the sect.
"When I got there, I realized that the whole thing was about African-Brazilian religions. He (Manoel Jacinto Coelho, founder of the Rational Culture) owned a huge piece of land in the suburbs of Rio, which included a motel for ETs.", claimed the singer, in an interview for Playboy magazine in 1991. Tim never wanted to look back on those albums again.
In a recent interview for a local newspaper, singer Marisa Monte told that, as she decided to review the song Que Beleza, Tim talked her out of it: "hey, why don’t you forget about it, Marisa Monte? Let go of it, Marisa Monte!", he is supposed to have said to her.
Paulinho Guitarra, who plays with Ed Motta (Tim’s nephew) and with the reformed Black Rio band, was in two recording sessions for the two Tim Maia Racional albums. The late notoriety achieved by the LPs surprises him: "They might be cult objects now, but at the time, the critics pretty much buried them". But most of the songs had been written before Tim’s joining the sect, and started being recorded in 1974. As Tim was converted in the middle of the process, he modified songs’ titles and lyrics. Adios San Juan de Puerto Rico, for instance, became Quer Queira Quer Não Queira (Whether You Like It Or Not).
Serginho Trombone, who played on both Tim Maia Racional albums, keeps a few memories from that time but has fun recalling them. " It was a very crazy period. Tim would be staring at the sky all day, looking out for flying saucers. The worst part is that he convinced the rest of the band to join the sect. We painted all instruments white, even the drums. But it damaged Tim the most, for he had to get rid of all the furniture in his apartment: the fridge, the stove and even the carpet."
The singer founded the label Seroma (after the first syllables of his full name, Sebastião Rodrigues Maia) so as to put out these albums independently. It was hard to promote and distribute them, though. "We would take the albums to the stores ourselves", says Paulinho Guitarra. "People would look for Tim Maia’s new release and see that crazy cover and they’d get scared." As a result, except for the track Que Beleza (the least explicitly doctrinal in the albums), the songs weren’t radio-friendly and sales were disappointing. The Tim Maia Racional shows were an excuse to promote the Rational Culture, being attended mostly by sect followers. In spite of all this, everything was fine, but only before Tim’s disillusionment with Manoel Jacinto. When that happened, according to Paulinho, the singer went for the scandal, shouting out the window that the whole Universo thing was bull.
Can’t put this one out
Tim’s son, Carmelo, says that many labels have shown interest in releasing the two discs on CD, but that hasn’t happened due to legal complications among Maia’s heirs. Meanwhile, the albums are being hunted both in Brazil and abroad. Paul Stewart practically summoned Brazilian pilot Luciano Burti (who works for Paul’s dad’s Formula 1 team) to get him the two albums. After a pilgrimage to Brazilian second-hand record stores, Burti eventually paid U$ 100 for the albums and secured his job in the team. Marcelo D2 managed to get the albums for a sweeter price (he paid about U$ 50). He has sampled the song Rational Culture and mentioned "the sound of Tim Maia Racional" in O Império Contra-Ataca, a track from his solo release, Eu Tiro É Onda.