Uma Outra Estação

Uma Outra Estação (Portuguese for Another Season) is the eighth and last studio album by Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana. Released in July 1997, one year after Renato Russo's death, it sold more than 250,000 copies and received a Platinum Certification by ABPD.^[1]

History

Uma Outra Estação was recorded at the carioca studio AR Records between January and June 1996, and had its production completed circa 1997. Its songs were scheduled to appear on the previous album A Tempestade, ou O Livro dos Dias, originally a double-disc album. However, EMI-Odeon denied the proposal.

Contrasting with the melancholic and depressive songs of A Tempestade, ou O Livro dos Dias, Uma Outra Estação has happier and reflexive songs. The first track of the album, "Riding Song", is comprised mainly by excerpts of interviews of Legião Urbana's members, having only two verses, written by Dado Villa-Lobos: "Eu já sei o que vou ser/Ser quando crescer" ("I already know what I want to be/Want to be when I grow up"). Former Legião Urbana member Renato Rocha did a special appearance in this track by playing the electric bass.

"As Flores do Mal" shares its title with Charles Baudelaire's homonymous poetry book, and it was the main single of the album. "La Maison Dieu" speaks about the atrocities committed during the military dictatorship period of Brazil. It was written in 1993 and it was originally scheduled to appear on O Descobrimento do Brasil, but Renato Russo decided not to release it back then, since Brazil still held resentment by the dictatorship years.

Some of the album's songs were written by Renato Russo during his "Trovador Solitário" ("Lonely Troubadour") phase, such as "Dado Viciado", "Marcianos Invadem a Terra" and "Mariane", written in honor of an ex-girlfriend of his.

Only three tracks of the album had not their melody composed by Legião Urbana: "Schubert Ländler" (a cover of a Franz Schubert piece), "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" (an instrumental cover of Ned Washington's and Dimitri Tiomkin's "The Ballad of High Noon") and "Travessia do Eixão". "Travessia do Eixão" counted with the participation of Os Paralamas do Sucesso bassist Bi Ribeiro.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Renato Russo (except where noted), all music composed by Legião Urbana (except where noted).

Trivia

• "Clarisse" is based on the life of Christiane F., and Renato Russo himself decided to not include it on A Tempestade, ou O Livro dos Dias, for he considered it too sad and depressing.
• The song "Dado Viciado" was written for a cousin of Russo, who suffered from drug dependence. It would be originally included on the unsuccessful double-disc album "Mitologia e Intuição" (that generated the separate albums Dois and Que País É Este), but Russo decided to release it later, in order to avoid confusion with Dado Villa-Lobos.
• The song "Marcianos Invadem a Terra" was written during the Aborto Elétrico years, and Capital Inicial vocalist Dinho Ouro Preto previously performed it on his eponymous solo album, in 1995.

Personnel

Legião Urbana

• Renato Russo — vocals, keyboards, classical guitar, bass
• Dado Villa-Lobos — electric guitar, classical guitar, bass, craviola, harmonica, dobro, mandolin, percussion, vocals
• Marcelo Bonfá — drums, ocarina, percussion, vocals

Additional personnel

• Carlos Trilha — keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, programming
• Renato Rocha — electric bass in "Riding Song"
• Tom Capone — lead guitar in "La Maison Dieu", slide guitar in "Depois das Seis", percussion and vocals in "Travessia do Eixão"
• Bi Ribeiro — acoustic bass in "Travessia do Eixão"

References