AMG Review of Qualquer Coisa

Alvaro Neder
All Music Guide

On Qualquer Coisa, Caetano Veloso still wasn't the superstar he became in the '80s, when he turned himself in a mainstream pop artist. This album sounds underground in its voice/violão renditions, parsimony in the arrangements, and absence of luxury effects or electronics -- in other words, the focus is on Veloso's guitar, voice, melodies, and lyrics. His wonderful cool interpretations for "Qualquer Coisa," "Samba e Amor," "A Tua Presença Morena," "Drume Negrinha," "Jorge da Capadócia," "Eleanor Rigby," "For No One," "Lady Madonna," and "La Flor de la Canela," among others, became classics.