On this album, Veloso dedicated almost all the tracks to talk about himself. It is not surprising that it went unnoticed. Eu ("I") is the most frequent sound heard in the album, obsessively repeated in the reggae "Eu Sou Neguinha?" "Noite de Hotel" can sincerely translate the existential void of an artist incarcerated in a hotel room after a performance, but also brings some pathetic, egotistic overtones: what is the urgency of the theme? The beautiful "Valsa de Uma Cidade" (Ismael Netto/Antônio Maria) is a poetic moment of self-description. The merengue "Vamo Comer" opens with social concerns until everything is channeled to "me," even if it is a "me" citizen. Through the other songs, he follows his self-centered approach talking about jealousy and separation. The only song in which he allows himself to look at the other had its public execution vetoed by censorship: "Giulietta Masina" (a tribute to the late actress, wife of Federico Fellini), which includes the word puta (a profane expression for whore). Musically, the album has its best moments in the nostalgic "O Ciúme," in the percussive approach for "Lá Omin Bum," "Depois Que O Ilê Passar," and in the "Valsa de Uma Cidade."
© Alvaro Neder /TiVo