The lingering aroma of campfires wafts through the evening air; the leaves lose their green and descend into the gutters; and temporary Halloween stores pop up in strip mall complexes around America. These signs can only point to one thing: the beginning of box set season! And Luaka Bop is kicking this unofficial new pre-holiday shopping holiday in style, with the release of a 3LP vinyl-only Tom Zé collection entitled Studies of Tom Zé: Explaining Things So I Can Confuse You on October 5. The collection includes the recordings Estudando o Samba, Estudando o Pagode, and Estudando a Bossa, all of which feature Brazilian artist Tom Zé’s takes on the respective musical genres. Pagode and Bossa have never before been on vinyl, and Samba has never had a US release. (You can also get Bossa as a standalone CD release come October 5.)
Extras include a live 45 of Zé’s collaboration with Tortoise at the Barbican in London circa 2001; a CD featuring a 1993 conversation between Luaka Bop founder David Byrne, Arto Lindsay, and Tom Zé; a booklet by Brazilian music scholar Chris Dunn; and according to the press release, “a touch of day glow.” The box set also comes with digital download codes. Have at it!
• Tom Zé: http://www.myspace.com/tomzefrombrazil
• Luaka Bop: http://luakabop.com