V
Legião Urbana
1991
Rankings
Why This Album Matters
V, Legião Urbana's fifth studio album, released in 1991, represents a turning point in the band's sound, delving into a more introspective and experimental universe. Distancing itself from the immediate and more pop success of its predecessors, the album is often described as a work of progressive rock and art rock, with medieval elements and complex instrumentals that invite careful listening. This work stands out for its dense atmosphere and a deliberately "slow" and melancholic musical approach, as described by Renato Russo himself. With the inclusion of archaic love songs, elaborate string arrangements, and the band's longest career song, "Metal Contra as Nuvens", V demonstrates an artistic audacity that solidified Legião Urbana not only as a mass phenomenon but as a group in constant creative evolution and challenging its own limits.
Context
The release of V occurred against a turbulent backdrop for Brazil, marked by a severe economic crisis and the confiscations of the Collor Plan, which directly impacted Legião Urbana's musicians, including Renato Russo. While the band was on tour for As Quatro Estações, the need for shows became even more pressing to recover lost money. In parallel, Renato Russo was facing a profound personal crisis, culminating in his hospitalisation for detox and the discovery that he was HIV-positive, a condition he chose to keep publicly secret. These personal and social challenges were compounded by conflicts with EMI-Odeon's artistic director, Jorge Davidson, who wanted a live album from the previous tour. Davidson's insistence and the refusal to send material to producer Mayrton Bahia, then at another label, generated tensions. However, a chance encounter with Mayrton in 1991 resulted in his return to producing V, allowing the band to work with their long-time collaborator amidst a period of intense fragility and creativity forced by circumstances.
Recording
For the recording of V, Legião Urbana opted for a significant change, using Estúdio Mega in Rio de Janeiro, instead of the traditional EMI-Odeon studios. This choice implied a lack of exclusivity and unlimited time, a new challenge for the creative process. It was during the production of this album that producer Mayrton Bahia played a crucial role in convincing Renato Russo to replace his Roland Juno 106 keyboard with more modern models, seeking a renewal in the band's soundscapes. The album also featured the participation of backing bassist Bruno Araújo, who had already been accompanying the band on the previous tour. Notably, the recording of tracks such as "Metal Contra as Nuvens" included the collaboration of an orchestra with 12 violins, four violas, and four cellos, with string arrangements written by Eduardo Souto Neto, lending an unprecedented instrumental richness to the work.
Songs
The sound of V is intentionally melancholic and introspective, reflecting the "boredom and stagnation" that Renato Russo wished to convey. The opening track, "Love Song", already sets the tone with a 13th-century love song by Nuno Fernandes Torneol, in archaic Portuguese, followed by the epic "Metal Contra as Nuvens", which spans over eleven minutes and is Legião Urbana's longest song, divided into four parts with various melodic and rhythmic variations. The album explores medieval and historical themes, as in "A Ordem dos Templários", an instrumental track that incorporates Guillaume de Machaut's 14th-century piece "Douce Dame Jolie", in homage to the knights of the Crusades. "O Teatro dos Vampiros" was conceived by Renato Russo to address television, although he later discovered that the connection to the city of Venice, known as the "Serenissima", was unintentional. The album cover, featuring the moon-star and the golden embossed "V", was a requirement from Renato Russo, overcoming label objections during a period of cost containment, emphasising the artistic value attributed to the visual aesthetic.
Legacy
Despite the phenomenal success of As Quatro Estações, V had considerably lower sales, with 465 thousand copies, which still secured it a Triple Platinum Disc certificate and positioned it as the band's sixth best-selling album. The album's promotional tour was Legião Urbana's shortest, lasting only from July to September 1992, and was abruptly cut short due to the intensification of Renato Russo's chemical dependency, which caused friction with the other members. To compensate for fans' frustration with the shortened tour, the band accepted MTV's invitation to record Acústico MTV in January 1992, with a repertoire that included songs from V, subsequently released on CD. The post-V period was crucial for Renato Russo, who sought treatment for his HIV-positive condition, starting AZT use and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Although it did not generate as many radio "hits" as its predecessors, V is today re-evaluated by critics and fans as one of Legião Urbana's most artistically daring and complex works, a testament to the band's incessant search for new sonic expressions in the Brazilian rock scene.
Tracks
Credits
Legião Urbana, Mayrton Bahia
Renato Russo
Bruno Araújo
Marcelo Bonfá
Dado Villa-Lobos
Podcasts
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No terceiro e último capítulo da série de programa especiais sobre a obra da Legião Urbana, Cleber Facchi (@cleberfacchi) e Nik Silva (@niksilva) conversam sobre “V” (1991), trabalho que marca um período sombrio na carreira da banda brasiliense e pinta um retrato melancólico sobre o Brasil no início da década de 1990.Gostou do podcast? Então apoie a gente em apoia.se/podcastvfsm
No segundo de uma série de três programas especiais sobre a obra da Legião Urbana, Cleber Facchi (@cleberfacchi) e Nik Silva (@niksilva) conversam sobre o álbum de maior sucesso na carreira do grupo brasiliense: “As Quatro Estações” (1989). Fortemente influenciado pela pandemia de HIV/AIDS, o trabalho revelou alguns das principais composições já produzidas pela banda, como “Pais e Filhos” e “Há Te
No primeiro de uma série de três programas especiais sobre a obra da Legião Urbana, Cleber Facchi (@cleberfacchi) e Nik Silva (@niksilva) conversam sobre um dos principais trabalhos do quarteto brasiliense: “Dois” (1986). Equilibrando o forte discurso político do álbum que o antecede com canções marcadas pelo lirismo introspectivo de Renato Russo, o disco inspirado pelo pós-punk inglês dos anos 19
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Videos
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Films
Books
Os 500 Maiores Álbuns Brasileiros de Todos os Tempos
Ricardo Alexandre · 2022
The largest Brazilian music election ever conducted: 162 specialists, spanning journalists, critics, musicians, producers and podcasters, each nominated 50 essential albums, supported by a masterlist of more than 2,000 works. Led by Ricardo Alexandre with tabulation by Sérgio Jomori, it was published in December 2022 as a 200-page hardcover book with graphic design by Fernando Pires.
"A verdadeira Legião Urbana são vocês"
Gustavo dos Santos Prado · 2018
This book investigates the thematic developments in Legião Urbana's work, also exploring the reception process of the Brasília-based band by the public. To this end, it discusses the participation of youth movements linked to rock in the second half of the 20th century, contextualising Legião Urbana's trajectory and the interpretation of their songs over time.
Analyses
V – Wikipedia
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
V (1991) Legião Urbana - by Luciano Siqueira
meusdozemais.substack.com
The album V also made a strong impression on me because it was one of the most listened to at Carlos's house, in Ilha do Governador. Our friend had the CD version, which made listening by the pool easier.
Um passo fora do óbvio: V (1991) e a maturidade da Legião Urbana
collectorsroom.com.br
V is definitely not an entry-level album for Legião Urbana, but it is one of the most revealing. It shows a mature band, aware of its limits and willing to explore them as far as possible, even if that meant losing part of its audience along the way.
"V" (EMI,1991), Legião Urbana - discosessenciais.blogspot.com
discosessenciais.blogspot.com
In 1990, the band Legião Urbana enjoyed immense prestige thanks to their fourth studio album, As Quatro Estações, released in October of the previous year.
Discos de 1991 #8: "V", Legião Urbana - POP FANTASMA
popfantasma.com.br
This was Legião Urbana's situation in 1991. It was a very different (and more comfortable) status from that of colleagues like Titãs and Paralamas do Sucesso, for example. Internally, things were not going so well, with vocalist Renato Russo suffering drug relapses. The singer had also discovered he was HIV positive.
