''Skylab II'' is a live album by the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian musician

Rogério Skylab Rogério Tolomei Teixeira (born September 2, 1956), known professionally as Rogério Skylab, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, lyricist, classical guitarist, author, blogger, record producer, actor and short-lived television presenter. Describi ...

, the second in his series of ten eponymous, numbered albums. His first ever live album, it was self-released in 2000 and recorded during a gig at the Hipódromo Up in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in the same year. Löis Lancaster, vocalist of now-defunct

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

band

Zumbi do Mato Zumbi do Mato (roughly translated into English as "''Zombie from the Grasslands''") was a Brazilian experimental and noise rock band from Rio de Janeiro famous for their humorous, surreal songs, written in a stream of consciousness-esque way and ...

(one of Skylab's greatest influences), was a guest musician on the album, providing additional vocals for the track "Samba". Nine years later, Lancaster would return for '' Skylab IX''. The album is considered one of Skylab's finest by fans and critics alike, and the songs "Convento das Carmelitas" and "Carrocinha de Cachorro-Quente" eventually became

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

regulars after appearing here in recorded form for the first time. A studio re-recording of "Cu e Boca" would appear six years later on '' Skylab VI''; afterwards, "Ato Falho" and "Música Suave" were re-recorded for ''Caos e Cosmos, Vol. 2'' in 2022. The album can be downloaded from Skylab's official website.

Background

After working with famous producer Robertinho do Recife on ''

Skylab I Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Skylab was constructed f ...

'' and feeling unsatisfied with the final product, Skylab decided to take on production of his subsequent releases himself, in order to obtain greater creative control – something he claimed he didn't have while working on ''Skylab I'', hence his unsatisfaction. As a result, he once stated that he prefers ''Skylab II'' over its predecessor, under the pretext that " 'Skylab II''is 100% Skylab. 'Skylab I''was 80% Robertinho".

Critical reception

Blog Disco Furado gave the album a positive review, saying that "while on his first album Skylab seemed restrained by Robertinho do Recife's production, it is on this one he could showcase the pungency his lyrics needed". It also called Skylab's backing band "excellent". Website La Cumbuca included ''Skylab II'' in 24th place in its list of the Top 200 Brazilian Albums of the

2000s File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty on the left during the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on Sep ...

. '' Skylab IV'', '' V'' and '' VII'' were also featured on the list, in 42nd, 71st and 110th place, respectively.200 Discos Nacionais dos Anos 00 - A lista completa

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, production * Wlad – bass guitar * Alexandre Guichard – classical guitar * Marcelo B. – drums * Alexandre BG – electric guitar * Löis Lancaster – additional vocals, trombone (track 17) * Solange Venturi – photography * Flávio Lazarino – cover art * Bienvenido – technical operator

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skylab II (Album) 2000 live albums Rogério Skylab albums Self-released albums Sequel albums Obscenity controversies in music Albums free for download by copyright owner