Expresso 2222 (1972)

The door into the north-east. Gilberto Gil made this 1972 album on his return from London exile, and it reaches for the rhythms of the Brazilian north-east: forró, baião and the Bahian carnival. Back in Bahia celebrates the homecoming, and Chiclete com Banana jokes about Brazilian and American culture mixing. Choose it for MPB that is rhythmic, playful and rooted in regional tradition.