I thought I was a Caetano fan until I bought Transa (I have Cualquer Coisa, which I like very much except for the Beatles cover tunes). And the reason I bought Transa was all the glowing amazon.com reviews. Though the music is good, the lyrics are very repititious and insipid (especially the English lyrics). I mean: "Nine out of ten movie stars make me cry...I'm alive" That's bad enough once, but repeated ten times more, it's painful. I want more Caetono Veloso, but which records I don't know.
Transa is almost unlistenable...but maybe I just have a low tolerance for repititious lyrics. Good luck!

There is a sheer abandon to this album more than any of the others I've heard. Long songs, rambling Afro-polyrhythmic-driven percussion extravaganzas (it's perfect for long-distance running) and typically quirky Veloso songwriting which takes its budding mastery of English a step further than he had on the "London, London" album. "Triste Bahia" is a miracle unto itself. Rumored to have been Telly Savalas' favorite CV album as well.

Originally released in England in late 1971, "Transa" (Making Out), was the last of the three albums that Caetano Veloso recorded while in London. The songs are longer and a bit more complex, and five of the seven tracks are written in English. The fabulous "Triste Bahia" features excerpts from the poetry of Gregório de Mattos. Shortly after his return home in 1972, "Barra 69" (a live recording of the last show Caetano and Gilberto Gil did before their exile) came out, followed by the Brazilian release of "Transa" (complete with a 3-D album cover), insuring Caetano's triumphant comeback. This disc is a milestone in his career, marking the end of his 'English' period and hinting at the musical experimentation that he would push further on subsequent releases. It's among the best of his early records and definitely worth checking out.