On his debut album "Louvação", released in 1967, Gilberto Gil presented himself as one of "Brazil's most brilliant young performers and composers", according to AllMusic. It was released shortly before the Tropicalismo movement and electric guitars broke onto the Brazilian music scene. The songs, in which Gil reveals his north-eastern roots, deal with regional, social, political and religious themes. The music is influenced not only by bossa and samba, but also by baião, carnival marches and ballads from the 1950s.