“Com Defeito de Fabricação,” released in 1998, was the definite return of Tom Zé to the limelight. The lyrics of many tracks are, as usual, quite political and the moods and styles vary much between the 16 tracks. “Curiosidade” is a very fine pop song spiced up by a nervous cavaquinho, while “Valsar” is a gentle, melancholic valse. Arnaldo Antunes appears on the forro-inspired and accordion-based “Xique-xique,” while the interesting “O Olho do Lago” is dominated by percussion. Zé, the mad genius of the Tropicalia generation, has one of his typical moments of flamboyant creativity on “Xique-xique” when he uses a piece of plastic as an instrument by rubbing it against his mouth, and thus creating an odd but enjoyable sound effect. A few tracks, however, are a bit weak and that, combined with an at times less than impressive production (making some tracks sound more 1990 than 1998), drags down the overall impression of an otherwise very good album. – Philip Jandovský