Songs of ardent romance and jaunty folk picked out on classical guitar defined Portuguese pop in the early ’70s. As in other European countries, though, the big trends of the decade—prog and disco in particular—steadily infiltrated the country’s traditional forms, resulting in a wonderful meeting of styles. Buzz-saw guitar and organ licks add psychedelic colour to Sérgio Godinho’s crooning “Maré Alta”, while Manuela Bravo’s “Sobe, Sobe, Balão Sobe”, which opened the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, laces its melancholic melody with swooping disco strings. The results tell an evocative story of time and place.