Customer Reviews

Os Mutantes

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It takes a connoisseur of psychedelic rock and pop to know of (drumroll please) Os Mutantes. This short-lived Brazilian band made some of the most memorable psychedelic pop of the 1960s -- which is really saying something, given the era that they thrived in. Call it psychetropicalia.

And their self-titled debut is probably the best work they ever did, without a single dud track. "Panis et Circenses" kicks things off with a horn solo, and then with a stretch of swooning acid-pop and some angelic-sounding voices. From there on, we get a fun, perky pop song laced with more horns, keyboards and wacky sound effects.

The stuff that follows is much in the same vein, from the buzzing and swooning keyboard splendor of "Baby," the downtempo warbles of "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour," and other songs full of Brazilian spunk, sonic clutter, sixties guitar solos, piano ripples, and catchy little songs that never get old. Rooted in Brazilian tropicalia, the music has quite a few quirks and twists, but surprisingly it never becomes too weird to alienate listeners.

Os Mutantes was initially formed by Arnaldo and Sergio Baptista, who later added Rita Lee and their brother Claudio. Though the band didn't last very long, they developed a reputation for twiddling with basic Brazilian pop -- while they stayed happy and accessable, they also added in distortion, feedback, non-catchy stretches of noise, and other sound experiments. It sounds fun, doesn't it?

And actually, it is a lot of fun. The trippy bossa nova/psychedelic rock/catchy pop isn't as heavy as it sounds, but instead goes for a light, playful, deeply stoned vibe. Eerie flutes, panpipes and jungle drums get mixed in with solid guitar riffs and smooth keyboards, acoustic and electric guitar harmonize, and piano is overlaid with train whistles.

Those traditional instruments ground what could have been just another psychedelic band. And the tropicalia gives it an earthy, unique edge that most psychedelica lacks. It's gloriously catchy, and incredibly infectious. The most typical aspect of it is the vocal harmonies -- other than that, there is simply nothing to compare this to.

There hasn't really been a band like Os Mutantes since, and until someone decides to revive that underrated sound, there probably won't be again. Mad, wild, crazy, and absolute bliss from beginning to end.

Join the the orchestral arrangements and sound effects of "Sgt. Pepper" and "Pet Sounds"; the vocal harmonies of the Mamas & the Papas; the instrumental sharpness of "Highway 61" and "Blonde on Blonde"; the creative madness of Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd; and a bit of Brazilian traditional rhythms and you have this album, "Os Mutantes" (1968), the band's debut. You don't need to have any interest in Brazilian music to enjoy this album. This is not just a curiosity made by a bunch of weirdos from an exotic country. This is, without exaggeration, one of the best and craziest records of the psychedelic era, an album that any American or English band of that period, except maybe for Jimi Hendrix, would be proud of. It just took too long to be appreciated outside Brazil. And their next two albums "Mutantes" (1969) and "A Divina Comédia" (1970) are almost as good as this one.

1968 was a most amazing year in the music world. The youth uprisings in France led to similar uprisings in Germany. In the United States, the fervor against the Vietnam War was coming to a boil, and the Democratic Convention in Chicago showed the violence that divided the nation to all. The rest of the world watched and youth everywhere reacted.

The music of 1968 reflects the changes perfectly. In America, harder edged bands such as the Mc5 mixed politics with a ferocity yet unseen. In Germany, the genesis of the music Kosmische happened as Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, Can, and Kraftwerk were about to be born. Even the Beatles entered the foray with the highly underrated "White Album." It seemed everyone had something to say.

Brazil was not immune to political and artistic revolution, either. By 1967, an artistic movement now called "Tropicalia" had emerged, spearheaded by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, and also involved Tom Ze, Jorge Ben, Gal Costa, and, most far out of all, a band with 2 brothers, a beautiful female lead singer, and an accomplished guitarist- Os Mutantes.

Mutantes blended the Beatles, American "garage" sensibilities, the freedom of experimentation and sampling, and the lyrics of Veloso and Ben (who guests on the lp) on their debut lp. The results are pure magic- part traditional Brazilian, part psychedelic, part experimental, part carnival, part schmaltz, all deliciously mixed. A pure slice of what "tropicalia" was all about.

By the end of 1968, government crackdowns effectively ended this movement, as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were forced to leave Brazil. Os Mutantes forged ahead, but without Gil or Veloso to guide them, they gradually switched gears and their lps reflected more their homage to the Beatles and American garage music than to Brazilian art music.

Mutantes' debut lp is an important one, and indispensible to those interested in modern Brazilian music, psychedelia, or to a curious onlooker, willing to try out a new album. Few albums I would rate as brilliant, but this is one of them. Find out why.

Ok, so Brian Wilson should be in there too...but my point is that Os Mutantes were inspired by the Beatles, but absolute creatives all on their own. If you have to own just one album, this is it. Forget the Byrne compilation. The second half of it is the first half of this album. Own Os Mutantes...this first album is a must for any pop collection. You'll be hooked by their inventions, humour, playfulness, risk taking, and oh yes, originality.

Mutantes grew in the middle of the sixties, when many Brazilian musical movements were in course... They were so anarchical, and at the same time so musical, that may have frightened the purists of Brazilian popular music. They dared playin Brazilian tunes in an electric guitar, and that must have frightened people too. They were not such a success at that time, but proved to be contemporary, even today. They were talented and hilarious: they were Tropicalists. And Tropicalism was a fusion, Tropicalism was Beatles and Samba, was Jazz and Rock, was classical and popular. Listen to their other cd's, and then you will realize that what is good can be done in a very simple way. Rita, Arnaldo e Sergio, voces sao um barato!

Hello Friends! Now and then we had Woodstock , Isle of Whight< Monterey, etc! But in Brasil we had MUTANTES doing at the same time of those events a great rock and roll music , mixed with samba, bossa nova, jazz , latin and caribean music, Indian classical music ,etc ! So , we had a movement there that create as many powerful songs at the same time they were creating here and abroad(Zappa , Beatles , etc) , and forget about our dictatorship at the time ,our music nowadays is tacky and imbecile,(Democracy now) so they(Mutantes) remained fresh and sounding better than ever! I wish some groups of famed name here could play a little bit of this kind of music or at least learn how to play some instruments the way Os Mutantes employed them , Effects, sinthesizers,vocals,etc.Go out and get the records of them you can find and listen to them and enjoy it, one of the best music ever made in Brasil at all times! Viva Os Mutantes! Peace!

I was in a curious little bookshop on South Street in Philly. The girl behind the counter had this record playing in the background. I was interested so I asked her who it was. "A 1968 record of a psychedelic band from Brazil!!!???" Hmmm....

So I ordered it.

I will warn you that this CD may be an acquired taste! It will hit you like a feight train and plant it's sound in your mind. At first you won't be sure if you like it or not, but you'll want more. It had a mix a psychedlia, 60' pop, cool harmonies, Spanish guitars, Mambo beats.... need I go on?

There are a number of web sites that talk about Os Mutantes and their struggle in Brazil. They are quite an interesting and mostly underlooked bunch.

If you're adventurous give it a try. It's like the Strawberry Alarm Clock is ringing to wake up Sgt.Pepper who's sleeping with the Piper at the gates of dawn.

It says something that this album was released in 1968 - this is crazy, gorgeous psychedelia from Brazil that sounds practically miraculous to these ears. Buy this. Now.

I picked up their cd a few months ago randomly in Soho and was absolutely amazed by their unique and very original sound. I love it so much that both of their cds (all I own) have been permanently sitting in my CD player for the past 3 months. They make me not want to listen to anything else. Sometimes brazilian,sometimes rock, sometimes, jazz, folk, choral, funk, they really draw their inspiration from many sources and synthesize them so beautifully, originally and playfully into a wonderful plate. What a joy. They remind me of phish a little bit, not really in the way they sound, but in their wealth of musical inspirations. I particularly recommend Baby, Snhor F, well, no actually, they are all good.

A few decades before its time? More like New York in '99 is a mere few decades BEHIND the times. Hard not to believe that thirty years from now, this band'll once again be setting some trend. A very worth hommage to Sgt. Pepper's, Kubrick, and Goddard. Theirs is a sound that'll last a century (and is well on its way). Just hafta hope Luaka Bop or Omplatten has plans for an extensive box set of tropicalia sometime soon....