MUTANTES

One year after their tropicalista release, Os Mutantes finally return with a very different approach. This time, instead of following the steps of the bahianos Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso and their Tropicália, Os Mutantes decide to tackle the psychedelic rock, fairly influenced by international bands and the psychedelic music / rock in general. However, instead of simply adapting the psychedelic rock to Brazil, they blended it with brazilian music and culture, resulting in this unique release.

That adaptation is THE thing that made Os Mutantes so revolutionary: they were, possibly, the first modern rock band in Brazil and were, surely, the first psychedelic rock band in Brazil. Os Mutantes were the first ones to use distorted electric guitars, were the first ones to be deliberately psychedelic and the first ones to be progressive in Brazil and this album and their debut proves it quite well: the distorted electric guitars they used since before their 68 debut, so that's OK; the psychedelia can be seen here throughout this album and in later albums as a whole, so i don't think i need to prove this here; the progressive thing can be seen in the closing song of each side (Fuga n° 2 and Caminhante Noturno), where they were truly progressive (at least for the standards of brazilian music so far. . .).

That early usage of new instruments and music by Os Mutantes made them incredibly important because they opened a lot of doors to other brazilian bands and were very influential, although the recognition for those things would only come almost 20 years after the band ended, in the 90's.

They were so ahead of their time that they were usually booed and cursed in the festivals they played, because the audience didn't wanted psychedelic songs nor distorted electric guitars, they wanted protest songs, usually played with only one acoustic guitar and a singer, against the newly formed military dictatorship in Brazil (the ending of the song Caminhante Noturno is actually a recording of a crowd calling them, in a free translation, faggots or queers).

About the songs, musicianship and other features, there are somethings i would like to state:

SO, why such an important and revolutionary album, that brought psychedelia to Terra Brasilis and has a unique tune is not rated as a masterpiece? Because, though having some great songs, this album have some damn lame ones, that suck incredibly, being all of them in side 2.

Concerning the side 1, it is all great, from start to end. The only drawback in side 1 is Dois Mil e Um, which is, quite frankly, sub-pair to the side, though not being a bad song. As for side 2, well, its not so great. Though having the best song of the entire album (Caminhante Noturno), the other songs are just not as good: Banho de Lua and Rita Lee are just hard to sit through, but thankfully Mágica is a bit better, being actually pretty decent. Qualquer Bobagem rescues the album from the cheese pit it was put and, despite not being amazing, prepares the ground for Caminhante Noturno. The closing track finishes the album masterfully and is, like i said, the best song of the album.

The highlights go to: Dom Quixote, Não vá se Perder por aí, Dia 36, Algo Mais, Fuga n°2 dos Mutantes and Caminhante Noturno.

Grade and Final Thoughts

Revolutionary and amazing, despite the flaws, this album deserves a good grade. Too bad its not good enough to be rated as a masterpiece, thanks to Banho de Lua and Rita Lee, mainly. Because of that, 4 stars.

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