OS MUTANTES

Think about it 1: Brazil was totally outside the musical mainstream in the 60s (and still partially is) and basically the only thing gringos knew about us were flamboyant epic sambas like Barroso's 'Aquarela do Brasil' or some jazz-influenced bossa nova.

Think about it 2: Mutantes' core members: Rita Lee and brothers Arnaldo and Sergio Dias Baptista were doing experimental and proto-psychedelic music since they were teenagers in 1964-65 (although with a different band name).

Think about it 3: Mutantes achieved an extraordinary deed of becoming really proto-prog masters. After being discovered in Europe and North America in the 70s they start to shine brilliantly.

The majority of the album songs are now part of the Brazilian imaginary collective, even covers like 'Minha menina' that became much better known through Mutantes version.

Try 'Panis et Circensis', experiment 'Bat macumba', eat 'Ave Gengis Khan', drink 'Trem fantasma' and you'll be entirely satisfied.

A clear 4-star work edging the mastering step!

According to Floco, a fellow reviewer, I quote "anyone who didn't rate this album with 5 stars cannot be said to have any knowledge about overall rock n roll".

First of all, this album has nothing to do with rock'n'roll. And even if I am really looking deep and deeper, I can hardly find lots of psyche mood in this album (even if a short portion of "O Relógio" can be related to this style). Some pleasant Brazilian music ("A Minha Menina"), nice melodies but little to write home about: this is what you can expect from this debut album.

And even if some might be laudatory about a song like "Adeus Maria Fulô", I can't. Below average in terms of prog. Not to mention that psychedelia is absolutely alien to this song. And the syrupy "Baby" is far from my meaning of prog music.

This album might have been a local curiosity at the time of release (1968) but "Senhor F" and its fifties jazzy style doesn't move me at all. Ethnic African rhythms, but so boring, during "Bat Macumba" won't change my opinion about this album. Totally overrated.

This release was not a great experience as far as I am concerned. Just listen to the extremely poor "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour" and its very weak lyrics (in French, so unfortunately I am able to understand) to be convinced. A fantastic press nextT type of song (but "Trem Fantasma" is on par, believe me).

All in all, this is a boring album. Prog sounds are scarce and inspiration is about the same level. I even wonder why I rate this one with two stars. Actually, "Tempo no Tempo" should have prevented me to do so, but I am generous in this case. Even if I "don't have any knowledge about overall rock n roll".

One of the very few (but again poor) psyche song might well be the closing number. But "Ave Gengis Khan" is too much disjointed and isn't really appealing.

What a wonderful, wacky and bizarre album this is. Brazilian folk, psychedelic rock, snippets of avant-garde, traditional Brazilian percussion ensembles and 60s teen pop all come together in an outrageously original mix that is full of surprises and lots of great tunes. If your idea of psychedelic rock is commercialized efforts like Sgt Peppers, forget it, this is the real deal; raw, naïve and non-contrived 60s psychedelicosis.

Like a lot of the more primary psychedelic bands of their era, the Mutantes mix their music their own way and ignore all the standard conventions of the time. Most instruments on here that receive special treatments, such as distortion or tremelo, are turned up high in the mix as if to make sure you didn't miss the 'weird' part. Twangy fuzzed out guitars leap out of the speaker and into your room when they make their bold entrances. Likewise the arrangements of the Mutante's tunes are naively experimental and occasionally complicated as they chop up standard verse/chorus structures with found sounds, avant episodes and excursions that recall theatre or cabaret.

This album is highly recommended for fans of 60s psychedelic rock, this is so much better than all that derivative music that the big labels put out in an attempt to copy bands such as this.

Os Mutantes' debut album finds the gang playing in the then-hot Tropic'lia style, a distinctly Brazilian flavour of psychedelic music filtered through local musical styles. Adding a little samba to your psych turns out to be a decidedly worthwhile experiment, and the Baptista brothers (along with female vocalist Rita Lee) execute it magnificently without a hint of trepidation or hesitancy.

It's all the more impressive when you consider that the military government of Brazil at the time viewed the Tropic'lia scene with deep suspicion (and indeed would arrest several of its core members in the same year this album came out). We should be glad that Os Mutantes managed to defy the hostility of the authorities and get this music out for the world to enjoy.

While the psychedelic rock scene of the 60s is primary attributed to English acts such as Pink Floyd, Cream, The Pretty Things and Traffic or more importantly the California scene from bands like Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Love, The Mothers of Invention or Spirit just to name a few examples, the movement was actually quite popular all over the world. Psychedelic Khmer rock invaded Cambodia like Dengue Fever, Colombia, Peru and Mexico got the bug and were infusing psychedelic rock features into cumbia, salsa and other Latin music forms and India which influenced the world of psychedelia in the first place by offering the trippy hypnotic effects of drones and ragas was adopting Western lysergia into its own sitar playing styles and Bollywood grooves. However out of all the non-European and North American acts to make the biggest impact and produce some of the most memorable albums that sound as mind blowing 50 years on as the day they were released comes from the Brazilian act OS MUTANTES.

Portuguese for The Mutants, this world renowned act began as a trio in 1966 Saõ Paulo by the brothers Sérgio Dias Baptista (guitars, vocals) and Arnaldo Dias Baptista (keyboards, bass, vocals) who were in an all-male band called The Wooden Faces before meeting vocalist Rita Lee who was in an all female band named The Teenage Singers. The three hit it off and created a band with the name of Six Sided Rockers but incorporated other talented artists to help out with the extra effects with the most significant roles going to Rogério Duprat who crafted Beatles-esque orchestrations and Cláudio Baptista who build many homemade instruments and also crafted unique electronic effects unheard of at the time. The core trio that made up the band also employed the assistance of Clasrisse Leite on piano, Dirceu on drums, Gilberto Gil on other forms of percussion along with a few guests that appear on their eponymously titled debut album that appeared in in the summer of 1968.

The band settled for its current name OS MUTANTES literally at the last minute as they were about to perform on a Brazilian TV program. The name has stuck ever since and this particular era is considered some of the best of the best in terms of the psychedelic rock and pop that emerged from any part of the world much less just Brazil. What makes Brazilian psychedelic rock stand out so much from the world of Anglo-rock was that it revolved around the Tropicália scene which arose in the late 60s and infiltrated not just the music scene but also film, theater and poetry. The scene slickly amalgamated traditional Brazilian musical styles such as bossa nova, samba, baião, afoxé, frevo and even Portuguese fado with the world influences of psychedelic rock and baroque pop. The result was a scrumptious mix of Latin melodic sensibilities laced the avant-garde experimentalism that placed consonance and dissonance together on the dance floor and watch them unite to create something wildly unique and utterly irresistible.

This self-titled debut could rightfully be referred to as orchestral psychedelic pop that skillfully blends Beatles inspired melodies with traditional Brazilian musical flavors and then adds select moments of everything from electronic freakery to musique concrète and psychedelic guitar fuzz effects. Although the album doesn't even hit the 37 minute mark its covers a lot of diverse grounds with each track offering a completely different emotive expression and flavor of world fusion. While sung in Portuguese, the harmonies are utterly brilliant and the vocal lines are quite inventive. The album includes two covers, the first "Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour" from Françoise Hardy and sung in the French language and the second a reinterpretation of the Mamas & Papas track "Once Was A Time I Thought" translated into Porguese as "Tempo No Tempo" and given the OS MUTANTES magical treatment. Add to that plenty of that 60s psychedelic organ warmth and a swinging 60s go-go bass groove. The album ends with a crazy collage effect over nice 60s groove music in the form of "Ave Genghis Khan."

This classic is truly a masterpiece of the ages and while not as progressive as many make it out to be, it surely is a classic of the world of psychedelic pop and rock from the era. Yeah, it's totally dated but in this case that is a good thing because it takes you back to the time and place from whence it sprang forth and for those of us who are clueless as to what the scene of 60s Brazil may have been like, this little gem pretty much sums it up in 11 tracks. You don't have to understand Portuguese for this brilliant wild display of fusion to blow you away. OS MUTANTES' debut is every bit as good as a Beatles album with a plethora of influences that ranges from The Fab Four to pastoral French pop, the baroque crossover of The Swingle Singers and the California hippie guitar fuzz of Jefferson Airplane and Spirit all dished out in a groovy swinging Latin vibes from homegrown musical flavors. Add to that extremely bizarre counterpoints in the form of highly experimental touches via the electronics and other unexpected sound effects and you're guaranteed to find this album instantly addictive and begging you to put it on again and again. The down side of the early OS MUTANTES albums were that the awful albums covers don't do the music justice but then again i'm rating the music and it more than makes up for any lack of visual accompaniment.

This is the 1968 self-titled debut by Brazilian Psychedelic Rock band Os Mutantes (as you can see). The core of the band was a trio consisting of Rita Lee on vocals and percussion, Sergio Dias on guitar and vocals, and Arnaldo Baptista on bass, keyboards and vocals [And no... I didn't just copy and paste this information from their bio on the site and barely modify it... haha]. I believe it was off of the specific recommendation by the wonderful Dereck Higgins on YouTube that I started long enough ago with, not this their debut, but their third, A Divina Comédia Ou Ando Meio Desligado (1970). Now, absolutely no regrets with that, as I quite enjoyed it, but had I known how apparently acclaimed moreso their first and second albums were then, I think I would have heard this much sooner (and possibly not have reviewed it). Neither here nor there, but it's great to come across and experience a beloved (to me) international Psychedelic album.

In my brief reading on their debut, I was seeing now-understandable claims of Sgt. Pepper's homage herein. And so, with the excellent opener, "Panis Et Circenses", it seems to be the case. A light orchestral something mixed with West-Raga and Pop. I really enjoy the female vocals from Rita Lee here. And all the more, with the apparent High-Psychedelic era in which they found themselves then in '68, this is primo Proto-Prog to my ears as well. Lightness and a more Latin feel continues on the Garage-Rock-meets-Folk-Pop of "A Minha Menina". Nice melody, a forward driving beat, and some really cool, super crunchy fuzz guitar here.

"O Relogio" reminded me a bit of the airy, sparse delivery of Nico. A bit of an eerie, spacious sound in the start. The shift right around the middle is immediate, to instead a boisterous Psychedelic jam with Magical Mystery Tour-esque rhythmic and wordless vocals. I certainly had no idea what to expect on this one and I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I had. A return to the quirky Latin feel is found on "Adeus Maria Fulo". Interesting percussion, for sure. The use of intense (What is that?... "spring"?) reverb over further sparsity on "Baby" is reminding me more of The Velvet Underground or maybe early John Cale(?). Some of the organ(?) is quite nice. Even so, not super impressed by this one. As you can tell from some of the last couple sentences, I'm soooo sure of myself...

Now they somewhat target the Music Hall of Paul McCartney (but perhaps boosted with elements from Dixieland Jazz) on "Senhor F". 1968 in particular was rife (and I jest) with this sort of thing. "Bat Macumba" quite naturally displays the African backbone of much traditional Brazilian music. Here, chanting and a steady rhythm are matched with a very strange, chirping synthesizer throughout. Very, very interesting. At the start of "Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour", are they opening a can of Coke, or am I just thirsty?... Actually, as it continues along, it's more like a sharp sipping sound. This track is very solemn, very pretty. If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed this was French (/s). It feels quite Classical ( Lord knows I know nothing of the sort, but perhaps this may be a traditional tune Apparently this is a cover from the once-untitled second album by French singer Françoise Hardy, 1963).

"Trem Fantasma" is an upbeat, of-the-time Psych number. Great beat and some sweet melodies. Is it bad I can't tell whether or not they're trying a comedic vocal inflection here? Either way, I'm amused and entertained. "Tempo No Tempo" is next with some church vibes up front. Then we're on some dick's beat (like... The Pink Panther?). I'm not so sure. Odd, super quick vocal lines here. It's fun haha. Oh! Back to church! Ha! And finally, the apparently funny-named "Ave Gengis Khan". Were these guys fans of Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band or something? This has more of that bouncing Ringo-draggin' drumming, nice keyboards work and then a sort of Beat-style guitar solo... Or is it Raga-inspired? Or does it matter? haha. I like it quite a lot. Honestly, such a great track, I think it's the best of the lot.

True Rate: 3.6/4.0

The Brazilian psych rock band's debut album. Notice: they are talented, they are clever, and they have a message they wish to serve with their music.

1. "Panis et circenses" (3:40) a song that demonstrates the huge influence THE BEATLES' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band era has had--even on Brazil! The female vocals present a nice change for prog world. Also, I'm very glad that the band decided to sing in their own native language rather than picking up English. I love the little musique concrète finish. (8.875/10) 2. "A Minha Menina" (4:45) an odd but very entertaining (and even humorous) little peephole into a kind of mamba Beatnik psychedelia that may have existed in Brazil! I like this very much! Something that previews David Byrne's work of the late 1980s and 1990s as well as the Gypsy rock of bands like Les Negresses Vertes? (9/10)

3. "O Relógio" (3:32) gentle, bare-bones musical support for angelic reverb-voice of Rita Lee opens this song for the first 90 seconds--beautiful! But then the band jumps into a different room/universe of joy and ZA! partying for a minute before giving way to the somnambulant music of Rita's heaven. Brilliant! (9.5/10)

4. "Adeus Maria Fulô" (3:06) opens with some eerie cemetery/garden music with musique concrète inputs before Brazilian percussion group jumps in with a group choir presentation. Not really prog or rock but definitely interesting. (8.875/10)

5. "Baby" (3:02) an odd take on an early British approach to organ and electrified pop music. Not great--and certainly not innovative--but highly entertaining for its (intentional?) poke of fun at the early 1960s Anglo love song. (8.75/10)

6. "Senhor F" (2:36) another excessively clever and humorous interpretation on the pop music coming out of the Northern Hemisphere in the late 1950s and early 1960s (even 1920s!) Part parody of The Beatles, part of New Orleans and Parisian jazz pop. Even the fade out, fade in, and re-fade out at the end is totally cheeky/disrespectful of The Beatles. (8.875/10)

7. "Bat Macumba" (3:10) surfer pop rock that sounds so much like the music revived by Spanish psych-rockers ZA! in the 2010s. Infectiously fun. (8.875/10)

8. "Le premier bonheur du jour" (3:40) a turn to 1960s French Ye-ye dream pop with some brilliantly paired musical and vocal arrangements. I could live off of this type of music! It's almost Gamelan! (9.75/10)

9. "Trem Fantasma" (3:19) more wild ZA!-like indigenous music to open this one before stopping and resetting into a musical form that is more of a Brazilian Hollywood-surfer rock. Very nice vocal arrangements to accompany (and parody) this jazzy musical form. It sounds so much like a Brazilian/Beach Boys rendition of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman." (9/10)

10. "Tempo No Tempo" (1:49) opens like a sleepy reluctant-wake up song, it turns into something much more caffeinated with the complex, lightning fast group vocals. (4.5/5)

11. "Ave, Gengis Khan" (3:51) more totally sarcastic parody of British rock forms and styles, the facetiousness of the lyrical topic seems to give notice that the Brazilians get how corny and ludicrous some of the British song topics are. (8.875/10)

Total Time 36:30

What I LOVE so much about this album is the total freshness of the Brazilian mind and cultural interpretation of rock, prog, psychedelia, parody, sarcasm, etc. Retention of their own cultural and musical backgrounds is the key to my enjoyment of these songs, even when they try to go Anglo ("Panis et circenses," "Baby," "Senhor F") . Plus, the engineering/production of this music is so interesting!

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of early Southern Hemisphere proto-prog. this is an album that I think any and every prog lover would find very entertaining and humorous, no matter your linguistic background. One of South America's first contributions to Prog World.