OS MUTANTES

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