Os Mutantes

[dogbreath]

Good news for us Mutants fans!

Os Mutantes - 'Technicolor'

"One of the all-time great albums, finally remastered and reissued. Landmark cult album featuring the one-off fusion of extreme Brazilian pop psych. A revolutionary recording with it's offbeat guitar lines, tape experiments and unique songwriting" Released January 23rd for £13.99.

[Jason]

Now why doesn't someone reissue all their albums?

[dogbreath]

Go ahead! BE someone!

[Jason]

I don't understand why David Byrne hasn't put them out on his Luaka Bop label, they did the best-of (but how many great songs were left off?) Assuming he had to acquire the rights to the albums to issue the best-of, he must still own the music for distribution.

Maybe there's no commercial potential.

[Joe]

Just track down the vinyl, they sound great on wax!

[Boxer Monkey]

I thought Luaka Bop was defunct, which is why that Mutantes sampler "Everything Is Possible" is now out of print.

Also thought "Technicolor" has been available via reissue for some time already.

Rita Lee's "Build Up" is where it's at, Mutantes people. Check it out, if you haven't already.

[Jason]

Please don't let this thread hit the bottom! More people need to discover this band and have their lives changed!

[Old Rake]

I don't know why "Everything is Possible" is out of print -- their Psychedelic Classics vol. 3, covering Africa, is still in print, and you can still get "Everything Is Possible" from iTunes too. Luaka Bop is still around!

[Jason]

I don't know why their discography is out of print either, but sh*t happens I guess. Oh well......anyone who asks will receive everything they ever need from me.

[cabinessence]

Everything is Possible is still available at Amazon as New and Used.

So are a number of others, some imports.

Which of these is the best place to start in my price range: the above compilation, the band's debut album, or the Millenium: Os Mutantes compilation (apparently more fully representative of total output with a little more music for money, but with more later band and less earlier.)

Thoughts?

[Chance]

Don't know if this is old news to you guys, but I just found these mp3's of a '69 TV performance last night.

[cabinessence]

Thanks! My introduction to the band and I like what I (blurrily) hear

[Jason]

Which of these is the best place to start in my price range: the above compilation, the band's debut album, or the Millenium: Os Mutantes compilation (apparently more fully representative of total output with a little more music for money, but with more later band and less earlier.)

The Millenium compilation is probably best, but both comps have exclusive materials on them, so both are worth buying. The debut album is probably the best bet if you want an actual album, but it's out of print and commands high prices on eBay (it's free from me, as are all of their releases, PM me if interested).

[Jason]

Seriously, everybody here needs to check out Os Mutantes' first album. I'm gonna really go out on a limb, but this is the finest psychedelic album ever recorded.

[Reverend Joshua Sloane]

Don't know if this is old news to you guys, but I just found these mp3's of a '69 TV performance last night.

These are awesome.

Thanks for the link.

[cabinessence]

A friend just burned (byrned?) me a copy of the Everything is Possible comp. and  I'm swimming in it like a happy goldfish in a kaleidoscopic windowpane-d aquarium.

Sidenote: if you run out of such Tropicalia-psychedelia eventually, there's a fair amount more of related music from continents away. Folks in enlightened corners of Italy, a self-identifying cousin of Brasil,  for instance, received this movement and its players with open arms. You can hear the influences in dozens of 'lounge music' soundtracks, dating way back: in the beach film Crazy Urge of 1962 (one of the movies that inspired the AIP trend in America but much more Brian Wilson ca. Smile than Little Surfer Girl), the climactic scene is a psychedelic samba vision with a shoreline stretch of kids in chorus line and atavistic spirit-costumes crowning the dreaming"King of the Dance/Fools": the Italian director had dropped out into Brasil and learned his art there ; composers like Ennio Morricone hosted and jammed with some  of them; and most relevantly a bunch of singers made music cut to this model, chiefly Lucio Dalla over a number of years, so similar that hearing The Mutants, I'm instantly realizing what he was echoing...

[Jason]

Damn man, what an intro. That was my intro to the band. Wait until you start tracking down the albums!

[Jason]

A giant in Brazilian popular music, Os Mutantes challenged the foundations of psychedelia in their native Brazil during the late 60s and early 70s, working up a cult following around the world that still exists to this day.

Os Mutantes were formed in 1965 by Arnaldo Baptista (bass, keyboards, vocals) and his brother Sergio Dias (guitar, sitar, vocals). Upon meeting up with friend Rita Lee (vocals, minimoog) the same year, the band agreed on the name Os Mutantes (after a stint as Six Sided Rockers), taking their name from the science-fiction novel "O Planeta des Mutantes". The eldest Baptista brother, Claudio Cesar Dias Baptista, jumped on as a soundman and builder of electronics (he built all of their effects pedals and sound systems, and the band was so poor early on that they used trash can lids for cymbals). The band found itself working with fellow tropicalia heroes Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso throughout 1967, appearing on the compilation album "Tropicalia: Ou Panis et Circenses" in early 1968.

By the end of the year, the band had delivered their self-titled debut record, a watershed recording in many aspects, most notably its rampant experimentation. The influences of American and British psychedelia were most evident on this LP, which featured their landmark recording of Caetano Veloso's bossa nova "Baby", here presented as a psychedelic blues. Tracks like "Panis et Circenses" and "Ave Genghis Khan" fiddled with tape music and musique concrete, other tracks such as "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour" and "Bat Macumba" showed off the band's surprisingly wide range.

It cannot be overestimated that Os Mutantes were thoroughly despised by the Brazilian military dictatorship, who forced tropicalista heroes Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso into exile at the end of 1968. The band was always on the government's hit list, and censorship delayed the release of at least one Mutantes LP.

In 1969, Mutantes delivered their second LP, a similarly titled (but dropping the article) collection of psychedelic pop mixed in with American roots influences. Tracks like "Fuga No II" and "Dia 36" showed off the band's continuing expertise in the far-out sounds of psychedelia; "Dois Mil E Um" ("2001") and "Rita Lee" put the band's love of roots music on the center stage. The experimentation was kicked up a few notches here as well, as most evident on "Dom Quixote" and "Caminhante Noturno".

1970 brought the group's new multimedia tour experience into action, as well as the third LP A Divina Comedia Ou Ando Meio Desligado. A watershed in the group's career, this album charted the group's changing influences from psychedelia to blues-rock and progressive rock. Tracks like "Ando Meio Desligado" and "Quem Tem Medo de Brincar de Amor" beat American psychedelic rock at its own game, "Meu Refrigerador Nao Funciona" allows Rita Lee to show off her best Janis Joplin impersonation, and "Hey Boy" is a Zappa-esque foray into doo-wop.

Upon recruiting bassist and future hit producer Liminha (allowing Arnaldo to move from bass to keyboards) and drummer Dinho, the band embarked to France to record their crossover LP, Tecnicolor. Recorded in English as an attempt to break into the Western market, this album toned down the experimentation to more "acceptable" levels and offered remade versions of several Mutantes classics. Unfortunately, the album stayed on the shelves and was lost until 1994, and finally issued in 2000.

Rita Lee embarked on a solo career on the side at this point, recording the landmark "Build Up" LP, produced by Arnaldo. This album showed off Rita's more poppish tendencies, as evident on "Sucesso, Aqui Vou Eu" and on one of the BEST Beatles covers, "And I Love Him".

1971 brought Mutantes' fifth LP Jardim Eletrico, which showed off the band's evolving blues and hard rock influences, most evident on the title track and "Sarava". This album featured three of the tracks from Tecnicolor (two others were re-recorded), including a sensual rendition and re-recording of "Baby".

Mutantes E Seus Cometas no Pais do Baurets followed in 1972, showing off new influences of jazz-rock and funk in tracks longer than the norm. "Cantor de Mambo" and "A Hora e a Vez do Cabelo Nascer" (formerly titled "Cabeludo Patriota" and censored by the government) showed off Santana influences while "Posso Perder Minha Mulher, Minha Mãe, Desde Que Eu Tenha o Rock and Roll" was another excursion into roots music. "Balada do Louco" was an uncharacteristically introspective ballad from the pen of Arnaldo, presaging the direction he took on his solo work.

In early 1973, Rita Lee was fired from Os Mutantes by Arnaldo; Sergio Dias, Liminha, and Dinho reluctantly sided with him (Rita's second solo album was actually a collection of unused Mutantes tracks). The band soldiered on, recording o "A" e o "Z", a proggy venture, and having it coldly rejected by then-record company Phillips, who told the band to pay for the studio bills in return for ownership of the masters. Money was not forthcoming, and the album stayed unreleased until 1994. The title track and "Rolling Stones" show off a Yes and ELP influence, especially in their jam-like qualities. "Uma Pessoa So" was another introspective track from Arnaldo, re-recorded for his first solo album, Loki.

As 1973 bled into 1974, Os Mutantes began to fall apart, as Liminha and Dinho made their exits. Arnaldo followed soon afterwards, leaving Os Mutantes under the leadership of Sergio Dias, who recruited keyboardist Tulio Mourao, bassist Antonio Pedro, and drummer Rui Motta. Finding a contract with Som Livre in 1974, the band recorded their final studio album, Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol. A largely instrumental album, this showed off a much more streamlined sound compared to previous Mutantes releases, and is arguably the most straight-ahead rock of their releases. It was also their biggest seller in Brazil.

Mutantes Ao Vivo followed in 1976, depicting a band that had virtually run out of novel ideas. The band split up in 1978, with Sergio moving to America and becoming a session guitarist with Phil Manzanera. Arnaldo soldiered on with an inconsistent solo career, interrupted by a stay in a mental hospital after a suicide attempt. Rita Lee became a superstar in her own right, recording classic album after classic album.

Os Mutantes may be history, but their legacy lives on.

[cabinessence]

Thanks for that!

I look forward to the (reported possibly maybe) reunion of the band (if it comes to pass), and listening to whatever I can find of theirs in the meantime.

What are some of Rita Lee's classics (one after another)? Within the Mutantes context she majorly sweetens  the deal in the best sense. On her own is she more than just another great bossanova singer (of which there seem to be many, many: forgive the stereotyping, let's say bouncy Brazilian pop songstress)? How many Mutant tendencies extend into her later work? It sounds like the first solo may be the best way to go as a start as it features more Mutantes-recorded tracks (correct?)

(EDIT: a little random internet sampling suggests that her 3001 cd (from a few years back) might well be worth a listen too...)

[Jason]

I have it on good authority that all of her 70s albums are class material, but I've only heard the first two.

[Boxer Monkey]

I'm glad this thread has survived. Mutantes are great. I've been listening to "Jardim Eletrico" a lot lately. It and the first Rita Lee probably are my faves.

[Jason]

Do you have Rita's second "solo" album?

[al]

Apparently they have reformed for a gig in London this week. Large article in The Times about them and Brazilian music.

[cabinessence]

Apparently they have reformed for a gig in London this week. Large article in The Times about them and Brazilian music.

The article is here: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14932-2018064,00.html

[Jason]

I don't think that reunion is ever going to happen. Rita Lee and Arnaldo Baptista hate each other (and on Rita's part, for good reason). I don't know why Arnaldo had a problem with her; probably his LSD diet was rotting his brain and fucking him up. I don't see how he could play keyboards in a live performance anymore. The man was only on an intake of LSD that would probably have made Syd Barrett jealous.