You guys who love Os Mutantes have to see this. Last night I was jumping around WFMU's website and came across one of the most amazing music performances I've ever seen in my life. This clip blows my mind. It's introduced on the site with these words:
"The most important thing you can do for yourself today is watch this video, which ends on the frame you see to your right Go do that, then come back and I'll tell you more about them."
I know what you're thinking, but this is a year
before KISS. Here's a description from another site that sets it up fairly well:
"Soon after pinaxos uploaded the Os Mutantes video that you all are diggin, he uploaded an even more obscure gem: a video of tv appearances by the Brasilian band Secos e Molhados (Dry and Wet). I had never heard of the group. When I first watched the video I was stunned. Standing on a red carpet with a blue curtain backdrop, three men stood. The singer's face is painted with a white and black tribal pattern. He's wearing bird feathers, no shirt, a star on his arm, and elaborate looking pants. Behind him two men strum guitars. Both are wearing satin suits, have full beards, and have half of their faces painted white. They look corpse-like. This charismatic singer struts around and begins to sing in a soprano voice. It is 1973 and Secos e Molhados are performing "Sangue Latino" (Latin Blood). The singer, Ney Matogrosso, is a fascinating mix of Perry Farrell, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, a shaman, and a cabaret singer. He also sticks his tongue out in a grimace at the end of some songs. Before you say that they ripped off Kiss--apparently it's the other way around. Secos e Molhados had the elaborate stage makeup long before the boys from the Bronx."
The clip features two songs, "Sangue Latino" and "Vira." The first is gorgeous, absolutley beautiful, and the second, listen to the guitarwork and the rhythm, it's straight out of "I Want You To Want Me" - three years before Cheap Trick came up with the idea. These guys were huge in Brazil in '73-4, selling an unheard of 700,000 copies of their first album. They put out a second, but were done within a year as lead singer Ney went on to a long, prosperous solo career. You can get both albums on a two-fer from Amazon.
Check out the video!!Here's
WFMU's page on them.
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