Search - Os Mutantes :: Mutantes

Open Minds and Good Times

M. B Coleman | London, UK | 03/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The buffoon who wrote the last review is obviously a little bitter, as he is hiding in the kitchen at one of the best parties I have ever been invited to: Os Mutantes. Everyone is welcome, regardless of colour and creed, but bring a bottle (or something stronger)...
If Beethoven were still around, I'm sure he'd find this album an intriguing listen (provided he could hear it). I sure that he wouldn't just dismiss it, anyway: its sophistication lies in its rough edges, clashing sounds and joyous experimentation, so it's not just background music for a chin-stroking session, or inoffensive classical music for pseudo-intellectuals (like our friend below).
Why is this cd $55?!"

Brazilian-Portuguese Craziness

John Vera Nagle | Farmingdale, New York United States | 01/31/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been all over the world and have taken this album with me everywhere. Never gets old. Always gives you a great rush. The extreme example of good musical entertainment. If you have an open mind, regardless if you understand portuguese or spanish which if you know spanish you can pick up alot. Open minded, music lovers, explorers NEED THIS ALBUM AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I left my everything is possible CD with my friend Vicente in Sevilla, Spain and couldn't get it back. However, Os Mutantes second album is off the hook. Transcends time and space, if it was a woman I would buy the ring tomorrow. Um, Doish, Traish order it! Dois mil e um is my favorite track on the Cd however Qualquer Bobagem coupled with Noturno Caminhante is a one two closing punch. It'll knock you silly boy! I'm not crazy and I'm not obsessed. These guys are great..."

Power freaky psychedlic power pop from Brazil...

ewomack | MN USA | 10/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Os Mutantes created some of the most fun, melodic, and rhythmic music of the 1960s Brazilian music scene. Two men and a red-headed woman (which apparently caused some scandal at the time; apparently some people wondered what a nice sweet girl was doing with two "bizarre" men) named Rita Lee pounded out some incredibly inventive and catchy pop music that integrated Brazilian music with western psychedelic pop. The results often surprise. Sometimes they shock.



The transition from "Dom Quixote" (an ominous pastiche of vocals intermixed with canned crowd noise and orchestra) to the infectious "Nao Va Se Perder Por Ai" features Rita Lee (at least, I think it's Rita Lee) screeching high-pitched into a false start. The music never lets up. From deliciously creepy mellow music dripping with effects ("Dia 36") to happy skippy staccato rhythms featuring lyrics about astronauts ("Dois Mil E Um") to power pop ("Algo Mais") to all out freaky psychedelia ("Magica") the album pleases at every turn with sounds, words, and harmonies.



Os Mutantes liked to blend sounds with their music. For example, the parlour piano-driven story of Rita Lee's pursuit of love ("Rita Lee") breaks into sounds of Rita laughing and kissing following the blessed moment. For the chorus the harmonies go right into the nasal cavities producing a high-pitched singing animal timbre.



Mutantes kept recording throughout the 1970s, but the core group had dispersed. This group left behind three amazing albums, "Os Mutantes", "A Divina Comedia Ou Ando Meio Desligado" and this one. PolyGram released all three classics in 1999, but sadly, they appear to have gone out of print. Hopefully someone will revive this series and make them permanently available. Very little pop music ever reaches this level of fun, spontaneity, and catchiness. And all of this during the rule of a brutal military regime in Brazil.



Lastly, the band photo on the back of the CD case really makes it all worth it."