112. Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes (1968)





















Track Listing

1. Panis Et Circensis
2. A Minha Menina
3. O Relogio
4. Adeus Maria Fulo
5. Baby
6. Senhor F
7. Bat Macumba
8. Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour
9. Trem Fantasma
10. Tempo Perdido (Once Was A Time I Thought)
11. Ave Genghis Khan

Review

Finally, agood Brazilian album, actually better than good, great. Os Mutantes were at the forefront of Brazilian music at the time, but not just Brazilian music. This is a pretty amazing album with songs that really stood the test of time. The Brazilian element actually helps the albums feel modern, because the big emphasis on rhythm that is put onto the tracks through Samba drums and so on gives it a modernity which is also a result of the fact that many modern band are very retro and have also recently discovered Brazilian rhythm.

It is also a very innovative album, there's a lot of weirdness, which probably derives from albums like Sgt. Pepper's and it is extremely well done, it doesn't really interfere with the appreciation of the songs at all. This has an extra level of weirdness for the non-Portuguese Speaking audience because you can't understand the lyrics, but even when you do they are little more than drug-addled words used more for sound than meaning. And that's alright with me.

Previous selections of Brazilian music in this list have actually been quite tame, when Brazilian music is about everything but tameness. Os Mutantes have all the fire and excitement that a Brazilian band should have, even while performing in what is mostly an Anglo-Saxon idiom of music. Of course there are plenty of Brazilian touches here, as I've said with the drumming and instrumentation.

Basically you really need this album now. Oh, while the book says that the band stops for coffee at the end of the first song, that is actually a lie, they are stopping for lunch... as you don't ask for a salad and bread while having coffee. Stream it from Napster or buy it from Amazon UK or US.

Track Highlights

1. A Minha Menina
2. Panis Et Circences
3. Bat Macumba
4. Baby

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Although they met with limited success in their own time, Os Mutantes influenced a great number of Brazilian bands such as Pato Fu, Júpiter Maçã and River Raid. In addition, many contemporary underground or independent bands in the United States and Europe cite Os Mutantes as a major influence. Kurt Cobain publicly requested a reunion tour from the trio in 1993. Cobain was introduced to them by Pat Fear ( AKA Bill Bartell ) from White Flag (whose collaboration with Redd Kross and other friends under the name The Tater Totz was the first American band to cover or even cite Os Mutantes on their 1988 LP Alien Sleestaks from Brazil. Beck Hansen paid tribute to the group with his single Tropicalia from the album Mutations. Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has worked to publish and promote the group's back catalog through his own Luaka Bop label. Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes has frequently described Os Mutantes as his most important musical influence.