Os Mutantes - The Prog Years

Any other fans of the prog albums released by Os Mutantes in the mid-70s? I'm talking about "Tudo Foi Feito...", "Ao Vivo", and "A e o Z" (which I realize was not released until much later). I know that the first three Mutantes albums garner the highest praise, and I get why, but as an English-speaking American I feel like I'm missing so much with those early albums - cultural and political references, folk music allusions, word play etc. I certainly dig the crazed psychedelia of the Baptista/Lee years, but I have to say that there's something more universal about those prog albums, and I find myself listening to them more often than the early stuff (I know this puts me way in the minority!). "A e o Z", in particular, is one of the best YES-inspired prog albums I've ever heard and "Tudo.." aint no slouch either. The live one is a bit weaker, but it still has some good moments.

Thoughts? Opinions? Favorite songs/albums?

 

Os Mutantes is a fantastic band, but I like most favour their first three albums, especially "Ando meio desligado". The prog stuff in comparison doesn't do much for me...

 

Leaving aside the first three Os Mutantes albums labeled as such, I think that Rita Lee perhaps surprisingly had the most successful post Mutantes career. Of course her second LP Hoje E O Primeiro Dia is a Mutantes album disguised as a solo Rita Lee. Hoje is a bit more prog than their first 3 albums but more of a blend and rather joky.

The Baptista brothers did go more overtly prog after Hoje on their own. While I think they did creditable work, the music seems to veer towards the imitative rather than just an inspiration. Loki by Arnaldo is rather like a prog Elton John album . The three main prog albums, Jardim Electrico, Mutantes E Seu Cometas and Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol , really do sound like Yes in part because of the Chris Squire bass. Squire had a very individual bass style so it was not a good idea to try and emulate it. These are not bad albums at all, it's just that for non Portuguese speaking listeners there is no reason not to listen to Yes instead. The later AEOZ is actually more straight rock and similar to the albums that Rita Lee did with her band Tutti Frutti.

As for Rita Lee, with Tutti Frutti she had a much more successful rock style. She is a better singer than the Baptistas and it sounded like American rock without being tied to one particular group. This is the only non Anglo rock music I have in my collection.While Rita veered into different styles subsequently she always retained a rock feel. This is not present however in albums she did with others including her longtime husband Roberto de Carvalho.

I particularly recommend the Rita Lee albums, Atras Do Porto Tem Uma Cidade, Fruto Proibido, Entradas E Bandeiros, S/T 1980, S/T 1993, Balacobaco and Reza but she really didn't do a bad solo album (not as crazy about her albums with others including Roberto) so the rest are worth investigating. Note that she put out numerous self titled albums so one must go by the date of issue.

 

Two of my very first concerts were Mutantes prog phase and Rita Lee & Tutti Frutti in 74. As I remember, Mutantes were VERY boring, but I was not into prog at the time. And Rita was fantastic, clearly she was going to be huge, which she did in 1980, but I lost interest after the Babilonia album as most of her early solo/Mutantes audience did.

 

Thanks for a Brazilian opinion on Os Mutantes and Rita. While I can understand that Rita's post 1980 solo albums might not be straight rock like her Tutti Frutti albums they still retain a basic rock feel that was unusual for the time. I think her mediocre albums with other singers like Roberto and Gil hurt her reputation with the rock audience as well. But more recent solo albums like Balacobaco and Reza are excellent albums with a rock and modern pop blend and Rita was in her 50s and early 60s when these came out. Her consistency on her solo albums is remarkable.

 

You could be right, I never listened to her albums post Babilonia, just hearing the mega hit singles everywhere put me off them. Her autobiography written by herself alone was the best selling book in Brazil last year, the papers say today, and all the press focus on is in her mega selling years, nobody questioned her about her telling she saw Hendrix live in London in 72 or about group sex with members of Yes hahaha

 

Os Mutantes... an acquired taste to say the least

 

Well, all tastes but the simplest and most child like are acquired. The two real issues are the excellence of the art and the breadth of its appeal. I would say Os Mutantes produced excellent and original psychedelic pop in their first 3 albums but that always had a fairly limited audience except for a very brief period. Rita Lee's solo albums however were more broadly popular as well as above average musically.

 

I agree with you on most of this, but to these ears, Jardim Electrico and the postumously released Technicolor album from the period are still closer to their older psychedelic sound overall with Rita Lee still in the picture. On the other hand, A e o Z feels a lot more overtly progressive with that Yes influence coming to the fore (though that wouldn't go into overdrive until their next album). This one still had Arnaldo at least and I find it to be the most successful of their proggy stuff, though like many fans, I prefer the older albums. Still, there's interesting material for Os Mutantes fans to be found on some of these early 70s releases, including the second Rita Lee album.

 

I can't argue with you as your opinion is reasonable. People focus on different elements of the music which is why there are different judgments of similarity between various music compositions. The introduction of the different rhythm section is where I draw the line of Mutantes psychedelia and Mutantes prog but I agree there was evolution more than revolution/ clean breaks.

 

I've only heard and own "Tudo..." from 1974. It's a great little album. A couple throwaway rock'n'roll tracks, but the rest is great.

 

I have a best of CD from their early period. I guess Kurt Cobain and David Byrne were/are big fans.

 

Could you clarify something about the Os Mutantes vinyl reissues of the first 3? I quoted you from another Mutantes thread. I see Polyfar pressings with different LP numbers from the 80s. However my copies from the 80s? are Polydor with the original record number. The first 2 are mono and Divina Comedia is stereo. Are these different from the Polyfar or the same? (They are Not the recent Polysom LPs.) They were issued on very good quiet heavy vinyl and to me don't sound any different than other Brazilian LPs from the 70s. Thanks for any info.

 

I only have the original pressings of their records, minus Jardim, and a couple of Polyfar reissues. Even the originals don´t sound that good, I guess they did not know how to master this kind of music at the time and the Polyfar reissues are much worse. I did not know Polydor repressed their albums in the 80s, I remember seeing a lot of compilations only. To me cds are the best way to listen to these albums until someone do an all analogue good cut of them.
Still have some of their singles from the 60s, but haven´t listened to them since I was a kid. They are probably ruined, but I will check the sound.

 

I happen to love O A eo Z, and Arnaldo's Loki? Both great albums - but I could see why a lot of people who were into the early Os Mutantes sound would not be a fan, however - I just happen to like them a lot. Rita Lee's Hoje is great too (and I've mentioned this before in a previous thread), but like the 1972 Mutantes album "Baurets" has some QC/editing issues with a couple of boogie-woogie-ish throwaway tracks. IMO, one could combine the best tracks from 'Hoje" and "Baurets" and make a really stellar prog/psych album.

 

I have a Polyfar/Baratos Afins repress of the 2nd album and it sounds fine to me. Better than that Polysom reissue, IMO

 

Funny...when I saw them for their 'reunion' (the brothers + Dinho and a lot of friends, including Zelia Duncan on vocals), it was the most devotedly crazy audience I've ever been in. Absolute mania - people screaming and crying and rushing the stage throughout.

 

For me, when I first got exposed them in the 90s, I took it like a duck to water. As a fan of 60s psychedelia, it felt both very familiar but also exotic and fresh. And Os Mutantes also helped to serve as a gateway to a lot of the other great Tropicalia artists.

 

Thank you very much for your reply. In doing further research, it looks like Discogs , despite incomplete and inconsistent listings, does indicate a Polydor And a Polyfar repressing for the first Mutante LPs. For Divina Comedia, Discogs lists the Polydor repressing with the same deadwax (leadout) stamped inscription as my copy. I also saw that the Polyfar LP number has the same LP number as the initial CD issue a few years later. I suspect that Polyfar LPs are based on a digital source.

So there is a mystery why there is an apparent 80s repressing by Polydor and a Polyfar repressing only a few months or likely few years later. The only thing I could find was a Brazilian poster here @Emilio who stated that a Brazilian record store in the early 80s sponsored a limited repress of the original Os Mutantes LPs. However I cannot yet find any other confirmation of that.

I can't argue with your characterization of the sonics although the first 2 albums have fairly decent mono mixes and they are not harsh. I hear reasonable amounts of bass as well. Divina is similar but the stereo mix is rougher. But yes many Brazilian pop rock LPs of this era have mediocre engineering, mixing and mastering.

 

I agree that the Polysom 180g represses/remasters are non starters. It's a shame.

 

I agree that a well chosen comp of the Mutantes prog albums would be a much better listening experience. As I noted above these are not bad albums but the material is too variable and some tracks too imitative to fill 4 albums with good material. But boiling it down to 1 or at the most 2 LPs would be a great release.

 

They were reissued by Baratos Afins in 1984. In fact, the store apparently still has "Divina Comedia" and "Ando Meio Desligado" for sale:

BARATOS AFINS - A pioneira dos independentes

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of "prog" Mutantes, but I know some fans who actually prefer this phase. Incidentally, it should be noted that only Sergio Baptista was still in the band during those years. Yes, Arnaldo was present on "O A e o Z". But that was an album that remained unreleased for nearly 20 years. It was finally released on CD in 1992. This was their first album without Rita Lee and the record company decided not to release it at the time. Then the band moved to another label and that was when the prog phase really started "for public consumption". But Arnaldo had left the group by this time.

Brazilian fans usually consider Rita Lee's albums with her husband Roberto de Carvalho as Rita Lee solo albums. Even if he does sing in a couple of tracks. For instance, there isn't much difference between the "Rita Lee" albums she released in 1979 and 1980 and the subsequent "Rita Lee e Roberto de Carvalho" albums. The 1981 "Saude" even prints Roberto's name on the back cover, so it still looks like a Rita solo album.

Rita sort of succumbed to disco music in 1979. She still included at least one straightforward rock number on each album. but the hit songs were the poppy ones like "Chega Mais" and "Lanca Perfume" (with its arrangement borrowed from the Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes"). My mixing disco with a typical Brazilian "Carnival" feel, she created a style all her own. I didn't like those albums that much at the time of release, but now I do. Anyway, in 1985 she returned to her rock music roots with "Rita e Roberto", her best 80's album in my opinion.

 

Live At The Barbican Theatre is stunning (and the CD is still available). Not sure if it contains any of the mid period material but highly recommended all the same.

 

Thank you very much for clarifying what happened. I couldn't understand for years why there would be a Polydor and a Polyfar reissue so close together in the 80s. I must say Baratas did a nice job with the reissues as they are good 150g vinyl with very decent sonics. However I think that page on Baratas hasn't been updated in awhile. There is no Mutantes vinyl for sale on the site.

Thanks for additional info about Rita. I find her consistency quite amazing and as you say she went into various styles over the years but always keeping the rock rhythms. I usually hate disco flavored pop (as opposed to true disco) but Rita did a very nice job keeping it fun and melodic and smoothly mixing pop, rock and disco in her 1980 S/T. I will have to try and find her Rita and Roberta LP. I just think she is at her best when she is the only "name" on the LP (not counting Tutti Frutti her backup band ). I think the more recent Balacobaco and Reza are excellent pop rock albums too.

 

I'm sometimes leery of latter day reunions, but I should give this one a shot. . .