Os Mutantes is regarded by many, myself included, as the most original and creative Brazilian rock band of all times. The original members were Rita Lee and two brothers, Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias (later on other musicians joined the band, but these three remained its creative core). Rita Lee then went on to become a very popular pop-rock singer, especially in the 1980s, and although she maintained some of the rebellious attitude that was a hallmark of the Mutantes, her later work is a lot more ‘tame’ (although certainly not uninteresting).
Os Mutantes got together halfway the 1960s, and in the late 1960s they collaborated with the Tropicália movement championed by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso (you’ve heard of these two before!). Until then, rock music made in Brazil had remained oblivious to traditional Brazilian rhythms, and the perception was that there was a true dichotomy between original ‘truly’ Brazilian music and this weird foreign import, rock. The Tropicália movement wanted to break away with the dichotomy and to incorporate elements of both traditions into a hybrid and novel style. They made extensive use of ‘foreign’ instruments (electric guitar – Jimi Hendrix was an important influence) but also appealed to traditional Brazilian styles and rhythms. Os Mutantes’ early music can be seen as a good example of this integrative approach.
In 1970, their collaboration with the Tropicália movement had come to an end, and they were more explicitly embracing rock as their true musical essence, in particular in its psychodelic version. (The band members were classic 1970s hippies, living in communities and experimenting with all the drugs they could get hold of.) At the end of this year, they went to France for a tour, and also recorded a few songs (some in English) for an album to be released internationally. Eventually, this album was only released in 1999, Tecnicolor. But four of the songs recorded for this album were then included in their Jardim Elétrico album, released in 1971. This week’s song, ‘El Justiciero’, is one of them. To me, Jardim Elétrico is without a doubt the best Mutantes album, but there are diverging opinions on the matter.
Another hallmark of the Mutantes music is the humorous tone they often adopted; this song, ‘El Justiciero’, is a great example. Those of you who understand Spanish will notice that, while the lyrics sound like Spanish, it’s not really proper Spanish, but rather more what Portuguese-speakers sound like when they try to speak Spanish mainly on the basis of the similarity between the two languages (we have a word for this, Portuñol). Some quasi-Italian words also make an appearance here and there: the spirit is clearly that of Mexican (Spaghetti) westerns. El Justiciero is a Zorro-like character who expects specific rewards for his good deeds ("Besame mucho, Juanita").
Os Mutantes made a comeback a few years ago, with a series of concerts in London, New York and also in Brazil. Rita Lee did not join the reunion, and was replaced by another singer, Zélia Duncan (whom I’ve never liked much), but otherwise many of the original members, including Arnaldo and Sérgio, joined in. Arnaldo has a long history of mental illnesses, but he seemed to be coping well, and Sérgio was clearly in great shape and truly enjoying the comeback. I’ve seen them playing live in New York, with my friend James Woodbridge who is a big Os Mutantes fan (also, let me note that, after Marisa Monte last week, a Mutantes song this week is a request by Mark Colyvan, an eclectic fan of Brazilian music). One funny thing in that concert was that they had *two* keyboard players, Arnaldo and a second one, just in case Arnaldo would ‘drift away’ and stop playing altogether. It was a memorable concert; I never thought I would get to see Os Mutantes live, even if it could be argued that their 2006 time-slice was not the 'real thing'. And yes, they played ‘El Justiciero’, of course!
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