Os Mutantes

This is the kind of weird shit I signed up for

This is you: “Sgt. Pepper’s is so psychedelic. The sounds on that record are totally kaleidoscopic and vibrant.” This is me: “Bat Macumba ê ê! Bat Macumba obá!”

I listened to this album twice. The first time I quite enjoyed it but felt it was one of those albums that needs to be given more time to grow on me. The second listen opened up some of the melodies and rhythms and allowed me to pick apart some of the various styles and influences. Overall, I think that this album is criminally overlooked. We would do well to get outside of our Anglo-American concentration and see how what we are familiar with influences and has been influenced by what we are not familiar with.

This is one of those albums that makes you stop and wonder “where have you been all my life”. Every song get more interesting as you listen harder. Really superb arrangements and instrumental/production choices lead to an amazing psych rock album. I’ll definitely be listening to this again- and I’m ashamed to have never heard of it until now. Into the Brazilian psych rock rabbit hole I go!

Wasn't high enough for this one

Many people would be surprised at how open Brazilian musicians are to fusion with different styles. When I travelled to Brazil over the years I was fortunate to befriend a couple of music buffs who took me to some excellent concerts that demonstrate the wide variety of sounds. So the fucked up distorted riffs fused with samba in A Minha Menina seem par for the course. Some of this LP is wacky and wonderful while other bits are completely ridiculous. In the latter category is Ave Genghis Khan. It is so disjointed with insane riffs and I get the sense that even if I knew Portuguese the lyrics would still be meaningless. The name Ave Genghis Khan is ridiculous enough to make me rewind to Track 1. I love this album! 

I normally can't stand weird and psychedelic shit, but I guess all you need to do is put it in Portuguese and I'm all in.

A surprising find; an classic psych album I had missed and probably dismissed at some point because it wasn't in English. Right up my alley musically. I only wish I could understand the lyrics

orgulho brasileiro totalmente inusitado

That is what psychedelia should be: weird and musical.

I love this record. It's super psychedelic. I bought a reissued vinyl of this last year. I got into them when a current band I like (Chicano Batman) name-dropped them. It's really pretty music with some crazy production. I think this is a group of artists - not really a traditional band. Which is also cool.

Very experimental and needs time to get used to. Weirdly catchy. It's quite a cohensive album so it's hard to pinpoint a favourite song because the songs blended together for me and I can't remember which song was which. Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour is a tentative favourite for now. It was also difficult to know when one song ended and the next began simply because for some of the songs like Panis Et Circenses the first half of the song sounds very different to the second half. The distorted guitar (or whatever the instrument is) was a bit jarring at times.

Future editions should cut every English and American psychedelic album from 1966-1970 and replace it with a repeat of this. It was a really weird experience to look at the cover of this and think “Oh God, more of this,” and then actually listen to it. It has a lot of the musical trappings that make the last five hundred sixties psych album on this list sound similar, but it also sounded creative and fresh and worthwhile and interesting. I can’t believe how sick this was! I can’t believe I had to listen to an entire record by the Zombies to get here!

Wow! This is opening new channels in my brain. I want my art to be as free as this music makes me feel. There's all these things coming in and out - there's a dirty guitar, then a sweeping synth, a "doo bee doo" pop vocal, samples of a dinner party, switching genres on a dime, all while somehow creating a cohesive set of songs. A remarkable creation, I'm hungry for more where that came from.

Batshit crazy. And awesome. Like the soundtrack to some bananas euro-arthouse movie you keep falling asleep in.

4.7 + The breadth of experiments with sound and the depth of playfulness, is what made this album an instant favorite, and which rewards frequent returns.

Wacky psychedelic Latin album. At first listen, I thought it was all over the place and I did not like it and was glad when it was over. At second listen, I still thought it was all over the place, but I enjoyed it a lot more and at times could not suppress a stupid smile appearing on my face. I'm confused.

Weird and wonderful quirk factory. The Cuica is fast becoming one of my favourite instruments.

Brazilian clown music. Like a mix of the Beach Boys and Syd-era Pink Floyd. One of the more interesting 60s psychedelic albums I've heard, mostly because this one actually made me feel like I ingested something illegal. Also one of those albums that gain from the mixing sounding like it was done through transmissions to the ISS. The contrast between the standard 60s vocals and the guitars that are so distorted that they sound like a table saw is very unique and cool. I like it.

This album was really out there, psychadelic Brazilian folk music and I hear influences from the Mamas and the Papas, Zappa and Beatles. This one is quite dense and very inventive so I think it will get even better with repeated listenings.

How bad does an album have to be before it’s good? Who gave them the keys to the sound affect cupboard? Was that a kazoo solo? Have a band ever formed because of their musical differences? Is it any wonder Brazil has a drug problem? I’m really not sure what the hell I’ve just listened to, but I couldn’t bring myself to skip any of it, I was completely transfixed. So it can’t be a 1 rated album if it’s generated this level of wonder.

This is so dated and not in a good way. Too late for a first listening. Points for originality, but way too busy and all over the place. That was probably the point but just seems annoying to me. Nice song titles.

Viva o brasil

The gems I'm looking for from this list

amazONing

Y'kno, I might just be tired enough to where this *really* clicked with me. It's fucking bizarre, isn't it? Sounds like a time capsule simultaneously from the past and future, or some sort of alien music (doesn't hurt I can't understand a word of Brazilian Portuguese). It's got pop hooks, it's got weirdness... like strange cousins of the Beatles, who got heavier into acid. Absolutely love it. Favorite tracks: "A Minha Menina", "Adeus Maria Fulô", Tempo No Tempo", "Baby"

What did I just listen to? Loved it.

La fusión que podría esperar de brasileños con lo psicodélico, experimental, ¿qué género es esto? La verdad es que la pasé bien, lo escuché dos veces y la segunda se me hizo más divertido, hay muchos sonidos por acá y de repente hasta parecen canciones de un musical. Es como un disco lúdico, pero visto en su momento, no sé qué tanto se sentía así o si era realmente serio. Sin duda, tengo un sesgo porque me emociona que nos toque algo que no está en inglés y de los sesenta, pero pues qué buena música nos tocó. Mis favs: "A Minha Menina", "Adeus Maria Fulô" y "Trem Fantasma". 9.5/10

Fun album but unlikely I'll find myself back here again

What a joy! I see multiple plays of this album in my future. Could eventually see myself going back and bumping this one up to a 5, but I can't just hand out 5's like they're tic tacs.

Feeling like im in a Mexican restaurant

In some respects, this is like the Byrd’s album we just listened to…. Not my cup of tea necessarily, but the music was significantly better in my opinion. Certainly understandable why this was considered an all-time class stoner album! Would’ve thought a little bit more highly of it had they not used some odd flares in their music, like the whistle that, for me, simply served as a distraction from the song. But all in all, good music.

I like it for it's progressiveness. It's an incredibly forward thinking album and should most definitely be put on a shelf next to Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's, but that being said, the language barrier as well as some of the more avant-garde parts distance me from liking as much as I think I should. Highlights: 1, and 8.

Very 60s, I liked some of the songs. It sounded a bit Sgt. Pepper's-esque. Good background music but a bit too psychedelic depending on the mood.

The good thing about this album project is that I get to discover music I didn't even know was my thing. The bad thing about this album project is that I get to discover music I didn't ever want to know was a thing.

Feels like it was made by the ghost of a monkey

Odd but not necessarily in a good way

So – this was interesting – and NOT in a good way… Again – not sure why this was on the 1,001 list, but c’est la vie… I do love me some Brazilian Jazz – so think Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carols Jobim, Gilberto Gil, and Bebel Gilberto – but this was NOT that… Appears to be an experimental album, combining psychedelia with Brazilian music – so other than trying that combination of sounds, there isn’t much here to like – and the recording quality was not the best either – but then again, it was 1968… There are 2 covers on this album as far as I can tell – “Baby” - which was written by Caetano Veloso (i.e. actually think Bebel Gilberto’s version is the definitive version of this song…), and “Tempo No Tempo” – as Mamas & Papas cover, and both are just a mess – as is most of the album… There were only 3 songs that were worth listening to – “A Minah Menina” – which as some really cool, and edgy guitar work for its time in it… “Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour” – which was more along the traditional French/Brazilian line – with hints of British influence… “Ave Gengis Khan” – the albums closer – which is by far the best track on the album, as the piano and drum work on it is really well-done for the period… And again, some pretty solid guitar work for the period on this one as well… The ending is sorta reminiscent of the end of the Yes classic – “Yours Is No Disgrace” – just not nearly as cool, or as well done… Would have gotten a better rating if more of the experimentation was more of this ilk… Maybe a 1.25 based on the decency of those 3 songs and my mood, but definitely a 1 star for me…

I would live to be sitting in a bar in Brazil drinking caparenhas listening to this.

Eccentric, eclectic, melodic, and a joy from start to finish. A bona fide psychedelic essential - maybe not for all tastes, but definitely an album everyone should hear at least once. Fabulous.

Panis Et Circenses (de Veloso y Gil) ya da una pista de qué nos vamos a encontrar. Una fabulosa odisea de Psicodelia sesentera, rock, ácido y todo ello cantado en portugués. A Minha Menina sigue la estela mientras O Relógio es una mezcla de Velvet/Sonic Youth y belleza incomparable (con los Beatles siempre en la brújula) Bat Macumba es su tema más conocido, y con todo merecimiento. El 68 no es un año cualquiera, este disco no tuvo apenas repercusión pero con el tiempo ha venido ocupando un lugar de mucho mayor reconocimiento. Byrne o Covain han declarado su admiración e influencia. No son palabras menores. Imprescindible y sobre todo agradable viaje.

It's goofy, silly and incredibly fun to listen to. It might not be the most consitent album out there, but I can't give it anything other than full marks for its influence and how much I enjoy listening to it. A Minha Menina is an incredible song and there's a lot of other great parts on this album as well. Tropicalia is great to listen to and this was my gateway into Brazillian music and MPB.

Super fun record. Really enjoyed the different sounds and meandering songs that took me to them

There's a bit of everything thrown into this very cool album which any self respecting sixties pop psych aficionado will be aware of.

This is the 82nd album I’m rating. I don’t know what this album is or who any of these people are. Adding to my Playlist - Panis et Circenses, A Minha Menina, O Relógio, Adeus Maria Fulô, Baby, Senhor F, Bat Macumba, Le Premier Bonheur du Jour, Trem Fantasma, Tempo no Tempo, and Ave Genghis Khan. Not Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. All in all I liked 11/11 songs. I think I might just love tropicália because this is great. I really haven’t heard anything like this and I am glad that I listened to it before I died else I would’ve missed out on some great catchy songs.

This is exactly the stuff I was hoping to find when doing this challenge, weird stuff I would’ve never found otherwise. BRASIL NUMERO UNO!

beatifull

Brazilian band interesting

Love this band, love this album. Listened to it maybe 5 times today. 5 stars.

Wow! Hele gave echt psychedelische muziek. Braziliaanse en andere invloeden helpen mee de muziek naar een hoger plan te trekken. Geweldig origineel, gaat vaker geluisterd worden

My favorite Brazilian psychedelic rock.

I peeped at other reviews that were written about this article and one that made me laugh was that they “weren’t stoned enough for this.” Maybe I AM stoned enough for this but I dig it. I love the garage rock influences here, everything just a little gritty. Combined with some incredible drumming. It’s a multigenre impressive piece of work. Before writing this little review I looked up the Wikipedia page of the band to learn more and what a story! Now I can’t speak Portugese so I don’t really understand what they’re singing about (I’m gonna listen through with autotranslator maybe because I liked this so much) but incredible that this music almost caused a riot!

The tropicalia sounds are new to me, the loud and heavy mixes with trocipal sounds are very interesting. The 60s vibe collide with surreal and personal themes, makes this an album I had the joy of listening to it, fully.

EXCELLENT. As a YouTube commenter said, "the Brazilian Beatles"

i adore this album

It’s really weird, but in a good way. It’s both enjoyable and completely different from the rest of the list, so you know what? I’ll give it 5 stars.

This is a hauntingly beautiful, funny, crazy album - from the cool surfy A Minha Menina to the array of psychadelic reverb drenched songs it’s interesting and inspiring even after tens of listens - to me this is an awesome record. Need to learn Portuguese to appreciate another dimension of it though

Since following this list, any album I haven't heard that's some combination of psychedelic rock and the avant garde is okay by me. There's just more of it than I ever knew haha

TOSSE, TODO MUNDO TOSSINDO top 5 maiores pedradas da música nacional esse álbum é genial, apenas.

BRASIL NUMERO UM CAMPEÃO PENTA ☝️🥇🏆🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 sou clubista mesmo. album brasileiro é 5 estrelas, foda-se. ainda mais quando é a maior pedrada que saiu da tropicália. meu único comentário é: doideira não ser o album "Tropicália" mesmo. prefiro esse aqui, mas o outro é historicamente (?) mais aclamado né. no mais, luto eterno rita lee.

This album is a sheer delight. I knew many of the songs from the Best Of collection, but the rest were all solid jams too. I’d definitely give this a closer relisten; would likely be a 4 but am gonna round up.

The brazillian beatles are weird and it's so perfect. Catchy, interesting, arresting and often beautiful

Brazilian psychedelia par excellence! This is such a banger! Maybe its hard to understand if this is your first encounter with Brazilian music but if you know some other artists it’s a perfect album.

Wow this was a surprise. I loved it. I;d never heard of him before. I really enjoyed the dreamlike tunes.

Utter madness zero sadness sparking great joy psychedelia ahoy ne'er heard anything like this not causing a miss so much fun this is a good 'un

9/10. Um...YES, PLEASE!!! This album features the PERFECT 1960's psychedelic rock vibes. It's crazy and all over the place, but in the best way possible. Brazil knows how to make fantastic music!!! :)

What a fascinating, forward thinking album. Really unexpected and deeply satisfying.

No idea what’s going on here, but I like it. Track 2 just finished and I loved it. I’m really enjoying this album. This album is just wonderful.

This is so quirky and I’m super obsessed with it. Every song brought something delightfully new and interesting. I’m interested to see how much relisten value it maintains. For now though, it’s definitely a 5.

what a masterpiece - how have I not come across "Os Mutantes" before?

Os Mutantes is the debut album by Os Mutantes, originally released in 1968. Holy shit. I've heard of this band being discussed in psych circles in the past but I totally forgot about them until now. This is so damn cool. I feel like when most people think of the first wave of psych rock they automatically think of the San Francisco scene and the hippies. Maybe swinging London. The truth is the hippie/psychedelic movement was happening in a lot more places. Sometimes it happened later than the US, such as the Zambian psych movement. But others happened right in tandem, such as Brazil. Os Mutantes were at the forefront of the Brazilian psych movement. And this is way more than just garage rock. The compositions are very creative and draw the listener in, wondering what will happen next. The only other album I could compare this to is Sgt Pepper. It gives off that same vibe and wide range of styles. This thing has everything from horns to acoustic ballads to rocking fuzz guitar. Drop a tab and throw this one on the turntable and you'll be in for a great trip.

Good music from front to back. Every song is different and they're all great

This rules.

A little rough around the edges but really fun. Could totally see myself throwing this on again for some good vibes.

Surprisingly loved this. It really grew on me as it went on.

Awesome. Sounds great. Spacey and fun. I would totally put this on in the background for a barbecue. Feels like the beatles in spirit and quality but foreign. Im suprised I havent heard this group before.

I think that this album is criminally overlooked. We would do well to get outside of our Anglo-American concentration and see how what we are familiar with influences and has been influenced by what we are not familiar with.

Only a recent discovery for me. I got into them after reading their praises sung in the Beastie Boys Book. I had no doubt heard and came across their songs before during the lounge music revival of the 90s - I did latch onto Esquivel & Gilberto Gil during that time. OS Mutantes elevates that sound with a healthy dose of psychedelic garage rock that no doubt inspired a bunch of other bands

On the first listen I had a great time. I was thinking 'now this is my kind of messy.' It's fun, it's all over the place in a good way, and I just like it. On the second listen I could focus on the technical ability and the fusion inspirations the artists took from. Love it.

I’ve never heard of this artist before, but based on the description of the album, this is exactly the reason that I signed up for this project. I’m excited to give this a listen. Heading into this project, I thought I liked 60’s psychedelic music, but that hasn’t really been the case as much as I go through a lot of these albums. This album, however, was right up my alley. It’s different without being really weird and unique while still feeling really accessible (other than the fact I don’t speak Portuguese, but thank thankfully Chat GPT could give me some insight to the lyrical content of the songs). Musically, this album is incredibly diverse, but still feels cohesive, a feat that I feel can be difficult to achieve. The fuzzy guitar tones and distortion sound really great in combination with the rhythms and percussion (I assume that’s where a lot of the Brazilian influences in this album lie). Reading up on this album, I see that a lot of the lyrical content is protesting dictatorial military rule in Brazil at the time, which I can always get behind (by the way, super fun to raise two young kids in America right now, especially with a presidential candidate getting shot at over the weekend). Back to the musical content though: I’ve heard The Bees’ version of “A Minha Menina” when I reviewed their album, but this version was far better. I loved the playful tone, upbeat tempo, and dance worthy percussion. One thing that I think this album did really well, is that the song structures are really unique. “O Relógio” was a prime example of this. I liked how the song started off with a dreamy tone, before shifting to more traditional psychedelic sounds, and then shifting back to the dreamy tone to close. I really enjoyed “Ave Genghis Khan” as well. The piano riff was fantastic, and the jazzy percussion combined with the electronic elements gave it a really fun sound. This was a really great album and it was a really awesome experience to listen something so different. This isn’t necessarily the type of album that I’d gravitate towards, but I can understand and appreciate why it was on this list.

Brilliant, bonkers, ideas overspilling everywhere, great tunes, weird noises, and uplifting joy.

I wanna learn Portuguese now.

Brazil Mentioned! Brazil Mentioned! So good to hear something from my motherland. And what an album! Revolutionary and psychedelic. It represents some of the best Brazilian music has to offer. VIVA RITA LEE!!

Heck yeah. 60's psychedelia from Brazil that's as weird as can be. Take all my stars.

Here’s a deep cut I’d never heard from an amazing year in music. Genre bending, psychedelic, and experimental. It’s not flawless but it gets 5 stars from me - because it’s just the kind of treasure I hope to find among in the 1001. Enjoyed it and will return to it!

This is some excellent South American, 60’s, psychedelic music! A really cool album diverse and complete, I didn’t always vibe with every song, but when they were good, they were GOOD. The language barrier didn’t matter as the instrumental and atmosphere were very strong. A clear 5

Finally. Something that gets us to travel outside of the anglo-dominant music world! This is delightfully weird, all over the place, exploded and inventive. It just packs a lot in its 37 minutes, so much so that to fully digest it one day is not enough. The voices, the guitars, all go to some pretty strange places that I know nothing about. It travels in time and space, dreams of freedom and tenderness and fury. It welcomes and celebrates life at every turn, inviting nature as part of its choir of voices. I will have to come back here. This is the kind of record I am grateful for - something I have been hearing about for a long time without getting around to actually listen, and that pushes me out of my comfort zone.

Ephemeral, weird but overall deeply interesting and enjoyable

Wow! Never heard this album, nor this artist or any of their music. Incredible that this came out when it did, instantly added to my library.

Good of course. Like no other music.

Cant play this album without thinking about Cincinnati in 2006. First Internship with My uncle Mark and grandfather. Living on liberty hill for the summer with Drew David and John. Definitely one of the most fun summers of my life.

Holy shit this is awesome!!! It sounds like I’ve always imagined cocaine feels.

have listened to this album so many times

Your favorite has been rendered irrelevant within the first 5 minutes of this album, and your girlfriend got salmonella, now DANCE! bitch...

Supergenial! Und das zu der Zeit!!!!

Loved it

I heard about this album in high school when I was obsessed with a lot of the Elephant 6 bands (for many of whom this is a direct inspiration). I mean, it's an absolutely classic psychedelic rock album in my book, more joyful than The Doors and more obtuse than Sgt. Pepper's. It's a 5 for me even though I rarely listen to it any more, listening to it again today was a joy. Probably aught to listen to it more.

ahead of its time is the first thought i can give this album. seriously, with some of the processed effects i'm hearing... this was the 1960s! it's very surprising. an interesting amalgamation of tropical and surreal, blending all sorts of genre influences from north america, south america and europe. brilliantly odd. a treat of an album.

This is a great example of why I’m doing this. I’d heard of Os Mutantes, and maybe heard a track or two, but didn’t know anything about them. So glad this popped up. I really loved this album. I love that you didn’t really know what sound would pop up next, but it was always fun. I will be definitely be listening again!

Os Mutantes are a brilliant psychedelic band from Brazil. Their self-titled album is a collection of fun, experimental songs that garnered world-wide attention. They embraced elements of American and British psychedelia - distortion, feedback, and a range of instruments and styles. The result is very entertaining, and a great example of the experimental music that arose our of sixties psychedelia.