Back Tracks 8

Os Mutantes. The name means little to most people, even amongst musical aficionados. I first heard the name in the early 90's from a Kurt Cobain mention in an interview; he was trying to get this Brazilian band to reform for a show. I looked around, couldn't find any recordings, and was only able to find out they were on the psychedelic edge of the Tropicalia movement of the late 60's. Flash forward to 1999, and a concurrent release on CD of a greatest hits collection and the first three albums they recorded. I picked up a copy of Everything Is Possible!, the best of collection put out on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label. 4 years later, I am still caught in it's spell.

Everything Is Possible! presents to the world a band ahead of it's time. As described on the Luaka Bop website:

They were exactly what their name implies: a mutant genetic recombination of elements of John Cage, The Beatles, and Bossa Nova.

They were that and more. Their experiments led them to "reverse engineer" a wah-wah pedal to make a backwards looping wooh-whooh sound. They used a crude device (later perfected as the Voice Box - think of some of the throaty distortions favored by Tom Waits) to record vocals that sounded like nothing else. Their use of Brazilian bossa nova and samba rhythms seemed a mocking poke in the eye of "popular culture" - a pointed comment that nothing is sacred. Yet they are approachable and definitely "poppy" in sound. The experimentation and psychedelic touches never get in the way of the tune - they paint around it - color outside the lines if you will. But the line is there, and clearly visible throughout (my understanding is that this may be indicative of a choice by the compiler - from reading a bit, it seems that the crazier and rougher songs were carefully trimmed from the collection to present a tighter picture).

If you've ever listened to Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, or Tom Zé, you've been prepared for the path to Os Mutantes. Especially if you've heard Gil's self-titled 1968 release - his backing band on a number of tracks were Os Mutantes. Be forewarned - the road of Os Mutantes contains many surprises, twists and turns. Imagine a band as talented as the Beatles growing up listening to the Beatles themselves. Os Mutantes are that good, and that talented, timeless and relevant. One only need listen to A Minha Menina (My Girl) to find joy in the world.