Os Mutantes: Everything Is Possible

Futuristic to the past, the wacky sonic brew that is Os Mutantes, Everything Is Possible (Luaka Bop 47251; 49:25) is undoubtedly one of the odder entries into the world music bins, if it, in fact, belongs there at all. It’s true, this quirky Brazilian answer to psychedelia sounds perfectly in tune with the renewed interest in the late ’60s atmosphere that gave rise to the Tropicalia of Tom Ze, Caetano Veloso, et al., as well as a ’60s-fixated “shagadelic” condition in general.

So call it world music: why not? But it was clearly a different world. The functional verb with the band-being Arnaldo Baptista, Rita Lee Jones, and Sergio Dias-was to mutate, to process the bleary profusion of cultural influences floating in the ether at the time, which would include late period Beatles, avant garde instincts, pop melodicism, and production decisions that usually avoided the clean, easy path. The collection opens with its biggest hit, “Ando Meio Desligado,” which quickly descends from a simple pop melody line into acid rock jam-mania. And so it goes, full of weird sounds and stylistic mix-ups. It sounds fresh today.

Originally Published November 1, 1999