Critic's Review
Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide
A compilation of the albums by Os Mutantes, a fundamental rock band in Brazil in the '60s. Among their originals, this has the lyrical "Balada do Louco," the lysergic "Ando Meio Desligado," the humorous "Top-top," the canine "Vida de Cachorro," the outrageous "Posso Perder Minha Mulher, Minha Mãe, Desde Que Eu Tenha o Rock and Roll" (I Can Lose My Wife, My Mother, As long As I Have the Rock and Roll), "Rita Lee," and "Meu Refrigerador Não Funciona." There are also renditions of songs by other composers: "Panis et Circensis" (by Caetano Veloso/Gilberto Gil, a fundamental song for Tropicália), "Baby" (arguably much better than the famous Gal Costa rendition), "Chão de Estrelas" (a classic seresta by Orestes Barbosa/Sílvio Caldas, ruined by their caustic humor in the over-interpreted rendition that mixes seresta with New Orleans jazz, evidence of musical competence of the band), "Bat Macumba" (Gilberto Gil/Caetano Veloso, where they satirize the social-concerned introduction to Gil's "Procissão"), and "Banho de Lua" (version by Fred Jorge of Filippi/Migliaci's "Tintarella di Luna"). The compilation does justice to the creative genius of that great band, in spite of being incomplete in all aspects. Fourteen tracks aren't enough to provide a reliable description for their work, which comprises so many different phases and elements, but an elementary introduction is provided through it.
