The Return of “Mutantism”

Rock and Roll is now a veteran over fifty years old. Time has finally allowed it to begin settling a historic debt—or rather, a future debt: “How does one understand, assimilate, and live with one’s past?” How does one live and understand the “suffering”—as Tom Zé sang—”of youth”?

The writer Rubem Braga, discussing the journalism’s chronicle, commented: “Truth is not the passing of time; truth is the instant.” If Rock is volatile—like a gas, as Jimi Hendrix sang—how does one experience the eternity of the instant? How does one live in that singular moment?

B.B. King turns 83 this year. To blues fans, he is not old. João Gilberto is 76, yet remains the great name of bossa nova.

Rock is finally to grasp the dialectical interplay between “time” and the “instant”— between what is already inscribed in history and what, through inventiveness, continues to stretch the beginnings of history. The return of The Mutantes comes at just the right time to settle this debt and answer, once and for all, the question: “If the group was— and is — the perfect example of the Brazilian rock revolution and one of the greatest names in international rock, why confine their trajectory to just five years (1968–1972) of recorded output?”

The Beatles’ catalog is occasionally revisited by Paul McCartney and George Martin. Why not allow the Mutantes revolution to continue?

Setting aside the “friendly fire” (criticism from Rita Lee and Liminha’s refusal to participate), the announcement of the group’s return sparked a wide range of reactions — from doubt and fear to relief and a sense of “finally.”

But what could we expect from this comeback? How would the core trio — Arnaldo Baptista, Sérgio Dias, and Dinho — interact “chemically” thirty-five years later? Who could replace Rita Lee’s iconic voice, and how? What instrumentation and arrangements would be used to dress up “classics” that originally defined the group’s heyday under the sonic machinery of maestro Rogério Duprat?

The answer was a wise one. The group re-emerged in “exile” — far removed from the weight of expectations and anxieties — at a London event celebrating Tropicália beyond just its musical boundaries: the exhibition Tropicália: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture. This event provided a comprehensive overview of the movement, spanning music, poetry, visual arts, cinema, theater, architecture, dance, politics, theory, and history. It culminated in a concert at the Barbican Center in London, England, in May 2006.

The resulting material — a concert and album now released on CD/DVD—is impeccable. Under Sérgio’s leadership and Arnaldo’s creative vision, the group managed to blend the most experimental aspects of Tropicália with the finest elements of psychedelia — past, present, and future.

The group comprises ten members: the core members — Arnaldo Baptista (keyboards and vocals), Sérgio Dias (guitar and vocals), and Dinho Leme (drums) — plus the vocals, featuring a truly special guest appearance by Zélia Duncan — a *Mutante* by nature; backing vocals by Fabio Recco and Esmérya Bulgari; keyboards by Vitor Trida and Henrique Peters; bass by Vinicius Junqueira; and percussion by Simone Soul.

The setlist is a “greatest hits” collection. It features music from the group’s five albums from their “heroic” era. From the debut album Os Mutantes (1968): “Panis et Circensis,” “Minha Menina,” “Bat Macumba,” “Le premier bonheur du jour,” and “Ave Gengis Khan.” From the 1969 album Mutantes: “Don Quixote,” “Dia 36,” “Fuga n.2,” and “Caminhante Noturno.” From A Divina Comédia ou Ando Meio Desligado (1970): “Ando Meio Desligado,” “Ave Lucifer,” and “Desculpe Babe.” From Jardim Elétrico (1971): “Top Top,” “Technicolor,” “El Justiciero,” and “Virgínia.” And from Mutantes & Seus Cometas No País do Baurets* (1972): “Cantor de Mambo,” “Balada do Louco,” and “ A Hora e a Vez do Cabelo Crescer.”

Sérgio Dias is in impressive form. Zélia Duncan, despite a limited role, proves to be the perfect choice. Arnaldo appears with his surreal quips and signature vocals. Dinho remains precise and essential. The other musicians brilliantly fulfill their roles as supporting players.

The box set— containing two CDs and a DVD — released by Sony & BMG, presents the London concert in its entirety. The CDs and DVD feature the same tracklist, creating a mise-en-abyme effect — like Russian nesting dolls, where inside the largest one lies another, and another, and another…

It begins with the concrete poetry (in the Mutante style) of “Dom Quixote,” with its alliteration and wordplay, and concludes with the Tropicalist cruelty of “Panis et Circensis”, by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. Throughout the show, time moves back and forth. It pauses and resumes. It is fluid, flexible, and non-chronological — as if the group had actually released a massive five-disc album during its heyday (1968–1972). The shuffled songs better reveal the floor plan— the pilot plan — of the Mutantes style.

This proves, once again, that the group is not merely a name in the rock pantheon, but a “way of doing things”— a style, a subgenre (to borrow a term from Roy Shuker’s Popular Music: The Key Concepts) within rock itself: “Mutantismo” (mutantism).

This explains the admiration artists as diverse as David Byrne and Kurt “Nirvana” Cobain— along with Beck, Sean Lennon, the Beastie Boys, Pizzicato Five, and Belle & Sebastian — have for the group’s work.

After all, what was presented in this “re-debut” is merely a small — yet significant — excerpt from the “Mutantes vault”; there is still enough material for at least two new releases. We do not yet know what is to come. But it is certainly more (non-polluting) fuel, proving that it is still worth continuing with — and within — the Mutantes revolution. (Marcelo Dolabela – BHZ, July 2007).

CD I
01 – Don Quixote
02 – Caminhante Noturno
03 – Ave Gengis Khan
04 – Tecnicolor
05 – Virginia
06 – Cantor de Mambo
07 – El Justiciero
08 – Baby
09 – I’m Sorry Baby
10 – Top Top
11 – Dia 36

CD II
01 – Fuga nº II
02 – Le Premier Bonheur du Jour
03 – Dois Mil e Um
04 – Ave Lucifer
05 – Balada do Louco
06 – I Feel a Little Spaced Out
07 – A Hora e a Vez do Cabelo Nascer
08 – A Minha Menina
09 – Bat Macumba
10 – Panis et Circensces