I am ashamed to admit I have been sitting on this record for months, then when I finally decided to take a listen, my shame exploded on Sunset Boulevard, above the 405 near the Getty Center.

Os Mutantes is such a polarizing band: Most people I know that have heard them either fall madly in love or snicker at the oddity of crazy psychedelia sung/wailed in portugese. Admittedly, at first I liked them because they were odd and seemingly obscure. Nothing gives you more cred as a fledgling indie-rocker in Athens, GA than peppering your conversation with a declaration of the unhinged brilliance of Mutantes by Os Mutantes, even though you don't understand a word and not completely sure that what you are hearing are "songs." I mean, My Bloody Valentine's Loveless is one thing, but this is just...nuts. When the second track, "Nao Va Se Perder Por Ai (You're Not Going to Lose Yourself Out There)" is announced by that crazy cackle/bird call noise from what I always assumed was Rita Lee, you just think this whole record is inpenetrable Brazilian abstraction...until that kick-ass fuzz bass brings the song into a psych-country stomp that I have tried to imitate more that once and failed each time. I once tried to drop Mutantes on my Alabamian 2nd cousin and his redneck buddy who were visiting the big city for the first time. I got them high and convinced them that Kid A is the greatest record ever made (it's not), convinced them that Emitt Rhodes was robbed by Paul McCartney and Badfinger and will one day get his just recognition (he was and will, by God...). And now, having these bumpkins believing I was their own personal Lester Bangs, I dropped Mutantes on them with much pomp and ceremony. They laughed uncontrollably for at least 5 solid minutes...which is a long time to be laughing...even when you are stoned. Pearls to swine, indeed. That was quite a few years back and I think time has healed that wound. After my cousin learned that I could NOT get him a record deal for his band just because I lived on Hollywood blvd, that emails and phone calls stopped coming, much to the relief of my wife. Can't blame the kids for having the dream.

So let's fast forward to last week when I slipped Hoje é o Primero Dia do Resto de Sua Vida into the CD player on my way home from work. First of all look at the cover:

I mean it is probably some old publicity shot from way back when, but man, if I were the CEO of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, I would plaster that image all over subway platforms around the world, or at least in Sao Paulo. The record was produced by Mutante Arnoldo Baptista, who apparently forgot that the project he was working on was a RITA LEE SOLO RECORD, not the 5th Os Mutantes venture. The bass is thrown to the front of the mix, everybody is getting a pass on the vocal mic and the entire record is filled with wacky studio banter and hammy vocal performances...you know like an Os Mutantes record. Of course it is entirely possible that this is exactly how Rita wanted it, so who are we to judge....and quite frankly I think it is more accessible than most Os Mutantes records.

There is so much Rita Lee vocal goodness on this one (well, obviously...) that the language barrier almost doesn't hinder the enjoyment. She stretches words out and drips off the end of verses like dolce de leche. The second track, "Beija Me Amor" which I am guessing is "Kiss me, my love", but is translated on the Altavista Babel Fish translation site to "love kisses me" is a fairly stripped down, intimate recording with Ms. Lee whispering something about kissing and a mouth and some sort of Vagabond...my gosh it is sexy. And then for good measure a crazy guitar talk box solo takes over and Rita goes into a sultry spoken word bridge of sorts.

The show stopper and worth the price of the record however is track 6, "Amor Branco E Preto," a Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66 influenced bossa nova number that is reminiscent of "Mas Que Nada" except for the drunken, burping synthesizer that seems to blurt out whatever it wants until it passes out; then wakes up just in time for a rambling solo. On first listen it is almost laughable, but after repeated listens you realize that it is perfect and you should be ashamed for questioning.

Again, I didn't really follow Os Mutantes after Rita left. I know that she went on to be quite the pop star in Brazil as the brothers continued to record as Os Mutantes and runs deeper into prog-rock territory. I had little interest in seeing the reunion show, as Rita was absent...it's the same reason I refused to head down to the county fair to see a Journey concert until Steve Perry rejoins the ranks. Well, not really, but you get the idea.

So, instead we have Hoje é o Primero Dia do Resto de Sua Vida to reminisce with while drinking a frosty Coke. I'm telling you that image would make drinking Coke from the bottle hip again, trust me. I'm talkin' Kombucha Wonder Drink-hipness people!