In 1970,
Os Mutantes re-recorded in English a full LP's worth of their best songs, apparently hoping to crack the American and European market. (Brazilian expats
Caetano Veloso and
Gilberto Gil would make the same move, for political reasons, one year later.) If ever, the late flowering of the psychedelic era was the perfect time for a
Mutantes breakthrough, considering the trio's zany songwriting sense and even more anarchic production methods. And though the album never saw release until the next century -- Western audiences proved far more understanding of
Sergio Mendes' easy-pop version of Brazilian music forms anyway --
Tecnicolor acquired a new lease on life when it was finally reissued in 2000. By no means did
Mutantes commercialize their sound. The tape-music experimentation and freak-out guitar lines are, if anything, farther out than the first few
Mutantes LPs. Though a few of the tracks -- "Panis Et Circenses" especially -- lose much of their cache with the addition of English lyrics, for the most part these versions equal or even better the originals. ~ John Bush