This is a new CD release of
Os Mutantes fourth album
Jardim Eletrico, from 1971. After the fact that
Mutantes' album catalog had inexplicably been out of print for so many years, Universal's reissues of the band's classic, and in so many was revolutionary, albums from the late '60s and early '70s was a blessing to the ever growing number of
Mutantes' fans all over the world.
Jardim Eletrico, with its distorted guitar sounds, kicks off with the almost hysterical and mildly anarchistic proto-punk song "Top, Top." The title track is another variation of wacky rock. The ballad "Bemvinda" is a loving parody of the preferred musical style of the popular soul singer
Tim Maia. "El Justiciero" pokes fun, also in a typically warm way, of Latin folklore, telling a story about a heroic, Zorro-like figure. That track is also accompanied by some beautiful flamenco guitar playing. The psychedelic "Technicolor" stands because of its English lyrics. "Portugal de Navio" mixes blues and
the Beatles with
Mutantes' own sense of absurd humor. "Virginia" is lovely and, coming from
Mutantes, a comparatively "normal" pop song with lyrics about lost love. "Lady, Lady" brings up that same theme in a somewhat more unconventional way.
Jardim Eletrico is nothing less than another classic gem from
Os Mutantes, as always rich in colorfulness, moods and inventions. ~ Philip Jandovský