Search - Rita Lee :: Hoje E O Primeiro Dia

The Mutantes' final circus

Derrick A. Smith | USA | 09/29/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"By '72 Os Mutantes were on the verge of becoming a prog-rock band and Rita Lee stood on the brink of success as a Brazilian rock diva; both paths would borrow heavily from Yankee pop/rock trends. However, the entire group cut one last great album (with Lee inaptly given top billing) in that year - "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."This album can be seen as an immediate successor to Tropicalia and contains elements of what's being called the "post-Tropicalia sound": the continued ironic juxtapositions of Brazilian elements with Pan-Latin and prevailing American/European stylings, but tinged by a slightly-subdued, darker, less-youthful energy that bespeaks the oppression of the Brazilian dictatorship (Veloso and Gil were still in exile when the album was recorded) as well as the drug fallout and loss of optimism shared with their Northern counterparts.That's not to say the humor is gone - "Tapupukitipa" sets a righteous strident chant of an Indian word over a distinct early-70s clavinet-driven funk-rock groove that dissolves into group spoken-word, and the opening track coaxes an image of Dee-Lite's Lady Kier cutting a musical "toast to health" in Electric Ladyland Studios in 1969, given spine by the great bassist Liminha. In typical Mutantes fashion, Latin styles such as tango and bossa nova are skewered lovingly. But Arnaldo Baptista sounds like a man in decline, and the general feel is of a group of tired carnival entertainers putting on an heroic final show to a litter-strewn venue."

A Fake Lee Jones' Album: The Swan Chant of Mutantes Age.

Fernando Fonseca | Campinas, SP Brazil | 04/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Following the Mutantes style, it was cdredited to Rita Lee Jones as a solo labum, but it wasn't: It is just another genuine Mutantes album, although the last with Rita as a member of the crew. And I love this album, because the whole band shows an fantastic developing as musicians. Arnaldo Baptista is the producer, once more, and many of the compositions were written by him and Lee Jones. This album was made in a late psychedelic style (well, remember that the rest of the world uses to be some years behind U.S.A. and Western Europe in terms of international cultural trends), but full of talent. Lee Jones and Baptista talents. They were really great together. Listen carefully to "Vamos Tratar da Saude", "Hoje e o Primeiro Dia do Resto da Sua Vida", "De Novo Aqui Meu Bom Jose", "Frique Comigo" and "Tapupukitipa" (the last, written to be a kind of answer to 70's Brazilian Military Government censorship - in cifrated language, the title means something similar to "F... you")."

A must-have for Os Mutantes fans

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 03/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A pretty solid album, and really, for all intents and purposes, an Os Mutantes album, since Sergio and Arnaldo both perform on here, as does fill-in member Arnolpho Lima (aka Liminha). Brazilian fans of Lee's later pop-rock material probably won't like this disc much, but if you're into the freaky psychedelic stuff, this is one of her very best records. The approach is very Mutantes-ish, though in reality this is way better than most of the band's official albums. Sure, it's just as goofy and clunky, but the ideas and mood are more sustained from track to track, and as an album it hangs together much better. Prescient parodies of lounge music and lumpen boogie rock seek a detente with some seriously artsy/psychedelic efforts, including music concrete and cute tape loop effects... very similar in tone to Caetano Veloso's album, "Araca Azul," from the same year. I dunno if this is something you'd put on when you had company visiting, but if you've come this far with the whole Tropicalia thing, then you should certainly check this one out. (Originally reviewed January, 2002)"