Let's review. Os Mutantes were a psychedelic rock band at the center of Brazil's acid rock-influenced "tropicalia" movement of the late 1960s. One of the most chaotic and musically experimental groups of the late-'60s Brazilian crowd, they played backup on the first solo albums of Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, as well as on the landmark TROPICALIA compilation which also featured Veloso, Gil, Gal Costa and Nara Leao.

After the original band split up, Sergio Dias made a go of it, fronting the Mutantes band as a commercially-inclined prog rock outfit, while his brother Arnaldo Baptista and singer Rita Lee both pursued solo pop careers, with varying degrees of success. Arnaldo Baptista's career was cut short by a crippling emotional depression which led, in 1982, to an apparent suicide attempt where he leapt out of a window and subsequently spent the rest of the decade in physical therapy and rehabilitation. Although he eventually reemerged and recorded sporadically with a few younger artists, Baptista remains a recluse, living in the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. Sergio Dias went on to do some work as a session guitarist, but also has not recorded much in the last few decades.

In recent years, the Baptistas and Os Mutantes have been embraced by a younger generation of Brazilian rockers, members of the BRock, manguebeat and indie rock scenes, who all recognize the band's stature as pioneers and innovators of a homegrown rock movement. Here's a look at the solo work of Sergio and Arnaldo Baptista; Rita Lee's solo work is reviewed on a separate page...

Arnaldo Baptista "Loki?" (Polygram, 1974)
A ridiculously overwrought '70s rock album, with Baptista's piano work going into full Billy Joel overdrive. Terribly earnest and a bit cluttered, this was apparently recorded when Arnaldo was entering into a deep, dark, suicidal depression, although I'm not sure that this bleakness was reflected in these eclectic and far-reaching tunes. I wouldn't exactly tell you to run out and get this album, but it's definititely worth checking out, and has plenty of die-hard fans. Several ex-Mutantes pals pitch in, including Rita Lee, Liminha, and famed tropicalia arranger, Rogerio Duprat. Pretty goofy, overall, but a nice period piece. Many fans swear by this album.

Arnaldo Baptista "Singin' Alone" (Virgin-Brazil, 1982)
A genuinely weird, frequently enchanting album that puts Baptista smack dab in the intersection of Prog Street and Lo-Fi Boulevard. He captures the best spirit of both aesthetics, with a playful, cockeyed take on the whole absurd notion of making a record in the first place... sort of like a Brazilian Alex Chilton. Dribs and drabs of his early '70s boogie rock past also come into place on this oddball record - about two thirds inventive and playful, one third annoying as hell. If you're a Mutantes fan, this is well worth checking out.

Arnaldo Baptista "Faremos Uma Noitada Excelente" (Vinil Urbano, 1987)

Arnaldo Baptista "Elo Perdido" (Vinil Urbano, 1987)

Arnaldo Baptista "Disco Voador" (Baratos Afins, 1987)

Arnaldo Baptista "Let It Bed" (L&C, 2004)
An entertaining, whimsical "comeback" album by Os Mutantes songwriter Arnaldo Baptista, who has been in seclusion for many years, and -- they say -- wrestling with nervous breakdowns and mental illness. Baptista pokes fun at his own disabilities with a goofy cover of the old Woody Woodpecker song, "Everybody Thinks I'm Crazy," singing in a voice that is somwhat grey, weary and contented. He sounds like a man who has been ravaged and tortured by life, but still loves its ironic twists and surprises, and still finds the world to be a playful place. This is possibly Baptista's most personal and appealing album, as well as one of his most cohesive works of art. The music itself won't blow your mind -- the electronic blips and bloops and the orchestral touches are standard "lo-fi" kitchentable recording fare, but the lightness of heart that Baptista brings to it (and the absence of flashy, chaotic musical theatrics that made listening to the classic Mutantes albums a bit of a chore...) makes this album an oddball winner. The albums itself is short, barely a half an hour long, but the disc also contains some extras, including a photo gallery, an extensive Portuguese-language essay about Baptista and a complete discography, as well as low-budget videos for three of the songs off the album. This mini, self-contained website helps personalize the album... Overall, I'd say this is a release that Mutantes fans will definitely want to check out; I'm not sure how much appeal it would have for folks who don't already know a fair amount about the Baptista and the band...

Sergio Dias "Sergio Dias" (CBS, 1980)

Sergio Dias "Sergio Dias Solo - Gravado Nos EUA" ( Producao Eddie Offord )

Sergio Dias "East Side Strut" (1981)
With Eumir Deodato.

Sergio Dias "Armacao Ilimitada" (TV Globo, 1983)

Sergio Dias "A Era Dos Halley" (TV Globo, 1985)

Sergio Dias "O Filho Da Cidade - Abertura Novela Cambalacho" (TV Globo, 1987)

Sergio Dias "Johnny Love" (Soundtrack) (Vid Filmes, 1988)

Sergio Dias & Phil Manzera "Mato Grosso" (Black Sun Records, 1990)

Sergio Dias "Mind Over Matter" (Expression Records, 1991/Natasha, 1996/Mancub, 1999)
Pretty painful, although earnestly delivered. It's just... um... such a terribly mainstream album, and so phenomenally behind the times. Plus, it's all in English, which takes the fun out of it as well as making it impossible to overlook the sheer Rush/Styx/Journey-ness of it all. It sounds very heartfelt, but in terms of innovative rock music, this is kind of a write-off.

Sergio Dias "Song Of The Leopard" (Black Sun, 1996)
A straight-ahead "world music" release, mixing South African pop and Brazilian folk and MPB. Following a trip to South Africa, Sergio got in a Graceland frame of mind and hooked up with the Chris Faya Gospel Singers, a fairly traditional South African choral group. There are a few striking moments on here -- weird collisions of art rock, AfroBeat and Brazilian forro, but it also lurches into some pretty syrupy terrain. Overall, not that great, but still might be of interest to Mutantes fans.

Sergio Dias "Live At Jazz Mania" (Mancub Records, 1998)

Sergio Dias "Mind Over Matter" (Mancub, 2000)

Sergio Dias "Estacao Da Luz" (Tratore, 2001)

Various Artists "ONDE E QUE ESTA O MEU ROCK'N'ROLL? - ARNALDO BAPTISTA NOVAMENTE REVISITADO" (Dabliu, 1999)
This low-rent Brazilian rocknroll tribute to ex-Mutante Arnaldo Baptista has its charms and its iffy moments as well... The repertoire includes material from Baptista's Mutantes days, as well as a bunch of his solo stuff. The bands are also pretty diverse, ranging from actively painful Pat Travers-style rockers (Nata Violeta, Ligacio Direta) to space rockers, grindcorers, Green Day clones, and goth-ish indie types of varying ability. It's not, to be honest, the greatest album ever. But you could look at it as the Brazilian equivalent of one of those zillions of mid-1980s postpunk rock comps that came out during the days when they still called it "college" rock. Also, keep in mind that Baptista wasn't the world's most coherent composer, so anyone covering his raggedy-ass material has a tough act to follow. Some of these songs hit the mark, others don't -- but for the hardcore Mutantes fan, this could definitely be worth checking out.