Search - Rita Lee :: Lanca Perfume E Outras Manias

The best of Mutantes' ex lead singer

Remy LeBeau | New Orleans, LA - USA | 07/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the collection of the top 10 singles (in the Brazilian chart) of Mutantes' lead singer Rita Lee. Mutantes was one of South America's most created and revered psychedelic rock bands from the late 60's and early 70's. In the 80's, Rita abandoned the experimentation and psychedelism that characterized the Mutantes sound and tried some lighter stuff with influences of bossa nova (check Doce Vampiro, Ovelha Negra, Desculpe O Auê). This CD is the best that the 80's pop rock could offer. There are some pure rock tracks that are awsome too (Agora Só Falta Você, Jardins da Babilônia). The first one was dedicated to her Mutantes partner and ex-boyfriend Arnaldo Baptista and talks about leaving the past behind. Overall, this is a must have for Rita's fans and a very pleasant surprise for a casual listener."

Rita and Roberto Rule!

06/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was on an Internet Radio service to which I (a lover of Brazilian samba/bossa nova) subscribe that I first heard Rita singing "Nem Luxo, Nem Lixo." Though utterly clueless as to the work of this artist, I recall from almost the first note being literally elevated by what I was hearing. It took me back to the R&B harmonies that I so vividly recall from my 1950's youth. On the strength of that hearing, I bought this CD, thinking it would be worth it just for that single cut. With apologies to the late Fred Rogers, "can you spell underestimation?" With her husband and musical partner Roberto de Carvalho, Rita is the consummate pop song writer. Together, they toss off melodic and lyrical (and I don't even understand Portuguese!) hooks that strike me as placing them at least in the neighborhood of a team they obviously and genuinely admire, Lennon & McCartney. In this collection that influence (especially, I think, John Lennon's) is most evident in the first six tracks; but beginning with "Doce Vampiro," every cut is (inho) that of an individual voice, making the sort of music that penetrates the consciousness and simply fills one with the sheer joy of being alive. And in the end, what more is there to any creative art form than that? It's pop music at its absolute most sophisticated, and what amazes me is that it's creators are not more widely known here in the U.S. So, with the proviso that my reaction may well be an individual one, I commend the disc to anyone reading this. If you enjoy it as unabashedly as I have, I will have done my modest bit to make the world (by how many ever inhabitants find it persuasive) a happier place. And isn't that what this living busniess is all about?"

A must have for all Rita's fans

Remy LeBeau | 08/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rita Lee & Roberto de Carvalho are one of the best song-writers/arrangers team. Rita as a performer is absolutely incredible ! This album reflects not only their talent but also wondeful memories for all of us who have followed Rita's carrer through the years. I just wich they would tour the USA"