LimeWire Music Blog

When most artists put together a live album, they’re content to make it a “best of” record, punctuated by between-song applause. Of course, that approach can be fantastic, but it’s not what Brazilian tropicalia-pop legends Os Mutantes decided to do with 1976’s Ao Vivo. Although it was recorded at a live performance, it was also the band’s last album of new material before breaking up. (Lucky for us, they reunited in 2006.) As with most of the band’s later work, Ao Vivo is more prog-rock than psychedelia, bookended by intro and outro tracks both titled “Anjos do Sul.” On what is generally a warm but diffuse effort, one must-listen moment of absolute freakout comes on “Rio de Janeiro,” with its dramatic vocals and squealing guitar solos. “Rock ‘n’ Roll City,” slightly rushed and cheesy as it may be, is the kind of epic fans of Queen should surely appreciate. And “Sagitarius,” with its mellow crooning and spacey synths, manages to find a fascinating compromise between soothing and creepy. Ao Vivo isn’t Os Mutantes’ best work, but, like everything else the band has done, it certainly merits a listen.