Robert Wyatt: Classic or Dud?

ha ha...Scottish, dude.

I'm totally banned from the Commonwealth....

definitely worked better as a two sided record -- I like every track okay, but they don't work as well all in a row, though "Muddy Mouth" at the very end is way up there with the best of his stuff

I love "Yesterday Man" so much. No idea why that wasn't a single.

Handy cided to leave
He'd come apart at the seam - endangered life and lawn order before
The more since he lies (even under oaf handy lies) when he feels caught
Between righthand wrong. I think he just might have been wrong this time
Which in turn left him with few alternatives to relieving himself by hand
Alone in the dark, wanking in the bog?

http://www.strongcomet.com/wyatt/lyrics/lyrics1.htm

"I'd meant to do a Neil Sedaka song but, typically, got the wrong Neil."

Check his entry on the C81 cassette booklet (that you had to cut out/staple from a page of the NME). I still don't know what precent serious he was...

And thank god I did, because cripes -- what a brilliant fucking collection. Of course, the Chic is time-stoppingly beautiful -- oddly, its secret is actually something in the way the tamborine is mixed. But the other chestnuts reveal themselves quickly. "Age of Self" -- I've had the (now out of print) Mid-Eighties comp for ages that includes the entirety of Old Rottenhat but never so much as noticed it. Casio beat cum subtle throwdown funk bassline cum wondrous lyric cum perfectly elegant melody.

The songs from Cukooland, particularly the Beach Boys/Water Canticle-esque vocal multitracks of "Foreign Accents", inspired me to go seek that record out -- and, of course, it's offhandedly brilliant how his cornet playing has adopted the phrasing and tone of Miles Davis -- as if that were simply the one sound he absolutely NEEDED in his arsenal. Combined with Shleep ("Free Will and Testament") the guy's been on a serious roll this last decade.

But in spite of his successful return to lush productions, in the process of digging through all of his records, I've found myself particularly drawn to his mid-80's minimalist stuff -- which extended to Dondestan which I hocked in college in a fit of immaturity, and of course that version's now unavaiable. There's a certain dignity to his use of so few materials in this material, particularly in light of its directly political nature. Works In Progress seems its perfect distillation, really, with "Yolanda", "Te Recuerdo Amanda", the exquisite reading of hitherto insufferable "Biko" and his collab. w/ Hopper "Amber and the Amberines" -- has any pop artist ever made doomed political causes sound so hopeful and infused with life? Admittedly, Old Rottenhat is significantly more funereal, but still...

Message from RW.....
Body:
After starting this little profile in honor of Robert's life & work, and after VERY quickly seeing for myself the love & devotion his fanbase feels for him, I soon decided to make the extra effort in bringing that love & devotion to Robert personally.

A few weeks ago I wrote to Robert, explaining the Myspace craze (in a roundabout way) and giving him the web URL in case he chose to check it out himself.

I also enclosed printouts of the entire RW profile, including the comments section and dozens of messages (addressed to him) which I'd received via the private message feature. If memory serves, I mailed the package a little under two weeks ago.

Today I received a reply, and there is no longer ANY doubt in my mind..... Robert Wyatt is the coolest man alive. Bar none.

How cool? Well..... first of all, he gave me back my stamps!!!

(The letter came inside a recycled version of my original envelope, with portions snipped away & taped together, the original return address now used as the regular one. Anyways, when I opened the letter, the stamped portion of the original envelope plopped out first, along with a friendly note: "thought you might be able to use these again?".... too cool, I tell you. Just too cool. I'll scan that little note as soon as I can.)

The reply itself was handwritten on a lovely origami design, again composed of recycled scrap paper. I'm assuming (and hoping) that Robert won't mind if I share some selected portions with his loving fanbase......

Hallo Alex -

what can I say xept thank you so much for your very kind thought, and actions

Not doing gigs of course, I don't actually meet or even know on the whole who's out there keeping an ear out for what I've been doing, so it's a relief to get such amiable feedback.

I dare not get too distracted, though: I'm still struggling to get the next things done, etc.

Besides, I'm vain enough already, in my little way! You ask Alfie!

RW

PS. I hope people'll understand that if I don't respond it's just that my communication methods are still stuck in the deep recesses of the Twentieth century!

Robert, if you're reading this...... thank you again for being who you are, and doing what you do.

PS. Robert also wrote a little message on the outside of the envelope.....

"thanks again - it's all a lovely surprise........"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrcOEoFttWU

The energy of Wyatt's drumming is incredible. He is awesome.

http://www.inandout.at/images/product/moreextended_wyatt.jpg

The More Extended Version/Cpt. Kirk - Round About Wyatt

can this really be dance remixes of wyatt tunes? the only websites i see of it are in german.

Well, I'll weigh in. I thought his cover of "Shipbuilding" incredibly moving... he swam into the song's core and found a very vulnerable kernel that for me makes the protesty lyrics even more poignant. (i love that about covers, when the artist finds some buried or hinted-at aspect of the original -- it could be anything from a bassline to a subtext to a half-suppressed emotion -- and delivers it to/rescues it for the listener).

Then I think of the record 'Shleep', the 3rd track, Maryan, with its eastern mode and meandering, searching melody -- what a gorgeous cut. That trumpet. And when the strings tremolo in around 1:50.

What moves me about him is the beauty of his vulnerability... and also the production details in his best songs, the sumptuous instrumentation. Though I find him middling to boring on peppier numbers; he just doesn't muster any urgency and strength.

Rock Bottom, however, bored the fuck out of me.

Really cool droney, crazy ol' man EZ listening prog or something....it's DEFINITELY something...that's for sure....Sea Song is just a heartbreaking love song...."Your madness fits in nicely with my own" is such a sweet like....I love the big droney songs called Little Red Robin Hood....

Great organ sounds....bewitching record.

-- M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:01 (2 years ago) Bookmark Link

^^^^^^^^I agree with this.

I like how he sings "Joking apart when you're drunk, You're terrific when you're drunk" but then I don't like the next lyric "I like you mostly late at night, you're quite all right"

He had it right there...but then he lost it. ya kno?

Night/alright isn't the best, but then it goes into that little falsetto (I'm doing this from memory here): "But I can't understand the different you in the morning, when it's time to play at being human for a while."

Heartbreaking (to me) little observation of a couple who have drink and sex in common and not much else. I've been there.

Bear in mind that "when you're drunk" the singer is probly drunk too. And that he's already spoken about his own madness. I don't think the couple have little in common, I think the singer is talking about a distance forced between them by negotiating the mundanities of the day. But they're both only "playing" at being human.

It does feel like a song about a failing relationship, but isn't the whole album about his long term partner Alfie(?) (In fact I think they may still be married).

90 minutes or so of talking about his new album and old stuff and influences on freakzone yesterday:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/freakzone/tracklisting_20070923.shtml

Guest: Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt - Stay Tuned
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Ooo Baby Baby
Max Roach - There Will Never Be Another You
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Fire
Robert Wyatt - On The Town Square
Soft Machine - Moon In June
Matching Mole - God Song
Matching Mole - Righteous Rhumba
Robert Wyatt - I'm A Believer
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - Sea Song
Brian Eno - Excerpt From 1/1
Robert Wyatt - Awol
Robert Wyatt - A Beautiful Peace
Robert Wyatt - Cancion De Julieta
Robert Wyatt - Hasta Siempre Comandante

Balls, missed this. His (and Alfie's) interview in Wire with David Toop is v. interesting... for all you Wyattheads out there

Listen Again link is on the right...

Can't listen to that