Robert Wyatt: Classic or Dud?

Wyatt with Hatfield and the Matching Police Floyd Cow

Looks like Nick Mason on drums in that Wyatt clip too

You don't know "Shipbuilding", clemenza? That's his most famous cover I'd guess. His version rules. Much better than Elvis Costello's original. And somehow I have the feeling with the Brexit Great Britain is going for another folly which is at least as irrational and nutty as the Falkland war.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Res3-YX4X8g

Robert Wyatt's is the original recording, Costello's version was released later.

But it was written by Costello, so it is his song.

To be accurate it was written by Clive Langer, he asked Costello to write lyrics for it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipbuilding_(song)

He signed me up to CND in the mid-80s. He was often on Twickenham High St canvassing membership on Saturdays iat that time.

You don't know "Shipbuilding"?

I don't (even though I know it's just a click away). I did order both Rock Bottom and Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard because of "I'm a Believer" (and after a little reading).

Ruth is a little thornier/difficult imo, I'd also recommend Nothing Can Stop Us, Shleep, Dondestan, and Comicopera

ahhh you are in for a treat with 'rock bottom'

for whatever reason, 'reminds me of your rocky bottom' is the lyric from that album that sticks with me. the contrast between ones rough edges and the concept of hitting rock bottom are especially poignant to me i suppose

I walked past him in Lincolnshire market town Louth (he lives there).

Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard: wheelchair rock, for cats who haven't bought enough records by handicapped people this week. From what I can tell, it set a new standard for wibbling British nonsense. It makes listening to Henry Cow records seem like an enjoyable experience. (Obviously it doesn't, I'm just exaggerating for effect.) You can guess how I feel about Soft Machine.
― Otis Wheeler, Sunday, April 15, 2001 1:00 AM (sixteen years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm sometimes taken aback by the shitheadery of old school ILX, but this takes the fucking biscuit. How insulting to Wyatt and his work to suggest people only buy his albums because he's disabled. Ridiculous.

the good old days before ilx was mean

That TOTP clip is fairly infamous for the shitty way they treated Wyatt.

WYATT: The producer said, "l'm embarrassed by that wheelchair, it's not entertaining, can you go and sit in this wicker-work thing?" I told him to fuck off, and he said, "You will never work on this programme again" - but as I just told you, I am too posh to care, frankly. I mean, I can't wheel a wicker chair, and I need to be able to get out quick in case the cops are coming, for fuck's sake!

http://www.disco-robertwyatt.com/images/Robert/interviews/Uncut_feb_2014/index.htm

I did order both Rock Bottom and Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard because of "I'm a Believer"

you are in for a treat! Rock Bottom is amazing.

Robert Wyatt obviously classic as fuck

No love here for his (flop) follow up single?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhEeM5rBxJI

the two Matching Mole albums are also solid

I really like the Drury lane set too. Though it does drop in sound quality towards the end.

Also really like the stuff he did in 1975 with Henry Cow which I think is mainly live.

Matching Mole is pretty essential definitely. Especially the 2cd versions that came out about 5 years ago.

Don't know if anybody knows this but it's glorious...I could listen to it all day

https://www.reddit.com/r/progrockmusic/comments/4b7zkg/hatfield_and_the_north_rockenstock_french_tv_1973/

The Concert for Corbyn w/Paul Weller last December was widely heralded but I don't remember seeing a single review. There are one or two clips on YouTube, but little else.

i suspect it being about jeremy corbyn had something to do with its burial

Mojo reviewed it.

Mostly Daevid Allen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wswhUGb1k6c

from Rolling Jazz---I mostly listened to these because of Wyatt (and Coyne):

Michael Mantler:
The Hapless Child
Watt/4
words by Edward Gorey
(from 'Amphigorey')

Robert Wyatt (voice)
Terje Rypdal (guitar)
Carla Bley (piano, clavinet, synthesizer)
Steve Swallow (bass)
Jack DeJohnette (drums)

recorded July 1975 through January 1976
Willow, NY, and England
A whirlwind right out of the gate, and I knew from later all-instrumental versions how strong some of these frameworks would be---did not expect the excellent and unusual studio effects on some of Wyatt's vocal turns---but eventually, when the words are more upfront, can seem overly emphatic---Gorey's dank little narratives work better with his spare, black white & grey drawings or etchings or whatever they be. Also, c'mon, it's Gorey---think I'll go on to the settings of Beckett and Pinter.

― dow, Thursday, May 17, 2018 9:18 PM (three days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That is, the *overall* effect, the ensemble onslaught, not primarily Wyatt's vocals, can seem overly emphatic here.

― dow, Thursday, May 17, 2018 9:21 PM (three days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Mantler again: Silence(1976)---the overemphasis here is confined to some of MM's heavier handling of Pinter's words, and Chris Spedding's often repeated use of sustain etc., drawing a note out and curving it around 'til it's a needle in my earphones ---but it can hurt so good, and the voices are strong and distinctive, Carla Bley holding her on with Kevin Coyne and Robert Wyatt---and sometimes everybody follows Wyatt's dustdevil percussion, without ever missing their cues (it's a play with a small cast/combo, compressed, maybe condensed, into a single LP's worth of songs).

― dow, Friday, May 18, 2018 6:10 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The text itself may grow on me, but so far doesn't seem up to several Pinter plays I'm more familiar with, though Mantler can highlight the weak spots in his literary sources, maybe by blurring some of the plot points.

― dow, Friday, May 18, 2018

Pretty sure I would have bought these in the 70s if had come across them (was mailorderphobic, opp extreme in 80s), and as a Wyatt fan would have been fairly satisfied.

never even heard of these, thanks.

wowowow this rules!!

That "Playa de Formentor" clip; wow, just wow! Thanks so much for that.

Some atrocious acting from young Robert there, he looks at the camera, the last thing you should do as an extra. Daevid is good though.

Yup, Daevid is good. Incredible seeing him so young with it all ahead of him.

Talking of which, this is pretty nutty, though it would belong on a Daevid Allen thread, if such a thing existed...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpPfn2Dmcrw

I hadn't seen that one either. Going by that and myriad other Daevid Allen TV appearances, French TV in the late 60s / early 70s was tres out there.

And yes, a scandal that there is no Daevid Allen thread.

DIY

There are Gong threads.

Another Mantler:
MANY HAVE NO SPEECH
WATT/19

words by
Samuel Beckett
Ernst Meister
Philippe Soupault

Jack Bruce (voice)
Marianne Faithfull (voice)
Robert Wyatt (voice)

Michael Mantler (trumpet)
Rick Fenn (guitar)

The Danish Radio Concert Orchestra
conducted by Peder Kragerup

recorded May through December 1987
Copenhagen, London, Boston,
Willow, NY
27 songs in 34 minutes: no sense of fragmentation, maybe in because I'm not following the words very closely, but on his site Mantler says they were chosen to fit together in several ways, and sonically they ripple back and forth (while somehow pushing on), between three languages and at least five voices, if you count the trumpet and guitar (singing behind/around the humans, never in the way), sixth is the orchestra far as I'm concerned, though it's never breathing too heavy.

Thread police may get me, because humans are heard pretty much in the order of their billing, I think, though some of these songs are just a few seconds long, and all three sound more flexible than expected.

But, for instance, "A L'Abattoir" will def make my personal travelling mix of RW, ditto "Prisonniers," which is either Wyatt and Bruce or Wyatt and Faithfull, or (more likely) Wyatt and Wyatt in different registers, maybe singing to each other through the wall (not too loud).

Pretty sure I would have liked all of this on first listen with no idea who did it.

"ILM Threads that need a NO CAUSE FOR ALARM warning when they are revived"

The Hapless Child is pretty awesome and sui generis though i have kind of sited it in my head next to Art Bears

xp yes, seriously

most of my love for Hapless Child is cuz of Gorey, it's a bit too fussy and prog for me but it's a very cool record regardless and essential for even semi-completists

"ILM Threads that need a NO CAUSE FOR ALARM warning when they are revived"

― mahb, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 08:33 (six hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Arr, but then again, I think our Rob would go straight to a dedicated RWRIP thread if there ever was one.

Really feeling The Hapless Child. Carla is a superstar on this.

Mantler's The School of Understanding (recorded in 1996) mainly features Wyatt on "Understanding," where he's the Guest Observer, riding into a language school on what might be a baby elephant or lofty llama, but is listed as Don Preston's syndrums, which I'd thought only made little pooty sounds, so even more education. Too ba
Too bad Wyatt and the syndrums only come in once, but the whole thing's pretty listenable; I especially like when other voices address the refugee student. Woman: "You are a victim, you have suffered so much---you must go." A guy: "What you have suffered is inconceivable." Meanwhile, Alien Girl remembers: "Don't think about it, go to work..it's a long walk through the war, bits and pieces." (Mantler wrote all the words for once, so far turning out at least as well as settings for his literary heroes.)

Digital drums appear once on Mantler's 2000 settings of Paul Auster's words,Hide and Seek (though tuned percussion brings constant and welcome companionship to co-stars RW and Susi Hyldgaard, compatible with Wyatt's own turns on xpost Silence---come to think of it, Preston's syndrums fit the feel of Wyatt's real kit of yore. This anomalous sound may be what's alarming the couple---he: "Have you, no-oh-ticed---?" she: "Yes! Yes! Yes!" "Have you any ideas?" "Yes, I'm going to scream." "When are you going to do it?" "Right Now!"
That's when the whole thing bumps up the word interest, which had previously been mostly Deep Thought mulch for granular melody and rhythm, vocal and instrumental. The final stretch develops circular and spiraling conversations (briefly) from repeated phrases---he: "I don't denyyy..." she: "What?" "Anything." "That's very clever of you." "I'm glad we agree." together/overlapping "I'm glad you're glad." Ho-ho well it sounds good, and yeah several more keepers for the deep fan mix.

So this popped up as a new release today.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1coZVDci03VoLGBtWzwjxS?si=8u8iWq8xSpaSnY6BZ7shaA

Audience Recording of the North Sea Radio Orchestra show with John Greaves and Annie Barbazza and Fred Frith as special guests At Cafe Oto 27 June 2019, presenting the Dark Companion album FOLLY BOLOLEY - Songs from Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom. (plus other songs)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt18LIAGNys&fbclid=IwAR22tc5DlrxwIqCRao9Ewkcb0zvCTk-hrEuK6UD4UMSkW66dPokmT7kizig

Oh well, search for Folly Bololey At Cafe Oto 27 June 2019

i'm not usually into these kinda things but this is really good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CS1SPrwOv4

live recording is great too. thanks for sharing

there is some slanderous bullshit at the beginning of this thread

haha yes

"I've heard very little of Wyatt's music thus far, but....................."