Robert Wyatt - "Comicopera" Vinyl, LP, Album, 2 x Vinyl, one etched with poem, 2007 (Domino)

Robert Wyatt is one of those artists that you either love obsessively, or you don't know him or his music.  I think it is impossible for someone to hear him, and go 'not interested.'  His melodies are seductive, and the voice is hairy, yet romantic when he's crooning, and he mostly sings as if he is Chet Baker, and there are a thousand women in the waiting room, just waiting for him.   "Comicopera" although there are other releases where he collaborated with another artist, or compilation/re-issue came out, and I believe this was his last solo album.  He reportedly retired, and if that's true, this 2007 album is a brilliant goodbye.  Or perhaps just a pause before something else happens.  Still, a remarkable record that is very open.  His masterpiece "Rock Bottom" I find very close off to the world.  This is Wyatt getting involved with lots of musicians such as Paul Weller, Phil Manzanera, Eno, and others.  There are traces of late Beach Boys in the mix as well as Charlie Haden's Freedom Orchestra.  Just a beautiful mixture that does its job.  A haunted cocktail of a drink that sticks to your system.  

Chris Andrews - "Yesterday Man" b/w "Too Bad You Don't Want Me" 45 rpm 7" Single, 1965 (Atco)

Chris Andrews is a bit of a mystery to me.  I first came upon his name when I look at the credits for Sandie Shaw songs during the early 1960s.  He wrote all her major hits, and I'm a fan of her work.  The second time I became aware of this songwriter's talent was when I heard Robert Wyatt's 1973 version of "Yesterday Man," which is one of my favorite Wyatt recordings.   Chris Andrews wrote that song as well, and I think it's the best I have heard of his songwriting.  

Wyatt's version is slow, mournful, with a touch of regret and of course, romantic angst.  Chris Andrews recorded his own version of the song in 1965 and of course, it's upbeat with a strong Ska rhythm going through it, but the chorus has that Sandie Shaw sound.  It's particular talent of Andrews to add a clatter of vocals that are busy and frantic at the same time.  I like his approach to his song.  If I have to choose between the two, it would be the Wyatt version, just because he can milk the pathos deeply and profoundly.  Yet there is something sinister in the happy-go-lucky Andrews conveying the fact that he is genuinely a Yesterday Man in some woman's life.  In other words, a great tune. 

Suede - "Sci-Fi Lullabies" 3 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 2014/1997 (Demon Records)

Suede is a recent new love for me, and it is either because I'm becoming older, and therefore my ears are opening up, or I have bad taste.  I'll let my readers debate on that, but when I first heard Suede in the 1990s, I found them to be pretentious and too much of an imitation of various glam bands, and also, I suspected any group that was so good looking.   In other words, I criticize Suede for being too surface-like, when in fact my attitude toward them was precisely the same disease.  My thoughts on them were equally surface-like.  It was a happenstance series of moments when I purchased their third album "Coming Up," and reading Brett Anderson, their singers' moving memoir "Coal Black Mornings" at the same time.   Being a completist, I also purchase the three-LP vinyl discs compilation of their b-sides "Sci-Fi Lullabies." 

First of all, the opening song to this compilation "My Insatiable One" is classic.  Why it is not on their first album is a mystery to me.  Which comes to the fact, that all the b-sides are almost better than the final chosen songs for the first "Suede" album.  B-sides, by their nature, are usually throw-away songs, or little experiments on the tail end of a recording session.  Clearly Suede see their b-sides as important recordings.   A three album disc set seems obsessive, but "Sci-Fi Lullabies" is a very much release by these London artists.  For the music historian, Suede had two parts.  The first part is the Bernard Butler years, which didn't last long, but his importance is acutely felt in the first two albums, as well as a large handful of songs here.  Butler is not only the co-writer of the early Suede songs, along with Anderson, but also a magnificent guitarist.  He's a combination of Johnny Marr and Mick Ronson, and he serves Suede in the same manner as those two fantastic guitarists and arrangers.  When Butler left or got thrown out of Suede, one would think that's it.   Brett and company found another guitarist and co-writer, and an additional guitarist/keyboard player and they became even more popular.   What Butler brought to Suede is an orchestrated guitar sound that was textured and melodic, with a noisy tinge as well.   This guy is a musician's musician.  There is a nerdy, obsessive side to his playing that is very aggressive, but equally aware that he's part of the foursome (at the time).  

Anderson struck me as a lyricist who very much admires Bowie and JG Ballard.  With respect to Bowie, his "Man Who Sold The World" which strikes me as the framework for Suede, but I'm also amused and fascinated that Brett Anderson was listening to Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom" at the time of recording their first album.   Anderson is an 'observation' writer.   He has a good ear and language in describing a landscape in the U.K. that was lower class, yet had some vision of a future that is part science fiction, but based on the economic world of failure and misery.  Its songs are about youth, but not as bright young things, but more like the victims of their class and economic world.  It's romantic because the characters in the songs have no other choice.  It's either that or pure misery, which even with its romantic motif, is still a miserable existence.  Suede is the poets and voice for this underclass.

Once Butler left, he was replaced by Richard Oakes, who much admires the previous guitarist's work in Suede.   And on top of that, he is an excellent songwriter.  Him and Neil Codling, who happens to be the cousin to their drummer Simon Gilbert, is also a strong melodist. Mat Osman is also a very melodic bassist, and he adds a lot to their sound. The latter Suede is punchier and perhaps focused in their music.  There is not a significant difference between the two versions of the band, due I suspect to the vision of Anderson.   There is a Jacques Brel approach to the seedy world that he shares with the legend, and he takes on that role very well.  "Killing of a Flash Boy" and "Europe Is Our Playground" are such songs that are subjective, but has a journalistic skill in telling the narrative.   Suede is worth the effort to drop my objections and accept them for what they are: an outstanding band of great worth. 

Robert Wyatt - "Different Every Time Volume 2: Benign Dictatorships" 2 x Vinyl, Compilation, 2014 (Domino)

Curated by Robert Wyatt, this is his second compilation of what he feels is his best work on the disc. The first volume was recordings under his own name, but here it is totally devoted to his collaborations with other artists.  Basically, he served on their recordings as a vocalist or even just a backup singer.  The thing is when Wyatt opens his mouth and he sings, he pretty much owns that tune.  It's not that he has the greatest voice on this planet, but as a vocalist, he's a unique presence, and in a manner, he reminds me of Chet Baker. Not that their voices are similar, but both are musicians who also sing.   

Of the seventeen songs here, I only know three songs.  They are Phil Manzanera's "Frontera," Nick Mason's "Siam," and one song under his name, but written by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer,  "Shipbuilding."  Beyond that, all the artists are basically unknown (except for Bjork, Hot Chip, and Epic Soundtracks - artists that I have heard of, but really don't know their music.)   Wyatt I think is moving out of his comfort zone, and that makes him an artist of importance.  He is an excellent collaborator.  I can't say I love every track, but all of them are at the very least interesting.  Special notice to his recording of John Cage's "Experiences No. 2" which was an early Obscure Records release.  

Robert Wyatt - "Different Every Time Volume 1 - Ex Machina" 2 x Vinyl, Compilation, 2014 (Domino)

There are artists who one can follow, and it opens up to other artists and worlds.  It's similar to eating an artichoke, and as you strip each leaf, you can put different flavorings on it, which alters the taste significantly.  Then you reach the artichoke heart, and that itself is a different taste, but if you marinated it with a sauce, another element for the taste buds.  Robert Wyatt is like that as well.  "Different Every Time" is a two-volume set of double vinyl albums, where one is focusing on Wyatt as a contributor or collaborator, and the other is a selected greatest hits package, both curated by Wyatt.  Now, we focus on "Ex-Machina" which is his 'hits' package. 

 If you are a long time fan of Wyatt, there is never a perfect compilation.  Wyatt is not all over the map, but his landscape where he makes his music is physically small, but branches out in Left politics, jazz and pop standards, and his original compositions.  Some written by himself and other times with his wife and graphic artist, Alfreda Benge.   Wyatt made choices here that are superb, but there will always be that obvious song left out.  For me, it's his version of Neil Diamond's (The Monkees) "I'm a Believer."  On the other hand, we do have his version of "Yesterday Man," which is an exceptional composition by Chris Andrews, who wrote hit material for Sandie Shaw.   I do recommend a listener to track down Andrews version, which is very much a ska-pop arrangement.  Wyatt's version is soulful and a feeling of regret.  A beautiful melody and in the voice of Wyatt it becomes an emotional reflection on a lost romance.   Only Wyatt can sing a song with political overtures and make it sound like a lost soul reflecting on a grand disappointment.   His voice is unique, and there is nothing out there like a Wyatt vocal.

The album covers a great deal of Wyatt's solo work but also touches on his first two well-known bands, Soft Machine and Matching Mole.   Side one is taken up with Soft Machine's "Moon in June" which is 20 minutes long, and not a boring second is allowed.  The Wyatt humor takes place. Still, there is an English attitude of expressing oneself that's very restrained and in order.   Wyatt also made his incredible masterpiece album "Rock Bottom," but there is only one song to represent that record, and it's a live recording of the song "A Last Straw."   There is a focus at least material wise, on recordings made in the 80s, 90s and up to a few years ago.  More of exposure to Wyatt's brain working which is not nostalgic, but expressing his desires for current work.   If one has all the Wyatt recordings, including the 45 rpm single "Yesterday Man" (which to me if you don't have the song, it's worth buying the double-album set), then you don't need it. Still, if you are new in the Wyatt world, this is an excellent introduction and entrance way to a magnificent artist. 

Nick Mason - "Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1981 (Columbia)

Actuality, there are only two cool people in Pink Floyd.  Syd Barrett of course, and the other guy, who was their drummer, Nick Mason.  He's cool because he produced classic Robert Wyatt albums as well as The Damned's second album.   He's the kink in the well-oiled Pink Floyd machine.   Nothing against Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour.  Both good guys, but Mason I felt, investigated areas outside of the Pink Floyd world.  When you hear a Waters or Gilmour solo album, you pretty know what you're getting. On the other hand, what in the hell is a Nick Mason solo album? 

"Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports" is not really a solo album by Mason.  He co-produced, co-engineered, played the drums and I have to imagine he picked up the recording cost bill, but in its essence, it's an album by Jazz composer and pianist Carla Bley.  I'm not that familiar with Bley's music, except that her band is very much a big or enlarged jazz band. The one album I do know of is her work with Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra album which is excellent.  Haden's work has a strong left political context, but here, Bley's lyrics tend to be more on the side of absurdity, which serves the over-all humor of Nick Mason's album.  

The key reason why I bought this album is all due to Robert Wyatt.  He is the lead singer on this disc, and anything that has his magnificent voice is worth having.  Saying that, this is not really a Wyatt album, even though he has done many covers in his solo career, this still belongs to Bley.   If pushed to the corner and my back against the wall I would describe the music as big band jazz arrangements but with pop music overtures.   This is work that is very tightly arranged, and Wyatt, Mason and other great musicians that are in Bley's world, fits in like a great puzzle.   Basically, Mason lent his name and reputation to this project for Carla Bley.  Which again, makes him the coolest member of Pink Floyd. 

One also must give credit to Michael Mantler, who has done music with Bley for years, and her husband, the bassist Steve Swallow.  Dynamic horn section consisting of Gary Windo, Gary Valente, Howard Johnson and others.  Sharp guitar work by the fantastic Chris Spedding.   It's literally impossible for this group of musicians to make bad music together.  

Robert Wyatt - "Old Rottenhat" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1985 (Domino)

My favorite commie pinko singer ever.   There is no such a bad thing as a Robert Wyatt recording.  Still, "Old Rottenhat" is my favorite of his later recordings from the 1980s.  For one, his lyrics are very political and direct.   He also wrote the entire album by himself, so this is very much a personal message (at the time) from artist to listener.  There's a moral outrage, but his anger is very much measured and restrained, and that's the art of Wyatt. 

I also love the minimalism of the recording.  Percussion and various keyboards, it's very much of a man in his studio making art.  Songs like "Alliance," "The United States of Amnesia," and my favorite "The Age of Self" cut through the bullshit and gets to the meat near the bone.  Wyatt's view is very much worldwide and he sees the political implications all connecting together.   It's like playing the game of hitting one gopher in the head, but the other head will pop out somewhere in the game landscape.  Sadly that we now live in the age of Trump, one could use Wyatt's voice.  The truth is not that much has changed since 1985.  Misery is still here, and Wyatt's art and voice will stay with us as long as there is a medium that allows us to play music. 

Robert Wyatt - "Nothing Can Stop Us" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1982 (Rough Trade)

Robert Wyatt can cover anyone's song and make it sound like a Wyatt original masterpiece.  One of the great soulful singers of the 20th century and beyond.  The beauty of his 'hairy' voice is that it's very demanding and draws the listener into his world.  The Wyatt world is a part absurdity, total pop, Jazz-leanings, and the political song.  "Nothing Can Stop Us" is very much a political work set in a Wyatt style pop format. 

For one there is only one Original Wyatt composition on the album "Born Again Cretin."  An appeal to have Mandela free, but Wyatt doesn't do slogans, his approach is a very thoughtful and voice pleads with great sincerity but also a pain.  The song opens up with Wyatt doing a scat-jazz-horn solo with his voice, as well as an overdubbed sea of vocals, with a very minimal keyboard.  It's a beautiful, tender recording that's about something not tender, nor good.  The rest of the album is covers, and which are basically either politically driven or Wyatt gives what seems like a love song, a political intensity.  Chic's "At Last, I'm Free" is a beautiful ballad by Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards, that on this set of songs, is something more than a plea for a lover to return their love to the singer.   Wyatt's take is of someone asking something from a position of weakness or one who has no power.  

There are two songs sung in Spanish, and they are "Caimanera" which is first known to English language ears as "Guantanamera," a hit soft-pop song by the group The Sandpipers.  The very left-wing folk group from the 50s, The Weavers (with Pete Seeger) were probably the first to introduce the song in the English-speaking world, but even their version is in Spanish.   Wyatt's take is very close to the melody, but I believe the lyrics (in Spanish) are more explicit in its politics that took place in Central America at the time.  The other song in Spanish is "Arauco" dealing issues in Chilean politics.  

The oddity on the album is "Grass" a tune by Ivor Cutler, a known eccentric and poet.   Indian pop filtered through the sensibility of Wyatt.  And then he gives two tracks over to Dishari and poet/writer  Peter Blackman.   In actuality, most of the songs here have been released as singles, so it doesn't feel like an album, even though there is the Left perspective on all the songs.  Including a haunting version of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit."    Wonderful. 

Phil Manzanera - "Diamond Head" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1975 (Atco Records)

Roxy Music is not only a band, but also a foundation where some lived, and eventually explored the outer-world through various solo albums.   To be a Roxy fan was an expensive ride, because of not only the Roxy Music albums, but also purchasing the various Eno albums, the solo Bryan Ferry recordings, and then, of course, the Andy Mackay album, and then Phil Manzanera's solo album.  And even that, there are the Fripp & Eno albums, which means one should purchase a Robert Fripp album, and on and on it goes.  One thing I miss from the 1970s are the solo albums that came out of one band.   The only band I can think of in contemporary times is Radiohead because Thom York has various side projects as well as the other musicians in that group.  On the other hand, that is not a financial problem for me, because I don't really like Radiohead.  Roxy Music, on the other hand, is great, and therefore one needs to jump into the various solo recording of the current members of Roxy, as well as those who left the fold (Eno).    Which comes to "Diamond Head" by Manzanera.  

The role of Phil Manzanera in Roxy Music cannot be underestimated.   His guitar work is intelligent, masterful, and a perfect ingredient that's in the Roxy Music soup.  The same for Andy Mackay as well.  Here, Phil steps out of the Bryan Ferry world and makes his own statement with everyone from the Roxy world, except their lead singer.   It's a heady mixture of great talent:  Robert Wyatt, Eno, Andy Mackay, Paul Thompson, John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, Charles Hayward and Manzanera as the ring leader in this temporary circus.  

The beauty of "Diamond Head" is although there are many voices on this album, it is very much orchestrated by Manzanera, and he doesn't lose himself in the mix.  There are classic pieces here, like the title cut, his work with Eno, "Miss Shapiro," "Big Day," and the great opening song with Robert Wyatt "Frontera."  These are voices that are very distinct, and Wyatt/Eno don't hold back, but Manzanera can place himself in these guys without himself losing his identity.   The Manzanera guitar sound is a combination of classic Jimi Hendrix touches, mixed with his South American roots and one foot in prog.  It's a heady sonic experience.  It's hard to believe that this album is 42 years old.  As a solo artist, this is Manzanera's best album, as a guitarist who worked on many albums, he is still a fantastic talent.  When one sees his name in the credits, you're getting yourself into a classy world. 

Robert Wyatt - "68'" Blue Vinyl, LP, Limited Edition, Album, 2013 (Cuneiform Records)

Robert Wyatt is one of the wonders of the music planet.  Is there even a bad record with Wyatt's connection in existence?  I don't think so.   When you're going through his catalog of recordings, you're choosing from pretty good to exceptionally perfect.  So you can't lose with Wyatt.  "68'" is an album or is it a set of demos?   Recorded after his American tour with Soft Machine on the same bill with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Wyatt stayed in America to record this album and hang out with Jimi and gang.   Very much a self-recording with some assistance from Hendrix playing bass on "Slow Walkin' Talk" and fellow Soft Machine pals Hugh Hopper and Mike Ratledge on "Moon in June," this is very much Wyatt on all vocals and instruments.  

The essential jazzy touch and "Rock Bottom" aesthetic is very much part of this early recording by Wyatt.   The standout tracks (out of four) are "Moon in June" which is both free-form as well as a tight 'pop' melody and an amazing song "Chelsea" which was either co-written by Kevin Ayers or perhaps with the help of very early Soft Machine member Daevid Allen.  "Chelsea" is a Wyatt beauty with a prominent organ playing throughout the song.  The album is very much the bridge between the first Soft Machine album and Wyatt's "Rock Bottom."  Essential for the Wyatt fan, and if you're not, you should be one.  

Scritti Politti - "Songs To Remember" Vinyl, LP, Album (Celluloid/France) Rough Trade, 1982

One of the few great albums released in the early 1980s is Scritti Politti's "Songs To Remember."  As a young man, in the 80s, I remember buying all the 12" singles off this album, due to the re-mixed more sonic versions.  If you can find it, I strongly recommend to purchase "Faithless," which is great on this album, but the 12" single goes on and on, and it's an incredible piece of music.

 The basic sound of Scritti Politti is one of great sophistication.  A touch of reggae, soul, jazz, and singer/songwriter.  The main honcho of the band, Green Gartside,  had an interesting take on 'pop music' culture, which for him was seen through the eyes of a political theorist.   Well-read, and a one-time hardcore Maoist type of Leftie, he looked at the love song as a political statement or through the eyes of Derrida's reconstruct of things in front of him.

On the other hand, this album has the greatest groove flow.  The nine songs here are close to perfection, and there are great musicians on this album.   Green's voice is very white, but the backing is black in spirit, and even though there is this philosophical separation between thought and sound, it's a black soul orientated work.   Robert Wyatt makes an appearance or two, and one can clearly hear his influence on those tracks.  Scritti Politti made other fine and splendid records, but "Songs To Remember" is a masterpiece.

Robert Wyatt - "Rock Bottom" Vinyl, LP, Reissue (Domino)

Is it possible for anyone on this planet to dislike Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom?"  The album is very much the definition of "classic" or better yet, perfection.  The dreamy textures, the hidden melodies that come bubbling up from the mix, and the beautiful playing by Robert and company, it's just a superb work.  The balance of humor and tragedy is walking on a highwire.  At the same time, the music is very sad but hysterical at the same time.  "Rock Bottom" is a very unique listening experience.  The production/recording by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason is exquisite.  Not only one of my favorite all-time albums, but I suspect that many feel this way.