Thursday, February 28, 2013

Robert Wyatt - "Ruth is Stranger than Richard" (Virgin, 1975)


There's something very comforting to me about all the solo albums of Robert Wyatt that I've heard - "Rock Bottom", "Shleep", and this one. While moments of "Team Spirit" recall the tones and quick shifts of Soft Machine Vol. 2 - their high point for me - it seems that (generalizing to the extreme) Wyatt lets his solo songs breathe a little more - or last for a few breaths at a time (see the "Muddy Mouse" variations). We are lulled into the changes, listening and realizing that the progression isn't quite where it was before...

As I write this, I'm listening to the woozy horn section and scattershot drumming of "Song for Che". This mood pops up throughout, I love the sound of it.

Intelligent, tasteful - two adjectives that come to mind while listening.





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