Robert Wyatt??

Had his recent album "cuckooland" for a few weeks now, and like it very much at the moment. It seems to be my favorite music to "trip out to" (no illegal substances involved)

Bought it after hearing "shipbuilding" from rough trades 25 years compilation.

Anyone else familiar with robert Wyatt? any recomendations?

 

The Greatest Living Englishman IMO.

Run (don't walk) to the nearest record emporium and buy:

- The first three Soft Machine albums, especially the first. He was a magnificent drummer before his paralysis.

- Rock Bottom, a stone-cold 100% proof classic.

- Nothing Can Stop Us Now, a very nice compilation of later singles (including Shipbuilding, and the definitive version of Chic's At Last I Am Free).

- Shleep, the album prior to Cuckooland, which is equally as good as the new one.

I don't have many heroes, but he's one of them. He's an incredibly likeable human being as well, even rarer. Very self-deprecating as well, he describes his singing voice as being "a wino's mutter" and really seems to believe it, the daft sod.

-- Ian

 

Im running...............never realised he was paralysed, will definately check some of his other stuff out.

cheers

 

Yep, fell out of a window around 1972, been in a wheelchair ever since. Rock Bottom was written around that time, but (title apart) far from being gloomy about his bad fortune is mostly a joyous record.

-- Ian

 

Cheers mate, picked up a copy of "rock Bottom" quite cheap the other day, and i it's Superb!

 

Good news. Glad you like it.

BTW, BBC4 showed a documentary about Wyatt a few months ago, which I missed because I didn't have freeview at the time. Hopefully they'll repeat it soon.

There's a nice book about him published by SAF a few years ago now, called "Wrong Movements". Don't know if it's still in print, but it's worth seeking out.

-- Ian