Track Listing

1. Muddy Mouse (A)
2. Solar Flares
3. Muddy Mouse (B)
4. 5 Black Notes and 1 White Note
5. Muddy Mouse (C)/Muddy Mouth
6. Soup Song
7. Sonia
8. Team Spirit
9. Song for Che

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #242707 in Music
• Released on: 2008-10-27
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .13 pounds

Album Description
2008 digitally remastered edition of this original 1974 album from the beloved British singer/songwriter and former member of Soft Machine. Wyatt's releases come from one of the most distinguished, visionary, influential and singular catalogs in contemporary music. Wyatt's second album, released in 1975, features Brian Eno and Fred Frith and, for the first time, sees his love of classic covers coming to the fore amongst some stunning original, more Jazz-orientated material. 10 tracks. Domino.

Amazon.com
Robert Wyatt's voice is as distinctive and subtle an instrument as Tom Waits's or Bessie Smith's. He stretches his vocal chords through alien alto registers with grace, into notes few male singers are comfortable with past puberty. It's not stretching things to compare his work on Ruth to that of the greatest jazz-influenced singers. Wyatt knows how to throw a band together, too, choosing musicians who'll do their respective things complementarily, subtly. If you have trouble with the jazz comparison, dig his group's take on Charlie Haden's "Song for Che." This disc brims with woozy, lush underwater-sounding, underground pop, augmented by chaps like Fred Frith and Brian Eno. It's clever, playful music, ahead of its time because it's timeless and filled with a profound, infectious, children's book-type humor. --Mike McGonigal

Spin
"Solar Flares" is a mesmerizing, watercolor take on the metronomic pulse of Krautrock, and the awesome "Team Spirit" builds from a mellifluous opening to a wailing, electronically enhanced, free-form crescendo.

Customer Reviews

Sadly underrated
After Rock Bottom, Wyatt followed up with this less well-balanced, but more eclectic follow-up. The caliber of songqriting is extraordinary, and the line-up (Gary Windo, Mongezi Fesa, Fred Frith, Brian Eno, the amazing Laurie Allen) reads like a who's who of the avant garde of the time. I alway enjoyed this somewhat more than "Rock Bottom" because its attitude was more fun. Wyatt had seemed to come to grips with his paralysis and was realizing more of what he could do by the time this album came out.

It has the same dreamy, shimmering atmosphere as "Rock Bottom" but is no less brilliant. This was one of the few times that I have heard jazz, avant garde, and pop sensibilities blended so seamlessly. A great work!

Gary Gomes

Robert Wyatt is the one who started it all!
Not too much to say. In my mind, this is the best recording Robert ever did. There are tunes that are lighter than the songs on Rock Bottom, though this album is not as conceptually well thoughht out. The center peice is Solar Flares, which features some excellent guitar space work. It is this song that I feel is the best thing Robert has ever done. Astounding!
You wouldn't have had much of your european progressive rock in the seventies if it were not for this man and his legacy. He still influences your on-the-edge players today! Almost perfect, eclectic spin!

a classic record - timeless and inspiring.
i've been listening to this record for over ten years - and i am always impressed and inspired by it. nothing on earth sounds quite like this record but then again nothing on earth really sounds like Robert Wyatt for that matter. accessible yet slightly avante garde - musicians should listen and learn.