Robert Wyatt - Different Every Time

  by Tommy Gunnarsson

published: 18 / 11 / 2014

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Review

This isn't the first compilation of the works of Robert Wyatt ever released, but it's probably the first one to span his entire career, from his early days as the drummer for the Soft Machine, via Matching Mole to his long and productive solo career. The title, 'Different Every Time', is also used for the new Wyatt biography, written by Marcus O'Dair (who also helped compile this two-disc CD together with Robert himself), which was released in late October. So, what else is different this time around, apart from spanning all Wyatt's works? Well, the compilation is divided into two discs. The first one, called 'Ex-Machina', is an ”introduction to Robert Wyatt” of sorts(though 'Shipbuilding' is on the second disc), and the second one, called 'Benign Dictatorships', is a ”best of” compilation of all his various collaborations during the years (Björk, Hot Chip and Epic Soundtracks among many others). For those of you who know Wyatt's music already, it will hardly come as a surprise that there are a couple of cover versions on this CD. Strangely, his famous version of the Monkees' 'I'm a Believer' is not here, but I guess he thinks it's too commercial to be included here. Instead, we get to hear his versions of Chris Andrews' old 60s hit 'Yesterday Man' and Chic's 'At Last I Am Free'. The Soft Machine is represented here by 'Moon in June' (taken from their 1970 album 'Third'), and Matching Mole contributes with 'Signed Curtain” (from their self-titled 1972 album) and 'God Song' (from the album 'Little Red Record', also in 1972). The rest of the songs are from Robert's solo releases, from his earliest albums up until 'Comicopera', released in 2007. And you get the full Wyatt bonanza here, everything from experimental jazz and noises to his more pop-orientated offerings, like the aforementioned 'At Last I Am Free' and 'Free Will and Testament'. For the die-hard Wyatt fans out there, this compilation is probably more interesting when it comes to the collaborations disc. And if you like your music on vinyl, you can buy both parts on seperate double LPs, so that you don't have to buy a lot of songs that you already have. But for me, the Wyatt novice, the compilation is a great introduction to this eccentric, but fascinating, musician.

Track Listing:-

1 Moon In June
2 Signed Curtain
3 God Song
4 A Last Straw
5 Yesterday Man
6 Team Spirit
7 At Last I Am Free
8 The Age of Self
9 Worship
10 Free Will and Testament
11 Cuckoo Madame
12 Beware
13 Just As You Are
14 The River
15 The Diver
16 We're Looking For a Lot of L
17 Shipbuilding
18 Richardson Road
19 Turn Things Upside Down
20 till In the Dark (You're Not
21 Venceremos (Jazz Dance Sp
22 Frontera
23 La Plus Jolie Langue
24 Goccia
25 Siam
26 A L'abbatoire
27 Sinking Spell
28 Submarine
29 Experiences No. 2

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robert-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W

Label Links:-

http://www.dominorecordco.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DominoRecordC
https://twitter.com/DominoRecordCo
https://www.youtube.com/user/DominoRec
https://plus.google.com/+DominoRecords

Have a Listen:-