The End of An Ear
This was Robert Wyatt’s first solo album, recorded and released while he was still, nominally at least, drummer in Soft Machine. I’d never heard it previously and knew nothing much about it until I Googled it for this post and found out how much it divides opinion. I confess that my initial response was dislike, and then, about half way through, I realised I was caught up in it, rapt, listening.
It is defiantly avant-garde. It largely, though not entirely, eschews such conventional notions as melody in favour of aural collage, and sits firmly in a tradition that was only really tapped into by the likes of Frank Zappa for a while, based on his admiration for Varese and Stravinski. Zappa, though, at this stage of his career, would usually drop out of his experimentalism and revert to heavy riffing. Wyatt and his pals don’t.
Consequently, although there is a surface element of cacophony about End of an Ear, the listener knows that there is musical intelligence at work here, just as there is in the free jazz movement. That intelligence may take steps to disguise itself, but it is unquestionably there, even if it occasionally tries the patience of even a sympathetic listener (yes, I’m looking at you To The Old World (Thank You For The Use of Your Body, Goodbye).)
The album also serves as a reminder, should one be needed, of what a fine drummer Wyatt was before his accident.
I listened on Spotify, and there is a YouTube playlist if you feel so inclined. Perversely, I might be tempted to buy this and let it work its magic in slower time.
Recent Comments