Robert Wyatt - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard (1975)

An enduring figure who came to prominence in the early days of the English art rock scene, Robert Wyatt has produced a significant body of work, both as the original drummer for art rockers Soft Machine and as a radical political singer/songwriter.

There was no way that Wyatt's follow-up to "Rock Bottom" could be as personal and searching, but this album that came barely a year later instead collects some earlier material to be revamped for this release. "Soup Song," for instance, is a rewrite of "Slow Walkin' Talk," written before the forming of Soft Machine. "Team Spirit," written with Phil Manzanera and Bill MacCormick of Quiet Sun, would turn up the same year as "Frontera" on Manzanera's "Diamond Head".

While some of the songs tend to plod along, the dirge-like "Five Black Notes and One White Notes," a lethargic cover of Offenbach's "Baccarole," Charlie Haden's "Song for Che," and Fred Frith's piano team-up with Wyatt on "Muddy Mouth" are magical. As usual, the assembled band, including the underrated Gary Windo on sax and Mongezi Feza on trumpet, never dissapoint.

Tracklist:

1. Muddy Mouse (0:50)
2. Solar Flares (5:35)
3. Muddy Mouse (0:50)
4. 5 Black Notes and 1 White Note (4:58)
5. Muddy Mouse (6:11)
6. Soup Song (5:00)
7. Sonia (4:12)
8. Team Spirit (8:26)
9. Song for Ché (3:36)

Robert Wyatt - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard 1975)
(256 kbps, cover art included)