Customer Reviews

End of an Ear

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of those classic records that's often sorely overlooked due to the shadow cast by similarly great records by the artist (in this case it's Wyatt's "Rock Bottom" - certainly an essential purchase in itself). Prior to Wyatt's "comeback" in experimental-rock circles in the mid-'90s this was often dismissed as a self-indulgent mess best left on the record company's deletion list... what rot! This is pure inspired experimentalism on a plate, a fantastic mix of free jazz, vocalese, musique concret and psychedelia. Very much in the same league as similar artists of the time - Tim Buckley, Can and Miles Davis - "End of An Ear" creates a seamless blend of many disparate styles, creating a new genre of its own where rock, avant-garde and jazz meet as one. Comparable in parts to Can's "Tago Mago", Buckley's "Starsailor" or electric/psych-period Miles, this criminally ignored piece of work in the Wyatt puzzle deserves some serious re-evaluation in the rock-crit circles.

In my eyes, Robert Wyatt is awesome because he writes extremely compassionate and beautiful music. Normally his avant garde/experimental stuff is just too weird for me to ever put it in the same category as his more emotional and honest output, however this particular album is an exception. Luckily it's better than Matching Mole's first album- a LOT better in fact, because in this case, underneath all the weirdness lies actual interesting experimentations that feels like it actually *goes* somewhere.

It's almost impossible for me to describe the 12-minute "Las Vegas Tango" suite for example. To put it another way, it's almost impossible for me to describe it without the readers out there turning their heads in disgust and believing it won't appeal to them because this is one of those examples where, no matter HOW I go about describing it, finding the right words either won't be convincing enough, or will give readers the wrong impression.

So for example, if I were to say the reason "Las Vegas Tango" is good (and not bad) is because of the way there's moody piano lines playing quietly in the background and gradually picking up to a chaotic pace *only* to allow the eerieness of the Soft Machine-resembling bass work to continue in the repetitive groove that its been in since the song got underway, would you understand what I'm talking about? The same thing occurs with the saxophone in the beginning- it plays chaotically and sparsely but the bass work is never distracted by it and continues to move along.

Now let's throw in more oddness for additional twisted pleasure. While all these sax, piano and bass tricks are taking place, there's no telling exactly WHAT Robert is doing with his voice. He's either singing in a high-pitched range, gargling, howling, screeching or humming in a hypnotic kind of way. It's highly unusual to say the least, and the more I listen to it, the more I believe the piano work resembles that of David Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" (song).

And here's the most magical thing about the piece- despite all the nonstop craziness, it's actually *listenable!*

Then you have a song like "To Nick Everyone", probably intended solely for fans of King Crimson improvisational jams (such as "Providence") with the sax and bass work standing out the most. You know what? Anyone who likes King Crimson's Thrakattak would LOVE this Robert Wyatt album. That's about the best comparison I can come up with. Much like Thrakattak, this stuff *does* create a mood. More like a dreary mood similar to a mid 70's jazzy Soft Machine album, but a mood is certainly present.

It's just extremely difficult to describe music like this without picking each moment apart and describing them in precise detail. Doing so would probably suck the enjoyment out of the loose pieces of music anyway, so it's best to just listen to the entire album numerous times in a row (preferably with a good set of headphones) and be prepared to be completely blown away.

It is creepy how you can tell if work by Robert Wyatt was done before or after his early 70s accident: he fell from a window and this left him paralized. Before this happened, he was mining the ideas he had developed with Soft Machine: Dada free jazz. After, he became much more serious and song oriented. Listen to Rock Bottom and it takes on almost tragic dementions when you put it in context.

End of an Ear had a frighteningly prohetic title. Obviously this is a pun on the phrase end of an era. Wyatt of course had no way of knowing this album WAS the end of an era--his last solo work before his mishap. Even the cover photo tells volumes. That young upstart genius with the ciggarette and Fu Man Chu mustache is almost a different man than the bearded comic-tragic music Buddha we now know as Robert Wyatt.

As my thesis says, this album contains the surreal free jazz Wyatt was doing up until the fall. If you listen to Soft Machine Volume Two's "Pig," a knot of electronic free form jamming, this will give you an idea of what the mestero is up to on this album. The differance is that End Of An Era dispences with the electronics, and may be the closest Wyatt came to pure avant gaurd jazz. Take out his voice and thin some of the textures, and you would think you are listening to Anthony Braxton or The Art Ensamble of Chicago.

This work is bubbling with dynamics and has depth of texture. Typical of Wyatt, it also has plenty of surreal humor. Listen to his bubbling scat on the opening track. When you do, you'll also notice his voice is higher and cleaner than it is on any of his post-accident work. Obviously, he is younger here, but I have always thought the fact that Wyatt cannot stand effects the way he projects his voice.

Since the accident, his voice has become a deeper instrument with a lot more soul and nuance than the young man who made this album had. He is a master singer, one of the best at conveying the profound sadness, irony, and yes, love and humor his life has unfolded for him. His music is without a doubt better for his stuggle.

But it is always fun and informative to listen to the young dada genious rascal that came before. It is a clue as to what might have been: a diffent path Wyatt started down and never got to find the end of, so long ago.

im usually good about experimentalism and the advant garde, as long as its listenable, and sometimes it doesnt have to even be that.

ANYWAYS, this is a VERy out there album. it's deffinatley not a cd ill listen to alot. i gave it three stars becuase i can tell wyatt's having fun and hes doing whatever he wants, despite what people like me think.

Robert Wyatt's first solo album can best be described as a Very free jazz continuation of the Soft Machine's album THIRD. Whereas the tunes on THIRD had melodies and a certain sense of cohesion , there is none of that here. If you're not into experimental jazz (and this IS good stuff), this is not the place to begin your Robert Wyatt collection.

Book-ended by the only two stellar vocal-driven tracks, the majority of this masturbatory attempt at psychedelic free jazz falls flat for lacking a melodic glue and plays instead like Kraut-rock throwaway tracks. Still, ideas abound, some even revolutionary in production I'm sure, plus the actual merit from those two actually developed sonic experiments which obviously were strategically placed to distract from a more hollow center.

A lost classic in the first degree. Owned it on vinyl 32 years ago, now on CD. The material explains the origins of Wyatt's musical thoughts, leading up to "Shleep". Athough more primitive, the recording equipment then wasn't MIDI'ed up yet. Enjoy it forever.