Customer Reviews

Matching Mole

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

 

 

well, it's uneven as so much of Wyatt's work is, but "O Caroline" is one of the most beautiful love songs ever written & well worth the price of the CD. plus you have "Immediate Curtain" a Wyatt spacy Mellotron (strings) solo, very, very nice. & remember, Wyatt is never boring....

i'd be a little more generous than the previous reviewer in saying that, while this might not be as epic as Wyatt's absolutely essential Rock Bottom, this is still a great record and not uneven to my ears, though certain highlights ("O Caroline" for sure) do stand out!

I only just recently listened to this 1972 album in spite of my long-standing familiarity with the band members from their work with the great Canterbury bands (e.g. National Health, Caravan, Quiet Sun, Hatfield and the North, Soft Machine etc.). Given the lineup, and the high quality of their work in the other groups mentioned, I expected great things from Matching Mole. Unfortunately, this record seems a bit on the "haphazardly slapped together" side of things; notwithstanding, this debut has a great deal of charm and the Canterbury wit (both endearing qualities in my book).

The players on this album include Robert Wyatt (mellotron; piano; drums; percussion; and lead vocals); David Sinclair (Piano; organ); Phil Miller (electric guitar); and Bill MacCormick (electric bass guitar). The guest musician includes Dave McRae (electric piano). Overall, the playing is OK, with Robert Wyatt shining on the mellotron dominated O Caroline and especially the drums - he is really an excellent drummer.

The eight pieces on the album more or less flow together into one large "meta-composition" and are dominated by Robert Wyatt tracks with a single lengthy instrumental jam written by Phil Miller (Part of the Dance). In large part, the album consists of a few shorter vocal pieces and instrumental jams that revolve around a few pre-composed themes - the instrumental passages get very spacey at times. The vocal pieces contain lyrics on the order of "this is the first verse, and this is the chorus (or perhaps it's a bridge), or just another part of the song I am singing". The instrumental sections exhibit the same level of detail and at times sound no more involved than the jam sessions that you could have held with your friends in the basement.

I know that all of this sounds like I am complaining; to their credit however, the "loosey-goosey" approach to composition seems to hold together somewhat and there are a few pieces that work very well. For example, O Caroline is a very nice Robert Wyatt piece, along with his Instant Kitten and Dedicated to Hugh, but you weren't Listening, both of which feature spacey sections and a few loose riffs.

This 2001 remaster by Columbia is not too bad and has pretty good sound quality, but does not feature any liner notes or other extras.

All in all, I would recommend this album to Canterbury "completists" and hardcore proggers (like me). For those folks that are new to the Canterbury scene, I would personally recommend the following Canterbury albums before exploring Matching Mole: In the Land of Grey and Pink (Caravan, 1971); Hatfield and the North (eponymous 1973 debut and The Rotters Club, 1975); Robert Wyatt (Rock Bottom, 1974); and National Health (eponymous 1977 debut).

Found this to my great surprise. I had the vinyl in '77 and loved it then too. I have a lot of RW and agree, not all of this LP 'Wyatt-wise' is premium. However the rest of the band are 'all that' so it matters little.

I liked 'Rock Bottom' too, and also 'Ruth is Stranger than Richard' but this LP is higher on my list than either.

This is one album I let sit too long before playing. Matching Mole may begin with a ballad, typical of Robert Wyatt's more song oriented, post-Soft Machine work.

But as it progresses, the album seemlessly becomes more avant gaurde, with the same organ drones and chromatic storms that catagorized the Softs. Keep playing, and slowly, with loving craftiness, Wyatt unfolds the album into wonderful noise, even more layered than his work with Hopper and Rattledge. This sneaks up, and the unfolding makes for an amazing listen.

Great work by a master modernist.

My search is over when this came out on the used section at 11$ so in a heartbeat I ordered and finally completed my MM collection. This is Wyatt fresh from his successful stint with Soft Machine. This is his first post SM album that would later spawn a multitude of Wyatt solo album that would later carry his sound that only him can define. The players here are superb from groups like Caravan, Hatfield et al. All learned, scholar and skillful musicians. This record has a lot of avant garde prog elements of experimentation, change in time signatures, long instrumentation and cerebral lyrics from Wyatt. The mellotron stands out here reminds you of early King Crimson. O' Caroline is a singable ballad that is very catchy. Over all a must for all Canterbury rock enthusiast and not to be missed.