Customer Reviews

Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After Rock Bottom, Wyatt followed up with this less well-balanced, but more eclectic follow-up. The caliber of songqriting is extraordinary, and the line-up (Gary Windo, Mongezi Fesa, Fred Frith, Brian Eno, the amazing Laurie Allen) reads like a who's who of the avant garde of the time. I alway enjoyed this somewhat more than "Rock Bottom" because its attitude was more fun. Wyatt had seemed to come to grips with his paralysis and was realizing more of what he could do by the time this album came out.

It has the same dreamy, shimmering atmosphere as "Rock Bottom" but is no less brilliant. This was one of the few times that I have heard jazz, avant garde, and pop sensibilities blended so seamlessly. A great work!

Gary Gomes

Not too much to say. In my mind, this is the best recording Robert ever did. There are tunes that are lighter than the songs on Rock Bottom, though this album is not as conceptually well thoughht out. The center peice is Solar Flares, which features some excellent guitar space work. It is this song that I feel is the best thing Robert has ever done. Astounding!
You wouldn't have had much of your european progressive rock in the seventies if it were not for this man and his legacy. He still influences your on-the-edge players today! Almost perfect, eclectic spin!

i've been listening to this record for over ten years - and i am always impressed and inspired by it. nothing on earth sounds quite like this record but then again nothing on earth really sounds like Robert Wyatt for that matter. accessible yet slightly avante garde - musicians should listen and learn.

I have, like so many days, spent all day listening to Robert Wyatt. Doing so is an experience like no other. After his work with Soft Machine and paralyzing accident, he created solo work that is both accessible, insular, deeply personal, and completely universal.

At the height of the "singer-songwriter" era, Wyatt released Rock Bottom. James Taylor was singing about love lost. Wyatt was singing about legs lost; having to redefine life from his wheelchair. He set this to an incredibly ideosyncractic compound of pop, rock, space and jazz. Simply, there is nothing like it, and if more singer-songwriters had taken it as a touchstone, the music world would be a much more interesting place.

Not enough people did, so Wyatt had to pick up his own gauntlet, and without repeating himself, he put out Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard.

And it is equally as brilliant. Solo piano ruminations, New Orleans blues, free jazz, vocalizing: Wyatt takes so much music here and wraps it into songs, songs that work together in perfect coherence. What amazes about Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is not the command of styles, but how Wyatt sculpts all these together in an album that is deeply intimate for all those fortunate enough, and ballsy enough, to listen. This is not the shining silver arches of 1970s art rock, jazz fusion, adult rock, but a genius letting you into his one room cottage industry--where he crates music that no one else can.

Look at the back cover, how Wyatt draws himself, a bug on wheels. The professor is paralyzed, dragging the music car behind him. The reference is pointed, earthy, and incredibly funny.

"Without little push from your shine covered boot........I'm the one face down in the mud, I'll be stuck here forever unless you kick me hardy." Wyatt says in "Teen Spirit."The professor can't move. But he can say this to song, say this to us, say this to himself.

How much bigger do you want? How much more personal can a singer, a songwriter, get?

The oft-overlooked companion to "Rock Bottom", "Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard" lacks its predecessor's spiritual flow but checks in with a number of highlights, most notably the long cut "Team Spirit", which sounds like a pretend-pop song gone wrong thanks to the singer's inimitable vocal style. Wyatt's brand of avant-jazz-prog instrumental is in fine form throughout, although all of the little bits and pieces of "Muddy Mouse" which take up side one can get on one's nerves a bit. It doesn't feel as essential as "Rock Bottom" from either a lyrical or musical standpoint, but that kind of album comes only once in an artist's career anyway--and "Ruth" offers up strange delights of its own.

I'm honestly quite shocked and pleasantly surprised that Ruth is Stranger Than Richard contains so many good songs. First of all it should be noted that the entire album is very listenable. It's nothing like Matching Mole's first album for example where most of *those* ideas fell flat as they wandered aimlessly and accomplished nothing. No, Ruth is Stranger Than Richard is a very focused and songwriting-driven album with interesting and oddly satisfying arrangements. Let me explain what I mean by "oddly satisfying".

"Team Spirit" starts off with a fairly typical Robert Wyatt vocal melody (perhaps reminiscent of his work with Soft Machine's very first album from back in the late 60's). The saxophone work however, almost feels out of place except somehow -perhaps because of Brian Eno's involvement- they *work*. Not only are the sax solos completely enjoyable, but they're also, quite frankly, pretty darn ominous and spooky, especially during the final minute of the song when they almost seem to loop to create a melody of sorts. It's oddly pleasing according to my tastes and *definitely* has that whacky experimental Brian Eno vibe.

"Soup Song" contains some hilarious lyrics about food-related topics. In the lyrics Robert pretends he's actually food and sings about it, lol. The melody is fairly basic, but truth be told, the saxophone is fairly annoying because it's continuously obnoxious. "Sonia" is an AWESOME song. It has a danceable and very catchy rhythm, and magnificent trumpet and sax soloing playing over top of it. A very original idea.

"Song for Che" wouldn't be out of place on Roxy Music's first album, particularly near the end of the album surrounded by those experimental doo wop songs. Not that this is necessarily a doo wop. I honestly have no idea WHAT it is. Picture people slow dancing to a saxophone melody that's somewhat depressing and well, just plain odd.

"Solar Flares" is a groovy-paced melodic instrumental that's almost immediately enjoyable. That is, if you can get past the weirdness factor. Either way, by the second listen you'll be loving it. The looping sax riff seriously remind me of early 70's Traffic, and Steve Winwood would surely be impressed. The song is... hard to describe. It's based around these bizarrely beautiful piano lines while Robert Wyatt sometimes hums along to them in a mid-tempo style. Meanwhile the sax just plays the same few notes over and over giving it a hypotic and atmospheric quality. Very unusual to say the least.

The album closes with a 6 minute song called "Muddy Mouse" and it's based around a mighty fine vocal melody courtesy of Robert Wyatt and some softly performed piano lines. Actually it's more like Robert Wyatt singing, not words necessarily, but in a high-pitched range just going "Whoa whoa whaaa whaaa" for a couple minutes in the middle. It's not annoying or distracting however. Perhaps this is his idea of delivering a soulful vocal melody, who knows?

The album does have one major weak point, and it's very very poor. It's a 5-minute song that goes by the name "5 Black Notes and 1 White Note". It's one unmemorable sax line repeating WAY too often, and for several minutes. Not a highlight and I don't understand its purpose.

What I *do* know is that Ruth is Stranger than Richard is a very solid album, musically. Underrated too. Now... the question remains- why were all those Canterbury bands singing about a guy named Richard? Richard who?

This album is so special. The vocals are UNIQUE. The songs/compositions are unforgettable, in that Brit sort of way ( you'll be reminded of early Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, etc). The playing from the 'band' is top notch (i wish Laurie Allen would have recorded more of his playing with others or on his own projects...INCREDIBLE drum playing). The cover is special ... a work of art. The lyrics are funny and profound at the same time. Just an excellent timeless recording, the likes we'll never see again.

Rock Bottom it ain't, but Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is an excellent album and is prized because it's one of only 3 full-length Wyatt albums from the 70's. Although it lacks the gravity, cohesion and transcendent songwriting of the aforementioned Rock Bottom, this album has some really great moments and is a wonderful, worthwhile portrait of Wyatt's abilities.

At its heart, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is an active listening album. What I mean is, if you don't pay attention when you listen to it, you probably won't enjoy it very much. On songs like "Solar Flares" and "Sonia," most of the song is a vamp of the same riff or chord progression and the beauty and innovation lies in the texture and interplay between the individual instruments (chief among them is Wyatt's extraordinary voice). On "Solar Flares" Wyatt's repeated line "they burn for you" weaves in and out of spare bass, piano, and sax, creating a really spacey feel. The "Muddy Mouse" tunes might not sound so great if you're only casually listening, but if you pay attention you may be amazed at Wyatt's ridiculous vocal range and his knack for clever, quirky lyrics.

One of my favorites is "Muddy Mouth," the second part of "Muddy Mouse C" which finds Wyatt using his breathtaking voice like a brass instrument in a scat section. Honestly, I think it stands up to some of his finest vocal work--the timbre of his voice, the control, and creativity are extraordinary, and it's pretty reminiscent of "Last Straw" from Rock Bottom, if not an even better scat. Also excellent is the moody "5 Black Notes and 1 White Note," which combines a plaintive organ/synth line with a horn chorus, which eventually devolves into noise. "Soup Song" is probably the most straight-ahead jazz tune on a jazz-influenced album, with some squealing sax and a hilarious lyric. "Team Spirit" is great also, with really classic Wyatt lyrics and an almost Spanish-sounding breakdown; it's one of the more prog tracks on the album.

If you're not already a Robert Wyatt fan, I'm not sure if Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is the best or most accessible place to start--that honor might go to Rock Bottom or even the two-fer of Soft Machine's first two albums, which are excellent. Once you're hooked, though, this album has a ton of great qualities and is a sound investment worth paying attention to. Hope you enjoy!

This is a good album, not a great one. When compared to some of Wyatt's later works such as Dondestan or Old Rottenhat this recording sounds like an artist maturing, evolving, but not yet at the height of his creative abilities. This disc presents an artist of considerable talent in the midst of transition from the complexities of Soft Machine and Matching Mole to the minimalist brilliance that he was to assume in later works. The accompanying musicians are solid but not quite capable of assuming a voice equal to that of the composer's. This is a more jazz influenced recording than much of his other solo work. Still worth purchasing but not essential...Simon.