(Canterbury Scene) Robert Wyatt - The End Of An Ear - 1970, UK - 1970, FLAC (image+.cue)

Robert’s first solo album is one of the crazier you’ll get to hear on this site, especially so early in the chronology of the prog movement. Outside some Experimental Zappa albums in the late 60’s, you’ll be hard pressed to find a rock persona that managed such a “difficult” album especially for a debut album. This album is to be approached with great care, and must only be listened to when in the mood for some really depressive music ala Rock Bottom. If I speak of Robert’s second album, that happened after his accident, TEOAE was released as he was still in Soft Machine (between Third and 4) some three years before RB.

With TEOAE, his music was certainly a step ahead of the group “that was making him so miserable”, partly because on this album, Robert gets to exercise his scat vocals as much as he pleases (not the case in SM), and believe he catches up on lost time, as he signs: “out of work pop singer, currently on drums with SM”. Self produced (with a quite interesting artwork), very aptly-titled and issued on the same Columbia label as SM, you can bet these piques did not smooth out the difference with his other partners. Robert speaks in all admiration of almost pure jazz avant-gardist in the liner notes, such as McGregor, Keith Tippet, Mongezi Fiza and friend Gary Windo, and his music goes to some point as far as these people’s works. He might have mentioned Colemen or the post-Ascension Coltrane as well.

Recorded with some “Canterbury” friends (most well known, but some lesser family members: Cyril Ayers, Marl Ellidge as well), TEOAE is a really difficult album to get into, because of the nature of the dissonant music developed everywhere on the album, an early sign of Robert’s future lunacy in his music some three years later.

Starting on the LV Tango (a Gil Evans “tune”), Robert gives his voice the full work-over over crazy un-metered percussions, his brother’s dissonant piano (I think Mark Ellidge is his brother), and he lets his voice run wildly all over and around your brains while drumming up a storm. While there are completely nutty moments, the music keeps a certain beauty behind its chaotic nature and the track ends superbly after well over 8 mins of madness. The short Can-like Mark Everywhere track drives a crazy rhythm and ends in space whispers. Equally short and strange is Saintly Bridget (the folk singer B. St John), driven over an inventive Giles-like drum pace, cornetist Mark Charig and saxman Elton dean pull out mad horn sounds, while Whitehead would silence-out most Hopper unconditionals on bass. The next track is dedicated to Gongheads Daevid and Gilly (called Oz aliens), while the closing To Nick Everyone (Evans, former SM) sounds like a taunt, and this might be the album’s most difficult track and it’s overstaying its welcome by four or five minutes. On the flipside, the opener is dedicated to Caravan and Brother Jim, and it proves to be the album’s more conventional track, a welcome rest through the exhausting trip in Wyatt’s brains. The binary rhythm has a hypnotic quality that allows the piano shooting its note from the machine gun. Old World is a bizarre ambient percussion track, while Carla, Marsha And (the infamous) Caroline is a weird minimalist trip with the piano and organ keeping the whole thing sane, because the percussions, devices and other affects are certainly not doing it. Closing on a reprise of the LV Tango, where Robert not only matches the madness on the first version, but easily surpasses himself in this second part. While the album can’t be reduced to a Las Vegas Tango sandwich (the album’s centre pieces are just as worthy), it is clear that they do represent Robert’s vengeance to SM’s imposition on his hushing up.

Certainly this is the kind of album that fell upon the ears of future-RIO kings across the planet of rock music, this album is definitely not for everyone, but every RIO-head should get a load of it. And if rock Bottom was an easy digestion, TEOAE shouldn’t be that much more difficult, even if the musical dimension is very different, but the madness and lunacy are the same. Essential and influential.

Look at the date of original release and you realise this has to be an influential album, especially on the RIO movement. It was a real and unexpected surprise at that time if you consider the work done then by Wyatt largely within the confines of Soft Machine. Appararently, Wyatt was being marginalised with Soft Machine prior to being fired. So is this album a riposte, to show he could be as free as Machine intended going (although on record you'll only really hear Machine in free mode, on the recent Soft Machine "BBC 1971-74") or something contrary to the brilliant but seemingly out-of-place avante rock of "Moon In June" (on "Third"). "End of An Ear" is experimental and musically new, although to be progressed with Matching Mole. Its use of percussion, tape loops with friends dropping by to add their parts was innovative in the rock world - many of the tune tiles acknowledging friends in the Canterbury Scene. I find it great that Hugh Hopper has return to this method of recording on his most recent 'Jazzloops' and 'In a Dubious Manner' releases, as well as with Wyatt for a couple of tracks on "Solar Flares Burn For You" - and rumours have it Hopper is collaborating with Gary Lucas with similar experiments.

his is one of those albums that seems to divide opinions, largely on the basis of the extraordinary 'Las Vegas Tango', which opens and closes the proceedings. Wyatt was unhappy with the new direction that Soft Machine were taking at the time, which was towards purely instrumental jazz fusion. On the sleeve he refers to himself as 'out of work pop singer', and he was to leave the Softs after 'Fourth'.

The album contains no songs as such, and is dominated by Wyatt's version of 'Las Vegas Tango', a Gil Evans composition (Gil Evans was probably most famous for his work as arranger on Miles Davis albums like Sketches of Spain). Not so much a cover version as a radical deconstruction, Wyatt sings all the horn parts and also accompanies himself on drums and keyboards. It's a unique, bravura performance, one of the most extraordinary demonstrations of the power of the human voice in prog, but it's not easy listening.

Sandwiched in between the two halves of Las Vegas Tango are a series of mostly instrumental pieces which feature a strong free jazz influence. Elton Dean and Mark Charig get to cut loose in a manner that anticipates the dual horn interplay on Henry Cow's first album, or recalls the experimentation of pioneers like Ornette Coleman. The drumming is superb throughout, and in parts you can hear elements of Matching Mole - the track To Carla Marsha and Caroline would be reworked as 'Instant Pussy' on the first Matching Mole album.

I'd recommend this album to anyone interested in the more left field experimental rock that would later become known as RIO. This is as experimental as Robert Wyatt ever got in his own right, and repays careful listening.

Robert Wyatt's first solo album End Of An Ear came out when he was on a voluntary leave of absence from SOFT MACHINE.This was recorded inbetween SOFT MACHINE's Third and Fourth albums.The Fourth would be Wyatt's last with that band.He gets help on this one from fellow SOFT MACHINE members Elton Dean and Mark Charig on horns,while CARAVAN's David Sinclaire is on organ.Sinclaire would join Wyatt in the band MATCHING MOLE that Robert would form after leaving SOFT MACHINE.Wyatt's half brother Mark Ellidge is playing piano on this album as well.This record is perhaps the earliest(1970) rio/avant example there is.Wyatt never did another one like it.This is so experimental that many fans just can't get into it at all.There is a jazz flavour to much of this, no doubt about that,but often we get outbursts of intricate sounds instead of real melodies.Lots of atmosphere as well,and check out Wyatt's vocal melodies that go from amazing to funny on the first track.I laughed what Wyatt said in the liner notes as he thanks Vic Gamm for engineering the entire session without ever saying I can't go on!. Las Vagas Tango Part 1(repeat) opens softly with vocal melodies that build.Assorted sounds come and go like piano,sax,cornet and drums as Wyatt uses his voice like another instrument.Amazing.It gets very experimental 4 1/2 minutes in. To Mark Everywhere is in tribute to his brother Mark playing piano.This one has a nice heavy beat as sax and cornet blast away.The beat stops 1 1/2 minutes in as it gets psychedelic on us to the end of the song. To Strictly Bridget is dedicated to Bridget St.John a solo artist (singer and song writer) who would go on to play with Kevin Ayers and Mike Oldfield.A great bass line in this one as horns come and go and drums beat away.Some dissonant sax late as the song blends into To Oz Alien Daevyd And Gilly.Of course the Daevyd here is Daevid Allen from GONG who was an early member of SOFT MACHINE.And the Gilly is Gilli Smyth who co-founded GONG with Allen.She was also known as Shakti Yoni.This song naturally is quite out there.Haha.A dissonant soundscape that blends into To Nick Everyone.This is for Nick Evans the trombone player who played with SOFT MACHINE and on KING CRIMSON's Lizard record.It opens with Wyatt beating on the drums seemingly at random while the sax comes and goes.Cool sound.Piano comes in a minute in.I am so impressed with Robert's drum work on this one. To Caravan And Brother Jim is dedicated to the band CARAVAN of course and Jimmy Hastings.Another great track as a steady beat is heard while piano plays over top.Organ arrives and it all sounds so normal.Haha.Well not for long.The piano becomes dissonant and the drums become odd-metered. To The Old World(Thankyou for the use of your body,goodbye) is a strange one with weird horn sounds.Piano and drums come and go quickly.No melody to this one.Experimental all the way. To Carla,Marsha And Caroline(For making everything beautifuller) refers to American jazz pianist Carla Bley who collaborated with Wyatt,PINK FLOYD,Jack Bruce and others.Marsha Hunt was a model,singer and actress who is also American.And Carolie Coon was a political activist,journalist and artist who inspired Wyatt's O Caroline song.This song here features organ,bass and drums with more experimental sounds. Las Vegas Tango Part 1 opens with piano and crazy vocal melodies.Percussion creates a beat.This is the longest song at 11 minutes.I love this stuff.I really was blown away with this album.The guy truly was and is a genius.

EAC extraction logfile from 19. December 2006, 13:36 for CD
Wyatt, Robert / The End of an Ear

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