Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard (Reissue)

VINYL FORMAT. Limited to 2000 copies; comes with a CD version of the album! It's far too easy to abuse the phrase "living legend," but when used to describe Robert Wyatt, you're in no danger of hyperbole: gifted songwriter; political activist; drummer in the Canterbury jazz/prog pioneers Soft Machine and contemporaries of the original lineup of Pink Floyd. Domino are incredibly honored to be releasing a near-complete re-issue series of Robert's solo recorded works in the form of these limited edition LP+CD versions!

'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.' - Ted Mills / All Music Guide