Review of Comicopera by Robert Wyatt DATE - by Alexander J. Szczech

Robert Wyatt’s Comicopera is just so damned compelling! The sound, the melodies, the arrangements, the lyrics ... everything... is just right. The tunes follow conventional song structures (more or less), but the melodies and arrangements seldom follow the expected pathways, taking delicious twists and turns at all the wrong (which is to say right) moments. Yet Wyatt is able to keep things fresh for the listener without the music ever sounding forced or purposefully weird. This music is fairly accessible and highly listenable. The sound is defined by emotive Wyatt’s vocals. His voice tends toward the higher registers and is a bit fragile, but It’s highly evocative, effective at keeping the listener spellbound. He does share lead vocals on “Just as You Are” with Monica Vasconcelos who, with her foreign accent, sounds a bit like Nico and females vocals appear elsewhere on the album to great effect. Perhaps it is Wyatt’s use of horns that make his music so unique sounding. He plays trumpet himself and a battery of horns are utilized throughout album. The instrumental “Anachronist”, even sounds a bit like Miles Davis’ “Little Church” for instance. Non-brass instrumentation includes steel drums on the splendid instrumental “On the Town Square”, acoustic bass, and Paul Weller’s guitar -- most notably his bluesy comping on “Be Serious”. The percussion throughout is understated and supportive. The albums lyrics really shine. Highlights include “Just as You Are” which deals with the insecurities inherent in relationships. It juxtaposes the female vocal asking Should I leave? Should I stay? With Wyatt wondering Will you leave? Will you stay? It resolves with all I can do is to love you just as you are. The song “Beautiful War” takes on the horror of war in the form of a bomber-- It’s a beautiful day to see my prey, it’s a beautiful day for a daring raid, I can see my prey from afar, so I open the hatch and drop the first batch, It’s a shame I’ll miss the blaze, but I’ll see the film within days, and I’ll get to see the reply of my beautiful day… Wyatt targets organized religion on “Be Serious” – I really envy Christians, I envy Muslims too, It must be great to be so sure as a top Hindu or Jew… And I got no-one to turn to when I’m sinking in the shit, Feel so sad and lonely, no-one will tell me what to do… My favorite lyric however belongs to “A.W.O.L.”, a poignant exploration of Alzheimer’s disease – Hattie stays up in her attic now, in silence, except for the sound of the tick and the tock of the damnable clock, while the world that she knows disappears… Comicopera is the best album I’ve come across in a long, long while. Easily the best thing I’ve heard this year. If you’re a fan a good music with slightly adventurous tastes this album is for you. Two thumbs way up!