Compendium Records

The Norwegian record company Compendium issued 10 records. Since (among others) Robert Wyatt (with Henry Cow), Hugh Hopper and Elton Dean are represented, we manage a Canterbury link too. See the rest of the covers on Flickr.
Henry Cow: Concerts (1976, Fidardo 1)
Karin Krog and Archie Shepp: Hi-Fly (1976, Fidardo 2)
Vanessa: Black And White (1976, Fidardo 3)
Hopper/Dean/Tippett/Gallivan: Cruel but fair (1976, Fidardo 4)
C. Austin, J. Gallivan & Voices: Peace On Earth (1977, Fidardo 5)
Saluki: Saluki (1976, Fidardo 6)
Hugh Hopper: Hopper Tunity Box (1976, Fidardo 7)
Intercontinental Express: London (1976, Fidardo 8)
Mirage: Now You See It... (1977, Fidardo 9)
Blow Out: Blow Out (1977, Fidardo 10)

I'm Happy!

Folks, it's summer and holiday. A good reason to sing "I'm Happy!" and ask "Why are we sleeping?" The Kevin Ayers video from 1972 is great, and I found it thank's to the forum "What's Rattlin?" on Calyx. Steve Hillage on solo guitar!

Calyx

Finally I remembered to link to the Canterbury page "Calyx" in the blog's Links. About time I visited again too, since I learned that a even a Norwegian band is classified as a Canterbury band! Richard Sinclair is guesting on Panzerpappa's - "Koralrevens Klagesang" (Hangar B, 2006). "Pappa" in the band's name means daddy, and the album title is really nice, at least in Norwegian. "Koralrev" is both coral, and choral fox, so the title may be something like "The lament of the coral fox". Interesting?

Maja Ratkje

The summer is obviously the time for chewing gum pop and My Boy Lollipops, but when you have had too much of this, and you are fed up with sand between your toes, try som impro, try some noise. How about the norwegian vocalist and composer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje? She is a solo performer and part of the bands Spunk and fe-mail. She is tough enough! The concert recording from Paris (2005) is borrowed on YouTube, and the portrait is taken by juicyrai.

I'm a believer

Robert Wyatt

The Monkees

Micky Dolenz and Julie Driscol


See Neil Diamond perform ithere, and please try Italia's Caterina Caselli's "Sono bugiarda".

Comicopera

See information on the new Robert Wyatt album (Comicopera) at Pitchfork, Harp and Uncut. The album is released in september or october, and old friends of Wyatt, like Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera og Paul Weller participates. The album will be released both as CD and a double vinyl package. Here are the songs:
Act One: Lost in Noise:
01 Stay Tunes
02 Just As You Are
03 You You
04 A.W.O.L.
05 Anachronist
Act Two: The Here and There:
06 A Beautiful Place
07 Be Serious
08 On the Town Square
09 Mob Rule
10 A Beautiful War
11 Out of the Blue
Act Three: Away With the Fairies:
12 Del Mondo
13 Cancion de Julieta
14 Pastafari
15 Fragment
16 Hasta Siempre

Sea Song

Isn't this a beautiful version with Annie Whitehead's band? Please see a solo version of Sea Song from YouTube too (can't be embedded in the blog).

"Am I yours? Are you mine to play with?
Joking apart - when you're drunk you're terrific when you're drunk
I like you mostly late at night you're quite alright
But I can't understand the different you in the morning
When it's time to play at being human for a while please smile!"

Feist

The summer album of the year will be Feist : "The Reminder". This is a nice collection of songs that floats along, and hook you after a while. Feist also sings with the Norwegian band Kings of Convenience, and Eirik Glambaek Boe contributes on "How my heart behaves". Feist portrait by Mick Orlosky.

Signed Curtain

The best rock lyrics in the world, for your eyes only:
"This is the first verse
This is the first verse
This is the first verse
This is the first verse...
And this is the chorus
Or perhaps it's a bridge
Or just another part
of the song that I'm singing
This is the second verse
Or it may the last verse
This is the second verse
Or it may the last one
And this is the chorus
Or perhaps it's a bridge
Or just another key change
Never mind
It doesn't hurt
It only means that I
lost faith in this song
'Cause it won't help me reach you"
Words and Music: Robert Wyatt
That's about sums it up? Heh?

Alfreda Benge

Here is a little nod to Alfreda Benge, Robert Wyatt's wife and cover designer. She has illustrated most of his solo albums, the exceptions being "The end of an ear" and some archival material ("Solar flares" and "R.W. and friends live in concert"). The examples in this post are from the Italian record "Robert Wyatt" (1981) and the American "1982-1984" (1984).

Oslo Jazzfestival

There must be hundreds of festivals in Norway during the summer season, and even Oslo have a Jazz festival (just trying to tease the Oslo people)! Check out the programme for the festival here (the English pages are far from perfect). My suggestions are Solveig Slettahjell (fantastic Norwegian vocalist)/Sjur Miljeteig, Evan Parker/I.H. Flaten (The Thing, Atomic, Scorch Trio), KORK and Crimetime Orchestra featuring Sonny Simmons, Abdullah Ibrahim (ex Dollar Brand) and Two Bands and a Legend.

John Surman

ECM just released another good album from John Surman (“The Spaces in Between” - ECM 2007). This good saxman deserves more praise. One of may favourite records 30 years ago (My God, time flies)was John McLaughlin's ”Extrapolation”, with our man Surman on saxes. Personally I prefer his stripped music, with saxophones and electronics, but I can take one hour with strings too, like on the last record. And finally, let me repeat myself, let us have a duo album with John Surman and Robert Wyatt. That's all I ask, how difficult can that be?

Wyatt in the papers

If you are looking for articles on Robert Wyatt, please check the French site "Une Discographie De Robert Wyatt". I just rediscovered my old Wyatt archive in the basement, and have photographed some of it. Please check my Wyatt set on Flickr.
The photographer in this edition of NME is Anton Corbijn.

Powernoiserockprogjazz

Two new Norwegian impronoiseprogrockjazzcallitwhatyoulike records, worth checking out:
Puma:"Isolationism" (BOLAGE BLGCD 001)
Ultralyd: "conditions for a piece of music" (RUNE RCD2065)

Mona Lisa

"Do you smile to tempt a lover, mona lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there
Are you warm, are you real, mona lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?"
Nat King Cole

Safe As Milk

The program for the festival Safe As Milk in Haugesund (Norway) is published. One of the guests ,Charles Hayward, has a Canterbury connection too. He is known from This Heat, has been with Gong and played in Quiet Sun (with Manzanera and Bill McCormick from Matching Mole). How about the band Clear Frame, with Hugh Hopper and Lol Coxhill, and Robert Wyatt guesting on cornet? Is that album somewhere? Hayward is on MySpace.

Sweet warrior

Just buy this album! It's Richard Thompson's best studio album in a long time (and I like the others too). What a guitar player!

Comments

For some reason or the other, this blog has not allowed anonymous comments. The language was even norwegian, but that shouldn't be a problem? I don't know for how long this has been going on, but you know - the ghost in the machine, and stuff like that.
Please, feel free to make comments even if you don't have an account, just choose identity as "anonymous". It's good though, if you sign with name, alias or initials.

Old magazines

I went through some old music magazines, and "clicked" on some Wyatt-related articles and images. I put some more on Flickr, in a Wyatt set.
Illustrations by (top - bottom): Ivan Allen (Mojo), Louise Weir (Mojo) and Michelle Turiani (Wire).