ROBERT WYATT — Comicopera (review)

Album · 2007 · Vocal Jazz

3/5 · 2011-05-14
Sean Trane

A few years ago, I remember being very under-whelmed by Wyatt's previous album Cuckooland, and although I haven't heard it in full in a while, I maintain to this day that it is a sub-par effort, but I know I will reinvestigate it in the near future. If I spend time over that album, it is precisely because Robert's latest album gives me the same feeling of obtuse impermeability, even after a half-dozen listens in the last two months. Although I find Comicopera more focused than its predecessor, which is only normal since this one is a conceptual piece, a three-act play of apparently unrelated subjects, obtusely illustrated (or un-illustrated) by unrevealing drawings. The first Lost In Noise act is probably the easier-understood of the three acts, although there is a blatant plagiarism of a well-known love mega-hit song of the 70's in the second Just As You track (I'll let you guess which, it shouldn't be hard). The other four songs are imprinted with the usual melancholy and sadness that Wyatt has gotten used to for decades. Nothing bad, far from it, but hardly anything new either, so it has this déjà-entendu depressing feel, that still claims a certain beauty, if well faded by now. The Anachronist instrumental gets my favor in this act, especially because of the cello rumbles

The second Here And Now act starts on a pedestrian folk tune, followed by an Atheist preaching (Weller on guitar), than an instrumental sort of calypso track that takes time declaring itself, and overstaying its welcome by four of its 5 mins+ duration. Insufferably long, mostly because it fails to evolve; and with that basic flaw in mind, it's clear that Town Square is a filler. The next two track fail to arise (or arouse) my interest and will see me skip them in future listens (actually the whole second act), even if the closing Out Of The Blue does a bit of that, coming out of the blue to pull us (a bit) to Rock Bottom days. If you'll except the two closing tracks of the first two acts, there is absolutely nothing to get excited about so far, let alone understanding the album!!

The third Fairies act is sung in Italian (1 song) and Spanish (2 songs), but actually it works fairly well for non-Latins, but I think he's more credible in Spanish. After the charming opening Del Mondo (a spell-binding background is stealing the show on this track), Robert finally pulls a spine-tingling track in Cancion De Julietta, where the cello and violin drones make an incredibly haunting background, chilling and curdling your blood. A way toooo-long vibraphone and devices instrumental Pastafari and the tooo-short Fragment a capella + piano track provokes frustration. The closing Che Guevara anthem shows that ol'Rob is still passionate about his political ideals. The track is a Cuban rumba that manages a smile, but not much more.

Although I suppose that this album will eventually deliver its secret, one is faced with the frustration of not having a more permeable oeuvre. Wyatt was never a prolific song writer, and even a three year gap between albums seem to be too few to have an album worthy of his glory day's caliber. Aside Anachronist, Out Of The Blue, Del Mondo and Julietta, there isn't much to quench your thirst, but