ROBERT WYATT Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard 1975 UK VIRGIN 1st PRESS - NEAR MINT
£
36
$
48
£ 36
Sold For
Nov 2, 2015
Sold Date
Oct 23, 2015
Start Date
1
Number Of Bids
Great Britain
Country Of Seller
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Description
ROBERT WYATT Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard 1975 UK VIRGIN 1st PRESS - NEAR MINT
ROBERT WYATTRuth Is Stranger Than Richard
UK VIRGIN (V 2034) FIRST PRESSING (May 1975)
WITH BRIAN ENO & FRED FRITH
GREAT COPY WHICH PLAYS BEAUTIFULLY THROUGHOUT
PRESSED WITH THE FIRST ISSUE VIRGIN LABELS
MATRIX: V 2034 A-2U / V 2034 B-2U
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/P and 1/A
THE RECORD IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL MATT SLEEVE WITH ARTWORK BY WYATT'S WIFE ALFREDA BENGE
COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL POLY-LINED BLACK VIRGIN COMPANY INNER SLEEVE
Robert Wyatt vocals, piano, imitation electric piano, organ, drums
Brian Eno guitar, synthesizer, direct inject anti-jazz ray gun
Gary Windo bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone
Nisar Ahmad "George" Khan - tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Mongezi Feza trumpet
Fred Frith piano
Bill MacCormick bass guitar
John Greaves bass guitar
Laurie Allan drums
The follow-up to Rock Bottom, for which Wyatt had written all of the music and lyrics, Ruth... consisted of Wyatt's adaptations and arrangements of other people's music (either friends - Phil Manzanera, Fred Frith, Mongezi Feza, former Wilde Flowers bandmate Brian Hopper - or influences - Charlie Haden) with Wyatt adding his own lyrics in much the same way as he'd done on Matching Mole's Little Red Record.
Apart from "Sonia", recorded for the aborted "Yesterday Man" single in October 1974 (again with Nick Mason as producer), Ruth was made at Virgin's Manor Studios with Wyatt himself handling production duties.
Much the album features Wyatt (on lead vocals and keyboards) backed by a "band" consisting of bassist Bill MacCormick, drummer Laurie Allan and saxophonists George Khan and Gary Windo, with Brian Eno adding his own idiosyncratic "anti-jazz" touch.
The album contains several pieces which recall the complexity and despair of Rock Bottom, but much of the record echoes the relaxed, almost silly feel of earlier Wyatt efforts such as The End of an Ear or his work with Matching Mole.
This becomes evident from the choice of title (a pun on "truth is stranger than fiction") onwards; the two sides of the original LP release were not labeled "Side A" and "Side B", but rather "Side Richard" and "Side Ruth"
The three "serious" pieces on Side Richard - the beautiful ballad "Solar Flares", "5 Black Notes And 1 White Note" (a funeral instrumental, supposedly a cover of Jacques Offenbach's Barcarolle, which degenerates into a series of noises somewhere between free jazz and electronic noise) and the piano-led Rock Bottom-esque Fred Frith collaboration "Muddy Mouth"—with a series of brief, nonsensical interludes featuring only sparse piano accompaniment and some very strange high-pitched yelping vocals under the collective title "Muddy Mouse".
The songs on Side Ruth all have more traditional structures; the rollicking "Soup Song" (derived from the Wilde Flowers song "Slow Walking Talk", of which Wyatt had recorded a version with Jimi Hendrix) has the air of a pub singalong.
The remaining songs are all covers or collaborations; the lengthy Mongezi Feza trumpet piece "Sonia", featuring a guest appearance by Feza himself (as do a number of other songs on the album) in the last year of his life, "Team Spirit" (written with Phil Manzanera, who would record the same song on his album Diamond Head under the title "Frontera") and a cover of "Song for Che" by Charlie Haden round off the album
Side Ruth
Soup Song (5:00)
Sonia (4:12)
Team Spirit (8:26)
Song For Che (3:36)
Side Richard
Muddy Mouse (a) (0:50)
Solar Flares (5:35)
Muddy Mouse (b) (0:50)
Five Black Notes And One White Note (4:58)
Muddy Mouse (c) - Muddy Mouth (6:11)
LABELS: NEAR MINT
Clean, bright, unmarked labels which carry just a few light spindle traces
VINYL Visual: NEAR MINT
Both surfaces are unmarked and shine like-new
VINYL Audio: NEAR MINT
Plays beautifully throughout which is always a big ask for this album with its many quiet sections - superb sound quality - crystal clear and fresh and my play-check at volume found little to fault - a few ticks noted on some of the quietest sections but I did not clean this copy as I prefer not to deep clean records unless they absolutely need it so any ticks will no doubt disappear after a clean/few spins
SLEEVE: EXCELLENT
Little edge or spine wear to speak of - just some age-related discolouration and ring back/front but good and solid and overall, a fine example of this matt, white, untreated cover
POST & PACKING:
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, NEW ANTI-STATIC LINER, QUALITY BOX (NOT ENVELOPE) MAILER AND AMPLE STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
UK: FREE (2nd class standard)
UK: £9.00 (Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day by 1pm)
EUROPE: Airmail: £14.00 (International Signed For delivery)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £17.00 (International Signed For delivery)
I will combine postage for items purchased within any 10 day period (@£2 for each additional LP).
However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you.
Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period.
I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Guarantee: All records are unconditionally guaranteed (including sealed and/or unplayed) and I will offer a complete, no quibble refund upon return of the item should you not be pleased with it in any way I will email you when payment has been received to let you know when the item will be posted. Please leave feedback upon receipt of the item so that I know you have received it safely. Thanks 625 (GS 6.9.7 (625))
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