"Side by Side: Selected Lyrics" by Robert Wyatt & Alfie Benge; Foreward by Jarvis Cocker (Faber & Faber)

 

I never met anyone who dislikes a Robert Wyatt album. That's impossible. It's like saying that there are people who don't like good weather. I first discovered Wyatt's music when he was in The Soft Machine. I followed his music path in a very unorganized manner. I was (and still am) blown away by his masterpiece "Rock Bottom."

Nonetheless, then again, the majority of his work is in that Masterpiece category. Wyatt is a songwriter/singer, but he also sings other people's music and words. What's remarkable about his talent is that once he does a song, it becomes a Robert Wyatt song. His cover of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer." However, the original is lovely; the Wyatt version becomes something profound and moving by his understated jazzy and somewhat hairy vocal. In such a manner, he reminds me of Nina Simone in that he can capture something deep and personal when he covers another's song. 

For years now, since "Rock Bottom," Wyatt has worked with his wife Alfie Benge in such a manner that they become one body. Either by her doing the art for the covers or writing the lyrics, it's hard to separate the essence of their working relationship. "Side by Side" (boy, that is an accurate title) is the two's selected lyrics, mostly on the Wyatt solo recordings. Benge did contribute words to other composers, but the majority seem to be for Wyatt recordings.

Faber & Faber, the publishers, has put out "Selected or Collected Lyrics" books that are remarkable. Other artists covered have been Kate Bush, Scott Walker (a personal favorite), Jarvis Cocker, and Billy Bragg. They all have a similar design and look, and it is a superb series. "Side by Side" is remarkable on various levels. Wyatt and Benge are very literary, and the words stand out well on a page. Without looking at the back credit for copyright permission, it can be challenging to know who wrote which lyric. Throughout the book, Benge writes a brief afterword expressing what the song is about, but not for every piece. Wyatt's lyrics are either playful or very direct when it concerns politics. In that sense, Wyatt reminds me a bit of Bertolt Brecht. Both have a talent for sharing a sense of time and place. The works they did together on a beachfront home in Spain are sensual, witty, and observant of their neighborhood. There is a travel diary or journal touch in their work that you pick up enlightened and profound information. One is always placed as the narrator confronting what's around you. A point-of-view is an essential aspect of reporting a journey or place. Wyatt and Benge have that talent.  

Benge was an assistant film editor on the Nicolas Roeg film "Don't Look Now" (1973) and a good pal of the actor Julie Christie. There are cinematic touches in her lyrics/poetry that give the work a layered texture essential in all writings.  Wyatt is full of wordplay, but he can also be forthright, primarily when he writes about a political topic, which he does with great moral ability. Politics can be a turn-off for many people. Still, Wyatt and Benge have a technique of inviting the listener/reader into their world. Therefore you are looking at an issue through their eyes. Although, they do pretty much point out atrocities worldwide due to Fascist or corporate capitalist interests. 

"Side by Side" works as literature as well as song lyrics. If you know the songs, some pieces you can't avoid the melody in one's head.  The Wyatt/Benge book opens up the textures in the songs, and therefore a deep dive into the beautiful ocean that is Robert Wyatt and Alfie Benge.

-Tosh Berman