Nothing Can Stop Us

Excellent vynil and CD edition.

Wyatt was a peripheral interest for me, mostly post 'Soft Machine', with 'Matching Mole', 'Rock Bottom' & 'Ruth is Stranger Than Fiction'. The cover art on these unpretentious albums unobstrusively indicated a subtle sensibility. Though each of these outings has its merits, and Wyatt's continuing catalogue has given me sporadic joys, 'Nothing Can Stop Us Now' has been my absolute, compulsive favourite.Yes, even its avowed anarchism is not prosyletizing.(The cover notes inform us from some quip from a Yankee breast-beater in the 1930s, that the USA will not make the British mistake of trying to impose its order on the world, but merely own it..'nothing can stop us now'). Though this disc was assembled from singles, the sum of the parts make an eclectic satisfying whole.'Shipbuilding', author Costello in tow, receives its definitive reading. Awesome at the time of the Faulkland's fiasco, it has lost none of its clout. Peter Blackman's eloquent narration of his'Stalingrad' is moving. 'Strange Fruit' is delivered with such unnerving, piercing force, the image rides before my eyes with subdued horror.'At Last I am Free,' is sung with appropriate liberation, Wyatt's quivering voice, aching into melancholy. And 'Trade Union' with an ensemble called Disharhi adding to the universality of Wyatt's worker's ethic, uniting his sympathies with other ethnicities. It's brave stuff, stirring stuff, and though I'm not even a card-holding member of a political club, I hold a candle for Wyatt's music.

A 1986 release of political torch and protest songs. "Shipbuilding" was released as a single and it remains a great working class song. "At last I am Free" sung in Mr Wyatt's unique nasal dirge is a powerful song. It has a bleak and touching cover of "Strange Fruit" made famous by Billie Holiday. "Red Flag" and "Trade Union" are reminders of how much we are losing to the era of casual labour. It ends with the dirge like poem of Stalingrad, but listen to the words, it reflected the hopes of a generation before Stalin ripped the heart out of the labour movement. Not recommended for those of a conservative bent.

If you're new to Robert Wyatt, don't start here. This uneven collection of singles for Rought Trade in the early 1980s has a few gems and a lot of chaff. My favorite, "At Last I Am Free," makes me cry just thinking about it. I have the LP just to play that song. "Born Again Cretin" has the trademark Wyatt whimsy and "Stalin Wasn't Stallin'" is one of the tastier servings of the old Commie's anachronistic politics. Most of the rest are forgettable. But, like all Wyatt releases, even the less successful numbers have his twinkling sincerity ("Caimanera," for example).

This is a classic Robert Wyatt album and essential listening,for those of us who love Robert. I suspect it will still sound weird to those who fail to tune in to Robert Wyatt. Roberts voice you either love as something that goes stright to your heart, or you think is thin and quirky. It only fails to get 5 stars because it is a faithful cover of the original release, a later release includes Shipbuilding, so I had to download that from iTunes. But this is still great Robert Wyatt.

Very highly recommended. Mind you, I say that about all Robert Wyatt albums!

Date de commande respectée.Colis conforme à mes attentes.Très bel album de Robert Wyatt. Je le conseille à tous ses fans.

イギリスのプログレ、ソフト・マシーン（ウィリアム・S・バロウズの小説から）の元ドラマー&ヴォーカリスト。　オリジナルは、1981年にラフ・トレードからリリースされた、ソロ5枚目となるシングルがメインのコンピレーション・アルバム。　本作は、1998年、ビデオアーツから出た日本盤CD。　初めて聴く方々には、1993年、ワーナーから出た日本盤の方をお薦め。　コステロのヴァージョンで知られる、「Shipbuilding」（フォークランド紛争を基に創られた名曲）が6曲目に入っているから。　それにしても、ワイアット、ピンク・フロイドのロジャー・ウォーターズ、テスト.デプト等、初期からイギリスでスぺキュラティヴなサウンドを目指したバンドって、政治的に社会主義者が多いのだよなあ。　その人が持っている思想と、生み出す音楽とは、決して無関係ではないはず。　　2曲目「アット・ラスト・アイ・アム・フリー」は、ナイル・ロジャースとバーナード・エドワーズによるダンサブルなユニット、シックのカヴァーだが、不慮の事故から下半身不随になったワイアットが歌うと、禅の修行の果てに達した境地のように聴こえてしまう。　ヒトラーも出て来て、マジに歌詞がユニークな5曲目「スターリン・ワズント・ストーリン」から、敬虔な気持ちにさせられる6曲目「レッド・フラッグ」、人種差別を歌ったビリー・ホリディの問題作をカヴァーした7曲目「ストレンジ・フルーツ」への流れは、本作品における最大の聴きどころ。　決して力強いヴォーカルではないし、ファルセットが苦手な方々にはお薦めできないが、聴き込むほどに味が出るスルメ的アルバム。　何故か、全体を通して、クリスマスっぽいと思いませんか？

Excellent!!!!!