
Dondestan
by Richie UnterbergerFor half of these songs, Wyatt put music to the poetry of his wife Alfreda Benge; he wrote both words and music for the remainder (with the exception of "Lisp Service," whose music was written by ex-Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper). Roughly speaking, the collaborations with Benge are more abstract, and the other compositions more politically oriented, dealing with concerns such as Palestine, privatization, and the Communist Party (the wittily titled "CP Jeebies"). If you're worried that this is agit-prop, don't fret; it's all delivered with Wyatt's typical understated melancholy, subtle humor, and trademark eerie keyboards. Indeed, the mix of jazz, pop, and progressive rock--owing, as ever, little to contemporary trends--is appealing enough that it may take a while for the subversive lyrical ideas to make themselves apparent.