Neal Morse and Robert Wyatt

This is not meant to be a contest, this is about hearing from the the fans of each artist more than comparing the two, if you can parse what I mean. It's a poll, and a Wyatt and/or Morse appreciation thread in one.

So... Two very different artists, which one speaks to you more? Feel free to take into account any and all work that the artists have been directly involved with/ worked on the albums of (solo, band, any collaborations, guest vocals etc.) Just vote for and talk about whichever you like. And this is about the whole musical package of the artists, not any one specific trait (such as singing, composition etc.) or project. Feel free to vote even if you only know one of the choices.

Some with long memories might recall that I did a poll matching these artists years ago (Wyatt with Matching Mole's "God Song" vs Morse's "God Theme" as I recall) but I am not wishing to court any controversy on this, and you won't find either of those as samples in this post either.

A few samples from each if any are interested (sorry if you think my choices are poor and would have rather seen other projects highlighted below such as The Neal Morse Band or samples from Wyatt with News From Babel -- six embedded videos already puts a strain on some when it comes to page load):

Robert Wyatt - "Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road"



Sot Machine - "Moon in June"



Matching Mole - "Marchides"



Neal Morse - "Author of Confusion"



Spock's Beard - "Revelation"



Tranatlantic - "Mystery Train"



Personally, I adore Robert.

I was thinking about doing a like/love both equally option (I don't like dislike both options generally), but if that's the case, you can just mention it in the thread.

Edited by Logan - January 24 2019 at 16:44

I know very little about Neal Morse. Just some albums of Spock's Beard. He is one of the many musicians I have to deepen. But I dare to vote for Robert Wyatt because Wyatt is for me one of the absolute geniuses of twentieth century music. In fact, even if he was not in Soft Machines, participating in the masterpiece that is III, and had not founded Matching Mole, with relative other masterpiece, it would be enough Rock Bottom to make Wyatt a genius approached by very few other artists. In front of Rock Bottom, Soft Machine and Matching Mole discs do not compare. And those of Spock's Bears look like the art of a good craftsman in front of Michelangelo.

Edited by jamesbaldwin - January 24 2019 at 19:11

I like Robert, I love Neal.

Can't recall hearing much of Wyatt's work, but I've heard a lot of Morse's, so he gets the nod.

Various terrific posts in this thread, thank you.

Saperlipopette! wrote: octopus-4 wrote: Apples and Oranges, I think. more like Majorica pearls and pearls produced by a Pinctada maxima

Robert Wyatt is a a pearl of great worth to me. I wasn't planning to bring religion into it, though that's one of the more interesting contrasts to be found with these artists, and so it's hard to avoid, but since pearls were mentioned:

"Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matthew 13:46).

Do you like apples and oranges? Apples and oranges, sure, or perhaps oranges and lemons, but not apples and motorcycles. Very different I said, but how comparatively different, well that's open to discussion. I wasn't that familiar with Neal Morse, but going through his music, there are plenty of similarities in pieces by each to be found beyond both having notes and using instruments. That said, various associations I make may not be ones that others would hear or notice so much.

I like apples, but I think I'd go with oranges. I prefer marmalade to apple sauce, but I was trying to convey in my opening post that one need not compare/contrast (to contrast one will compare and the two can be synonymous) these artists (or know both), nor need one have a preference to comment, nor need one know both to vote or comment in this topic. One might think of it more as an appreciation thread for Robert Wyatt or Neal Morse, or for Robert Wyatt and Neal Morse (though Neal Morse already has a very long appreciation thread).

I like drama and comedy (and dramedies), and that might, in a sense, be considered a similar apples and oranges comparison, and depending on the day, I can be biased towards one or the other -- the same could be said of classical and jazz, though of course there can overlap (like with modal jazz). If you asked me if classical and jazz "spoke to me more", I would have to give it some thought, but I'd go with whatever I most felt like listening to at that given time and mention that I love both classical and jazz music.

While I have done polls in the past that highlight the similarities, as well as the differences, between artists who would be thought of as coming from very different places and appeal to different audiences generally (I like to appeal to people's creativity in approach, and often have done ones where people could approach it from different angles), I was taking a rather different approach this time (see OP) as I have had complaints of polls of mine being too apples and oranges before. When approaching such a poll, I would be bound to draw comparisons, but it is not a requirement for voting or for talking about either artist in this thread. One need not even know both to vote and comment. One could love both and comment and talk about what you like about each and not make a choice between the two in terms of preference, like one but not the other, like neither etc. What's interesting to me is what people have to say about either or both of the artists, how the music has affected them etc. and any meta discussion and tangents can be fun too.

Edited by Logan - January 25 2019 at 07:14

Neal Morse. I love Robert Wyatt but Morse has moved me in a way very few artists have.