Robert Wyatt: Different Every Time

As singular a songwriter as they come, English musician Robert Wyatt may have a niche appeal, but his work has become better known over the past 40 years, as avant-rock music (or some such phrase) has crossed over into broader popularity.

This two-disc collection takes a circuitous route as it touches briefly on his pre-solo career (Soft Machine, Matching Mole), weirdly avoids his 1974 masterpiece (Rock Bottom), and includes collaborative tracks with the likes of Hot Chip, Grasscut, Working Week, and Björk.

It also takes in Wyatt's superlative version of Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding. This is one of those albums that gets lost in the Christmas slushpile. So if you have the vouchers and the hankering for something that lives up to the title, you know what to do.

[ strongcomet.com/wyatt ]