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Doing the most to boost Wyatt's profile, however, was BBC4's Free Will and Testament: The Robert Wyatt Story, a full-length documentary on the self-confessed woolgatherer. 'As far as I'm concerned,' runs Roberts introductory voiceover, 'I'm dreaming all the time. The only difference is that I come up for daylight and other people the way a whale has to come up for air.' Directed by Mark Kidel, Free Will and Testament was an impressive film, celebrating Robert's fifty-year career while allowing its subject to remain entirely honest and self-effacing. […]
Best of all, Free Will and Testament found Robert performing, albeit without a live audience. He runs through key works from Sea Song to Free Will and Testament, with a band that includes Annie Whitehead, Paul Weller and keyboard player Janette Mason. Robert looks surprisingly relaxed during these filmed performances. Cigarette in hand, peering at the lyrics through reading specs, he clicks his fingers and even manages the occasional smile.
From Different Every Time - The Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt by Marcus O'Dair (Serpent's Tail - 2014) |