condition (record/cover):  EX- (marks not affecting play) / VG+ (dirt on white parts)

The unofficial pressing (catalogued R.R. 1001 on the otherwise undocumented "Race Records" label) of Robert Wyatt's solo debut, originally released 1970 on CBS (CBS 64189, with cat# 31846 on cover, S CBS 31846 on labels). The End Of An Ear was recorded during a hiatus from Soft Machine in early 1970 and stands as one of the most extraordinary first-statement-as-a-solo-artist records in British music: a sequence of vocal-multitracked experiments, partly free-jazz, partly proto-loop-music, partly already in the territory that Rock Bottom would shortly fully explore.

Wyatt plays drums, piano, organ, voice, mellotron and percussion. The album features two Gil Evans compositions ("Las Vegas Tango Part 1 (Repeat)" and "Las Vegas Tango Part 1") arranged in radically different ways, plus a series of Wyatt's own compositions structured around multi-tracked overdubbed vocals (a method he would refine further on the Matching Mole albums and then completely on Rock Bottom). Guest musicians include Mark Charig (cornet), Elton Dean (saxello, saxophone), Jimmy Hastings (alto flute), David Sinclair (organ), Cyrille Ayers (percussion). Recorded at CBS Studios with engineering by Vic Gamm.

The pressing on offer is the Race Records edition (R.R. 1001), not the original 1970 CBS issue (CBS 64189). The Cherry Red / Esoteric Recordings 2012 remaster is the licensed reissue for collectors who prefer official releases.