Robert Wyatt's version of this Neil Diamond penned Monkees's hit from 1966 is about as atypical of his music as you can imagine.
A more or less straight rendition of the biggest selling single of 1967, over one million sales, it is only the vulnerability of Wyatt's voice and his gentle Canterbury accent that sets this version apart. Released at a time, 1974, when rock music was taking itself far too seriously, this was a breath of fresh air and one of those tracks that makes me smile every time I hear it.
Wyatt's background was in progressive rock where he played drummer for The Soft Machine, with Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen (who will be names known to anyone who likes Prog Rock).
He'd learnt drums from a Jazz musician friend of the family in late fifties Dover and the influence of Jazz in most of his work is obvious.
Wyatt has been in a wheelchair since 1973. The story I read at the time, and always believed to be true, was that he was electroucuted while playing electric drums in Japan. It turns out he fell off a balcony at a party for Gilli Smith and Lady June from his old friend Daevid Allen's band Gong. He was pissed!
Wyatt will appear again in the list, and the alternative tracks playlist includes the Monkees original version of this song, along with an example of more typical Wyatt work from his days with the Soft Machine.
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