by Richie Unterberger
The opening track, &O Caroline,& is indicative of Wyatt at his best: art rock with a human face, a playful vocal, and soul. Much of the record is instrumental improvisation, though, with the humor largely confined to the song titles (&Instant Pussy,& &Dedicated to Hugh, But You Weren't Listening&). For every nifty passage (the extended melancholy Mellotron solo on &Immediate Curtain,& the goofy scat vocals on &Signed Curtain&), there's equal or greater instrumental patter. Some art rock devotees really get behind this album, but it doesn't count among the more enduring statements by the Canterbury crowd.