Peter King- Shango

Peter King is probably the best tenor saxophonist of all time. Sonny Rollins and Coltrane, eat your heart out. His instrument has a unique voice and a tone that is all his own. The arrangements on his album "Shango" are to die for as well. Lush, and packed to the brim with hints of vocals, chants, sweet flutes, dueling horns, and looping guitar riffs. This is pretty rare, and if there ever were a thing to take the time and get from me (all you have to do is send an email!) this is it! Check out the title track:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzgRV5jBYw8

Robert Wyatt- Rock Bottom

This is my act of contrition for failing to post for awhile. A quick note, you may have noticed i am no longer posting the full album under each post, rather I am now posting a link to a youtube video for a song off of the mentioned album. This is to avoid any future problems of a legal nature. That being said, I do own everything I post, and half the allure is that some of this is really rare stuff. So, new policy: liked the youtube for the day? Really want the full album? Two conditions: first, you have to be a follower of Starry Eyes (unless you got a good excuse) and second, you have to shoot me an email with the post title of the album you want in the subject line (or some way for me to know which album it is you desire). I'll fire a link your way as soon as I check the old email.

So back to the music. Robert Wyatt is the frontman/drummer/singer of Soft Machine. Although he released a solo album before "Rock Bottom", Wyatt considers this to be the first in his cannon solo releases. He originally intended to form a new band, but the project was scrapped after he fell out of a fourth story window, permanently loosing the use of his legs. He spent the time in the hospital refining the album. The result was a dense, deeply personal album. The sea theme carries throughout, but it never crosses the line into silly as some concept albums do. REALLY REALLY RECOMMEND THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4fFsrnC0ZA

Soft Machine- The Soft Machine

Here is a criminally neglected prog/psych band. Led by songwriting powerhouse Robert Wyatt, the group was huge in the underground Canterbury scene in the late sixties. While the line up frequently changed, the only constant was Wyatt, with his almost ghostly wail floating above every track. On this first album, the band veers from jazz freakouts to proto-drone pieces. Truly a weird band (they out early Floyd to shame), please please please give a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95Cxj6AIB8M