Kevin Coyne - Sanity Stomp (Reissue) (1980/1990)

If Bursting Bubbles saw Kevin Coyne pursue the joys of anti-production to its logical conclusion, Sanity Stomp -- his second new album in less than a year -- caught him furiously flinging himself back into the fray, at least in part. A phenomenally ambitious double album, Sanity Stomp kicks off with two sides recorded alongside labelmates the Ruts, truly the most potent of the latter-day punk crew, and a seething accompaniment to some of Coyne's most blistering latter-day compositions. With the songs apparently written over the course of a single weekend, these two sides have an energy and immediacy that Coyne would not return to until One Day in Chicago, two decades later. Shift onto sides three and four, however, and the mood changes beyond recognition. Again, immediacy is the word, but the improvisation this time comes courtesy of Robert Wyatt, Brian Godding and co., busking artily to a series of Coyne lyrics and recitals, without any real regard for structure or song. Again, Coyne would return to similar pastures later in life, most notably his Opera for Syd tribute to Syd Barrett. But there, at least, familiarity was bred in the tunes he was performing over. Here, there are few recognizable landmarks to cling to and, coming out of the fire storm of the album's first half, few albums have been so aptly titled. - Dave Thompson