Kew. Rhone

First released in 1977, Kew. Rhone. is an album by a mismatched assortment of musicians performing intricate jazz- and pop-inflected songs with lyrics about unlikely subjects and unlikelier objects, lyrics which refer to diagrams or function as footnotes, or are based on anagrams and palindromes.
Kew. Rhone. would never trouble the charts, it aspired to higher things, and yet, re-released in various formats over the decades, curiosity about this categorically elusive work has grown. Now its authors and some of its connoisseurs have broken silence to discuss the record and to reflect upon the times in which it and they themselves were forged.
Peter Blegvad, Kew. Rhone.’s lyricist and illustrator, excavates each song in turn, uncovering themes and sources. In the second part of the book, a consortium of writers and artists respond to the album in various ways, illuminating without dispelling the mystery of a work designed to resist interpretation even as it invites it.
With contributions from: Amy Beal, Carla Bley, Franklin Bruno, Sheridan Coakley, Jonathan Coe, Jane Colling, Andrew Cyrille, François Ducat, John Greaves, Doug Harvey, Lisa Herman, Jeff Hoke, Dana Johnson, Andrew Joron, Glenn Kenny, Frank Key, Simon Lucas, Karen Mantler, Harry Mathews, Tanya Peixoto, Benjamin Piekut, Margit Rosen, Philip Tagney, Robert Wyatt, Rafi Zabor and Siegfried Zielinski.
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Robert Wyatt: “They say that the term ‘very unique’ is an oxymoron, but I don’t think so. Everyone is unique, but a man with two heads is VERY unique. ‘Kew. Rhone.’ is a record with two heads. Two great minds, with a singular vision. Peter’s imagery is wonderful. John’s music is wonderful.
There’s more real content on this record than any other I can think of. And, it’s perfectly executed. ‘Kew. Rhone.’ IS very unique.” Andrew Joron: “One of the few rock albums I’d consider genuinely surrealist in spirit and composition.”
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Peter Blegvad is a musician, songwriter, graphic artist, writer, teacher and broadcaster.