1. “I’m a Believer” (Composed by Neil Diamond; first sung by the Monkees; covered by Robert Wyatt.) It’s widely known that Neil Diamond was a Brill Building song craftsperson before his singing career took off, and “Believer” is one of his signature tunes. The 1966 Monkees version was a deserved hit. But this art-rock-inflected rendering by British drummer and singer Robert Wyatt, his first single after a calamitous accident that confined him to a wheelchair, is an alchemical transformation: a pop hymn if you will. The U.S. art-rock group Tin Huey (whose Chris Butler would go on to pen “Christmas Wrapping”) covered it in Wyatt style in the late 70s, too. 2. “Respect” (Composed and first sung...
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