ROBERT WYATT — Rock Bottom

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ROBERT WYATT - Rock Bottom cover
4.42 | 29 ratings | 3 reviews
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Album · 1974

Tracklist

A1 Sea Song 6:30
A2 A Last Straw 5:44
A3 Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road 7:40
B1 Alifib 6:55
B2 Alifie 6:17
B3 Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road 6:19

Total Time: 39:34

Line-up/Musicians

- Hugh Hopper /Bass (tracks: A2, B1, B2)
- Richard Sinclair /Bass (tracks: A1, A3, B3)
- Gary Windo /Bass, Clarinet (tracks: B2)
- Laurie Allan /Drums (tracks: A2, B3)
- Mike Oldfield /Guitar (tracks: B3)
- Mongezi Feza /Trumpet (tracks: A3)
- Fred Frith /Viola (tracks: B3)
- Alfreda Benge /Vocals (tracks: B2)
- Ivor Cutler /Vocals (tracks: A3, B3)
- Robert Wyatt /Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion

About this release

Virgin – V 2017 (UK)

Thanks to silent way, snobb, js for the updates

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ROBERT WYATT ROCK BOTTOM reviews

Specialists/collaborators reviews

snobb
Soft Machine's co-founder Robert Wyatt recorded his first solo album still being its member. Than he left disappointed by band's musical direction, but didn't continued with solo releases. Instead he founded short-lived band Matching Mole.

This,his second solo album, was released when Matching Mole finished its existence as well. During recordings for this release Wyatt's life was changed radically: he felt from house window and loosed the use of his legs at all.As a result, he couldn't play drums anymore and concentrated more on vocals (as well as some keyboards and percussion).

Wyatt always was the source of psychedelic lyricism starting from his early musical works, but this album is his absolute peak of intimacy,openest and artistic sensitivity. Extremely unique mix of quite liquid,ambient sound,mostly all slow/mid tempo, with beautiful tunes and nervous and fragile atmosphere. It is not jazz,prog rock or even casual Canterbury sound - it's "Wyattness", his unique sound and atmosphere. With accent more on emotional field than on technical mastership, this album is one rare recording that you don't hear,but feel. Every time you listen to this album, you just feel it again and again, it looks that there are something deeper under quite accessible and even simple in moments music. And that "something" is happily not political message (which will become so usual for Wyatt on his later solo works),but great artist's naked soul with all his pain and hope.

Absolutely best Wyatt's album ever.

Members reviews

Warthur
Recorded in the wake of Wyatt's life-changing accident which left him without the use of his legs and therefore unable to drum as he previously used to, Rock Bottom is the most beautiful and haunting album Wyatt ever made, and one of the best to come out of the Canterbury scene. Haunting submarine soundscapes construct an album packed with love (especially when the subject of Alfreda Benge, Wyatt's partner who he married on the day of the album's release comes up), anger, frustration and hope. Love songs are ten a penny in rock music, but it takes a rare sort of confidence to invite the object of said song on to cap off the performance by fondly rebuking your hyperbole; this is precisely what Wyatt does. The closing performance by Ivor Cutler is the eccentric capstone on a very strange structure indeed, and one which has yet to cease yielding its secrets and treasures.
Sean Trane
Wow! How one does not commit suicide after falling from the window on the fourth floor and realizing that he will never walk again. I think I have never heard such a personal album like this one and the Syd recordings do not come close as those were so sloppy. This is rather a healing job as the open wounds just start to cauterize , but as he says in the booklet of the remaster, he realized also that he would not have to write music according to his different band mates as it will be impossible to tour again especially with a band, so this would give him more artistic freedom in the writing dept. Everyone ot these tracks is an absolute gem and his voice has never been so fabulous. Nerve-wracking, hair-raising, flabbergasting, spine-tingling. But nevermind me, I'll let my trusted collabs talk about this album

Ratings only

  • Zeb888
  • stefanbedna
  • Jack Revelino
  • Peacock Feather
  • MoogHead
  • JimmyJazz
  • Phrank
  • Fant0mas
  • St Tree Fun
  • 2rightfeet
  • KK58
  • progshine
  • darkshade
  • Vano
  • fusionfan94
  • Kontiki
  • nebol
  • Ponker
  • yair0103
  • Dr Dopo
  • chrijom
  • trinidadx13
  • Drummer
  • AtomicCrimsonRush
  • richby
  • triceratopsoil

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