Shleep

Very odd. Hated it at first, in particular the second song, but the album improves. 2.5

Not as bad as I first thought when I read a couple of reviews (and saw the cover art). Some songs are horrible ("The Duchess"), but overall quite enjoyable.

Creative, with some genuinely wow moments. But ultimately the unevenness, weak vocals, and dissonant extra instrumentation just gets in the way.

some very interesting and cool songs, then it goes on a bit of a rambling style, in the end more misses than hits. 3.1

This was a pretty strange album and tough to digest in a way. Sometimes experimental and weird, but also feels somewhat accessible (I’m pretty sure it’s not actually accessible). Wyatt’s voice is simultaneously haunting and comforting. Some interesting musical ideas that can be very psychedelic, but not always in a typical way. Some songs, or parts of them, occasionally lose my interest. Certainly a unique album that has plenty of diversity throughout but feels cohesive. I like it and it could grow on me over time, but hard to say.

At First glance I didn't understand this album. I decided to listen again and then again with headphones. I understand it better now. Still not sure why it was made by I'm interested in checking out his other albums.

Putting a late career solo album by a Canterbury Scene veteran on this list was almost as baffling as the album itself. Filled with great compositions ruined by bloviating vocals and run times, I don’t think anyone needs to listen to this before they die but at least it’s fascinating.

Kinda torn on this one. There's some very interesting stuff, but some of it can be so fundamentally different inside of the same song that I often kept checking to see if I had a second YouTube window open and playing. It was like mashups that just didn't work.

Un poco molesto algunas canciones.

it is not for me and that is okay, reminds me of music a weird little dude in adventure time might make

A very sweet sounding album. Jazzy, weird, ethereal and overall quite satisfying. Not sure I will return to it but enjoyed the opportunity to hear it. 3.5 stars

Not my jam, but not offensive

Hmm - some songs are definitely worth of 5 stars, others really not. Therefore 3,5 stars in summary :-)

2.75

Ok

3 1/2

I had not heard of Robert Wyatt but I'd heard of the bands of which he had been a member, and I'm so glad this album appeared today in this project for my listening pleasure. It's rather eclectic and even when the particular track might not be one I'd want to hear again, I can appreciate the creativity and unusual choices.

Only listened to the first few songs. Interesting to say the least.

I am not sure this rose to 1001 level. It was a good enough listen but not sure what made it be on the list. Some of his earlier stuff that was on the list I can see being there. This one not so much.

Sanfte klare Stimme eines englischen Urgesteins. Experimentelle Rocksongs mit Piano- und Trompetenführung geben dem Album eher Blues/Jazz Noten. Teilweise wirken die Songs wie Rohdiamanten, die mit jedem Schliff glänzender werden. Gut gefallen wusste „Free Will And Tesrament“.

Quirky, odd, eccentric album, from the Soft Machine alumnus. Worthy of a listen.

A groovy little album at times with some oddball moments. Pretty average as far as enjoyment went, but nothing bad about it. Solidly fine.

Requires several listens, some good understated tunes but nothing that really stands out. Not sure this is Robert Wyatt's best

Ça alterne de bonnes séquences et d'autres où Robert Wyatt veut absolument faire son intéressant. Toujours est-il que le seul Wyatt que j'estime est le fils de Piper la sorcière et Léo l'être de lumière (puis avatar).

Meme constat que pour Primal Scream, les quêtes de succès d'Astrub m'empêchent d'accorder la moindre attention à cet album qui n'en méritait de toute façon pas la moindre.

It was ok.

Average stuff

Different. It took a couple times hearing to start really getting into it. It really will take a few more though I think.... 3.5/5

A hard listen? Idk, some I liked, some irritating 😒? Listened 2x, still feel the same, 3 I guess.

Idk, feel like I need to listen again?

1997 Progressive rock, art rock, Canterbury scene, experimental rock First time hearing this. Never heard of him... Best known songs from the album: Heaps of Sheeps and Blues in Bob Minor. 3/5

Liked the jazzier influences towards the end of the album.

What a strange 90s art jazz album

Pretty interesting musically, his voice seems like an acquired taste that I have not yet acquired and I was not a big fan of the nursey rhyme style on some songs.

Albumi ei ole millään tavalla merkittävä ja se tekee miehen surulliseksi. Miksei tässä voisi olla löytänyt robert jotain kaunista? Miksei robert mennyt studiolle ja laittanut albumiin maailman kauneimmat biisit jotka soivat herttaisesti radiossa? Miksi nämä kappaleet ovat julmia ja vain rahallistettua taidesoitantaa. Kumpa en olisi taiteen uhri. Kuin tämä olisikin taitavaa ja linnut taivaalla hetkellisestä kognitiosta poikkeava suurtyö. Monimutkainen luomus, ei, summanmutikan avulla luotu pöllähdys joka ei sattunutkaan sattumilla satusedäksi. Suru valuu kasvoilla.

I'm glad to live in a world where wierdness like this can get published... I liked some of it very well and didn't particularly dislike any of it. It got too much into meandering, stream-of-consciousness rambling for me though.

Weird but I didn't hate it

Rock progresivo. Experimental.

This kind of cool kind of kooky oh Brian Eno was there got it

Someone once told Robert Wyatt he was quirky as a compliment and he just ran with it! Shleep is much more fun to say than it is to listen to.

Hard to believe this is a 1997 release as it sounds right out of 1974. Even if I hadn't read it, track one "Heaps of Sheeps" just oozes Brian Eno who has become a bit of a fave here after ~650 albums. As for the negative, it's a little ... passive? Very English-passive. By contrast, take Gong for instance - much more actively-weird, actively moving. This is more a pastoral counterpoint to space-rock weirdness. In case anyone needed me pointing this out, during "A Sunday In Madrid" he sings one note the entire song. The. Entire. Song. (no wait, he went up one whole note twice there... not sure that even counts.) I can only imagine how many people hated this one....but I don't :P. It's just weird enough that it could be a sneaky good weird jazzy chill listen. I hate giving 3s but this is almost my perfect 3 - at different times you could put this on and I'd get almost physically angry yet another time it might be the perfect salve with a cup of tea (or scotch) sitting on the back porch. 5/10 3 stars.

Not really my style

Shipbuilding aside, I haven’t particularly enjoyed Robert Wyatt’s music, but there is always something warm and peculiarly pleasant. A visionary artist who works hard and is very accepting of most music, he’s a likeable chap. I enjoyed reading what both he and his wife said about “wyatting” (people playing “Dondestan” on pub jukeboxes to deliberately annoy others). A low three because some is fine and I like the man both as a true artist and a genial chap.

jazz, moment expérimental. assez intéressant 6.5/10

Wikipedia classes this as art rock and that's pretty apt, it feels a bit like an exhibition piece. There are moments of genuine musical quality but then at other times it feels a bit performative. I did particularly enjoy Blues in Bob Minor

What a bizarre album

Not a huge fan of prog rock, so I tried to hate this but actually ended up liking most of it. Blues in Bob Major was the standout track (and the least proggy).

This album gets three stars, but basically every song is either five stars or one star, with nothing in between. Sometimes his voice is the best part, and on some songs, it feels like he's singing a different song to the backing, in a different key. I'm sure that's very clever, but it's also quite irritating. Heaps of Sheep is a great song. Do more like that Bob!

I liked Heaps of Sheeps, the rest of the album did not impress for me, personally.

It's an album that keeps balancing on the spaces between genius, madness, beauty and pretentious wank. I find it hard to pin down, even after 4 listens

Didn’t buy into it

3.0

3.8 - Impressive that this was released when he was 52 years old - it’s more adventurous than 99% of music out there. I still find his singing thin and nasally but aside from that gripe, I enjoyed this a lot and think it’s a perfect “zone-out” record though it’s layered enough to also warrant a close listen. Maybe skip the last couple of tracks, especially “Blues in Bob Minor”, which sounds like an even worse version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

This album is fascinating and has some incredible moments and some very annoying almost unlistenable ones. Very distinctive and unlike anything else I’ve heard really, and ultimately a rewarding listen despite The Duchess

Robert Wyatt is definitely one of those polarizing artists with his unusual falsetto voice and his music is hard to pin-point - unsettling indie/folk/jazz. Attentive and repeated listenings are required to fully appreciate. Most of this album was quite good albeit somewhat demanding.

Had never heard of Robert Wyatt before or any of his work so was quite excited to jump into something totally new and this was a really interesting listen. The experimentation and avant-Garde arrangements on this album are really cool and interesting but I find myself enjoying the tracks on this record that are more rock-orientated. I love a jazz influence on a rock record e.g. Steely Dan but I do feel like it overpowers a little on this record. More guitar focused tracks such as “Blues in Bob Minor” and the beautiful “Maryan” are my personal favourites where some of the more intricate jazz tainted songs lose me and I struggle to enjoy them as much. Still thought this was a decent record and I respect Robert Wyatt for the wide array of guests and instrumentation he uses on the album. RATING: 7.0/10

The first couple tracks had me going wtf and I was concerned that I was not going to make it through this whole album. As it kept going though, the sound evolved into much more of a jazz with spoken word vibe, and I found it to be relaxing, sometimes soothing, background music. I'm not a big fan of Robert Wyatt's voice and lyrics here, but I can see the appeal.

un bon album rock psychedelic avec Eno comme producteur, C'est dans mes cordes. 3.85

6/10. Kind of a weird little album. I suppose I liked it, though.

Slightly less bad than the previous Robert Wyatt we've had? Still pretty meh. 5/10

This bloke has done it all and played on every other album out there. Not only is his solo discography long and impressive, so is his work with different bands, as well as collaborations. When I was listening to this album, my wife mentioned how it wasn’t doing much for her. I immediately disagreed, pointing out that although the album isn’t robust (that is, it doesn’t work when people are lightly chatting while listening), Wyatt knows exactly what he’s doing. The man is a master. Brian Eno producing, by the way.

Cantautor cercano al pop en el que, con una voz un tanto peculiar y profunda, las canciones se pueden escuchar fácilmente y transmiten un aire de tranquilidad. Le ha faltado algo más de chispa

From the guy who wrote an album while in a hospital; something nice and floaty. Wyatt has roots in the eclectic Canterbury scene, which is known for it's proggy blend of jazz fusion and psychadelic rock. While Shleep is a good few decades removed from the height of the scene, Wyatt tentatively writes what he knows. While it is spectacularly well-written and composed, it occasionally feels like it meanders (as is the case with prog rock) and is more successful at striking an overall feeling rather than having any individual standout songs. While Rock Bottom is often considered his best, I'll propose that Shleep is a more refined and overall better piece of work. It also has Brian Eno, so, there's that.

For a decade from the mid-70’s to the mid-80’s I loved Robert Wyatt’s recorded output, although I have to say that, on reflection, a lot of the highlights for me were cover versions - I’m A Believer (Neil Diamond); Yesterday Man (Chris Andrews); Shipbuilding (Elvis Costello); Strange Fruit (Billie Holiday); At Last I Am Free (Chic). So, unsurprisingly, the highlight for me on this album is the Dylan-inspired Blues In Bob Minor - totally a nod to Subterranean Homesick Blues, itself inspired by Chuck Berry’s Too Much Monkey Business & inspiring Costello’s classic, Pump It Up, among others. Other than that, the sound of this album is so dense that I think it will take quite a few listens before I totally get what’s going on. I enjoyed it .

It was bollocks and I did enjoy it.

bit of a schlep, but not too schlocky

Average!

Es un disco rarísimo, por partes aburrido pero rescaté unos remitas muy buenos.

Soft and chill for listening.

Was not quite as weird as his previous album, the more frequent singing parts made the differen e here. Still though nothing to write home about

too much

At first glance this looks like some 80's new age hippie sleep meditation album used in daycares to make children take their naps. This will do me no favours on the first workday back after a long weekend if that's the case. I need motivation, not shleep right now. But you know, it actually brings a lot more uptempo groovy vibes that I expected. This Robert Wyatt character is a special kind of weirdo. Good for him.

It's not quite that simple, but mostly feels like Wyatt going pop. Each song, beautiful, is gauzy as layered thing, not simply along the production lines typical to Wyatt's work. Structurally, the death and rebirth in the middle of Shleep feels clear, hazes hanging to the right and left. This is music which feels totally incompatible with laser focus, and it lacks some of the scale of other albums in Wyatt's discography.

Shleepy music

Good, but not great. It felt like there were pieces missing that I could not find.

It had a mood - I didn't mind it

It's.... interesting? Not quite sure what to make of this. I liked some aspects of this - the subtlety, the mellow nature of most of the songs - but I didn't care for the vocal style. An interesting listening experience. 3 stars.

Like all Wyatt's albums, this is mix of highs and lows; but Wyatt's highs are stunning and his lows are higher than many artists' highs, so...

real cognitive dissonance from this ‘97 album occasionally sounding like Atom Heart Mother-era Floyd. One of the biggest headscratchers for me as to how this record got made & included on this list but at the same time, I was fascinated by its twists and turns (from freaky folk to plaintive jazz), and I enjoyed the majority of the tracks. “The Duchess” sounds like it inspired some of the more demented musical pieces in Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, and was the closest I came to turning off the album. HL: “Heaps of Sheeps”, “Maryan”, “September the Ninth” July 27, 2023

Had some nice bits but too strange overall

3.5/5. Different, but it was pretty good. I would listen to this again.

Moitié/moitié. Je comprends sa démarche. Original et diversifié. Vrmt not bad surtout blues in bob minor. Blues is nice, mais je sais pas encore je ferais quoi comme top 3 blues, folk, soul. Certaines sont meilleures la 2ème écoute. Vibe soft

An interesting LP from a new (to me) artist. Not exactly sure the theme is on I jive with, but the tracks are executed well and have some interesting ideas to build on. Things do tend to stay a bit dreary in lower gear (which is perhaps the point), but I can't complain about an overall pleasant listen

Sounds like the ramblings and music composition of a sleepy toddler

*Sleep

Couldn't get through it. All sounded the same

Very solid. I really enjoyed Billy Budd, which I don’t know if I’d heard.

I guess it was alright kind of folksy sounding rock, but one of the earlier songs was absolutely awful

4/10 - Generally a miss for me. I didn’t find it grating but I generally don’t like whatever this is. Reminds me of Richard Dawson which I feel similarly about.

I don't know, this just didn't really do it for me. 4/10

I'm going to be honest, I'm pretty much an amateur, so pretty much all I can say is that is weird and more importantly I did not really enjoy it. Some were ok, and even the jazz was fine to me, but didn't stand out. However the off beat parts, nah, i don't feel I need to waste my time before I die. The comments gave me some info so of course I have even more distain if it truly is pretentios artsy for that certain crowd, but all that matters is that honestly I will not search this again.

Some engaging songs but at times it just sounds a mess, leaving me wondering why I am listening. The first track is really good

it got a bit better towards the end

Some might call it interesting, some may say arty, maybe even whimsical. Me, I think it’s pretentious bollocks. It does however get an extra mark for the music, that’s nice!

4/10

fine

Artsy dude... Muy para sus conocedores...

I like standing up for controversial albums but this does lowkey suck. I’m not mad at it, it’s just boring and long.

I know Robert Wyatt for his fantastic interpretations of At Last I Am Free and Shipbuilding. I also know him as the drummer in the very boring experimental band Soft Machine. Now I also know him for a bang average comeback album from 1997 that a few critics wet themselves over and the general public ignored. For once, I'm on the side of the general public.

I was driving while listening to this and didn't really have a chance sit with it the way I like to do. I didn't want to mark it "did not listen," though because I did give it a spin. that first song was interesting. The rest I had a hard time wrapping my head around, and I'm someone who digs experimental music.

favs: september the ninth out of season blues in bob minor the whole point of no return rating 1.8/5

Quirky, and mostly enjoyable instrumentals. The vocal performance is ghastly. One of the few instances when I wish someone had considered using Autotune software. If Wyatt had not recorded vocals, this album would have been instrumental fire. While it is admirable that Wyatt's circumstances have not diminished his spirit, this is painful. I definitely enjoyed this album more than his earlier solo effort that appeared on this list. I also enjoyed this more than the Soft Machine album on this list. Having said that, it is very unlikely I will ever return to this album, or any of his others. Not an essential album, and certainly doesn't deserve a spot on this list. Favorite: "The Whole Point of No Return" because it include no vocals and was a wonderful arrangement. "Heaps of Sheeps" and "Blues in Bob Minor" would have also been favorites if the vocals had been been performed by someone with a lick of vocal talent. 2 stars mostly for the all the work of the people not named Robert Wyatt.

It's interesting...

Wasn’t my cup of tea. A song or two almost got there but it’s definitely art-rock which I just don’t like.

Well there's your problem, too much Avant Garde in your Prog.

meh

Interesting jazz inspired parts, but not really my taste

This is an album.

Reading the comments I expected way worse. I mean it's not great but there are way worse experimental solo albums on this list. It's manageable, not a album you must hear

This album starts off with a decent Eno-esque pop number "Heaps Of Sheep", but then it's straight into the ditch with "The Duchess", 4 minutes of melodyless singing over seemingly improvised brass and woodwinds. The next number "Maryan" (with its lovely acoustic guitar backing) initially has a semblance of normalcy but Wyatt's weirdo vocal melody derails any emotional weight the song might have had. With a few exceptions the rest of the tracks on this record fall into those buckets: somewhat normal-sounding pop/rock numbers, avant-garde weirdness and songs that try to straddle both worlds. Only those in the first category really work ("Heaps...", "Free Will And Testament" and "Alien"); everything else seems like abstract, formal exercises void of any recognizable human emotion.

Album almost made Me shleep a couple times. 2.5 bumped down to 2.

449/1089 - Sax is a bit flat on the second song. His voice really isn't very good. It sounds like David Gilmour if he was weaker and more British. Pretty uninteresting instrumentals but they get a bit better towards the end of the album, either that or I'm looking forward to finishing the album. Not sure why this is considered jazz-rock, is it because the drummer plays the ride cymbal sometimes?

Not for me- a combination of maudlin and cheesy

Wasn’t big on this.

Couple of good songs music wise, but that's just about it. Not terrible, but can't really say I enjoyed it or would have missed it if I died yesterday.

At the start of this list (many years ago) one of his albums was the first album I gave a one star to. Has my taste changed over the time or is this album just a bit better? The tunes are idiosyncratic to say the least and Wyatt is best known as being a cult figure and that kind of hangs over this album. Is the man more important than the music itself? That's the feeling that won't leave me when I listen to his albums - and surely that takes away the point of music? Is this the real reason he's on the list? Best Tracks: Heaps of Sheeps; Maryan; Free Will and Testament

Some good songs, but really not for me.

I thought I would like this more than I did based off the intro song, but it was real hit or miss after that.

When it began, I was surprised that it didn't sound the way I assumed it would from seeing the album cover. After a few minutes, it sounded exactly as I assumed it would

Definitely pompus and a bit eccentric. But English music always had that attitude. As much as I hear the basis of Radiohead and several layers of synth instruments and a cohesion around thematic ambience. Which are all qualities of music i enjoy, this one didn't do much for me. I'll be fair with 2 stars.

I felt trapped in a very polite, but very confusing lullaby that I didn’t ask for…

weird tripe

Started off good with the first song then got progressively weirder and jazzier as it went along. Not for the better.

nope

I thought I would like it more

var inte på humör idag, sorry robert

Ok. I do not completely hate this, but I certainly do not like it. There are passages of music here that I find somewhat enjoyable. But the lyrics are so pretentious I can’t give this more than a 2/5 on principle.

Did not understand the reason for this existence. Labai zappa, labai varo iš proto (unikaliai man)

Novel for novelty's sake, nothing important to witness here.

It's just fucking odd. Makes me feel something (confused and bewildered) so it can't be a 1.

Strange

very weird sounds

Not something I like to admit, but maybe I just don't "get" this album. I haven't particularly enjoyed it, but I'm not upset.

As usual, I didn't hate this as much as a lot of you did, but it did seem pretty pretentious and challenging in a desperate attempt to be artsy. There were a few nice parts but pretty hard to listen to overall. Continually boggles my mind that so many people heard this and reached for the 5.

Meh

1: Free Will and Testament 2: Heaps of Sheeps 3: Alien

??? wow reaggy wer war nochmal robert Wyatt? haha doch kein reaggy yt hat Playlist gewechselt jetzt also hippy noise...früher prog rock. c

Sufjan Stevens does this sort of stuff so much better.

Favorite Track: Heaps of Sheeps

Seems like it noodles around too much for me.

This bloke can’t sing!

It’s just sad bc the album would be really good without his dogshit yapping

Good news is we're done with Robert Wyatt now!

Not as bad as "Rock Bottom", but not much better either.

The instrumentals of some songs sound ethereal and you feel like you’re levitating, then the gibberish-sounding vocals come in. Wouldn’t really listen to it again, just not my cup of tea. At least there’s kind of a concept to the album: dreamy sounds and artsy elements.

Meh

Jumping from “Heaps of Sheep” into whatever the hell “The Duchess” was gave me whiplash. “Free Will and Testament” has a very dreamy hypnotic quality that I actually really enjoyed. I really dig the piano in "A Sunday In Madrid". As a whole, it feels pretty scattered, and while it’s not exactly my kind of thing, I’m definitely glad I gave it a listen.

90’s Progressive Rock ⭐️Free Will And Testament

Nice album very well produced and good flow but not a must listen

It's got some quality music. Funky rhythms and style but it goes too dull too quick and never recovers.

Weird album. I’ve never heard of Robert Wyatt, so I was excited to hear something new to me. The reviews have been pretty polarized, so I was curious how this was gonna go. Turns out, I get why this is a love it or hate it kind of record. While I like the instrumentation and think this had a ton of potential during the first track, as the record went on, I found myself less and less enthused. It’s kind of like listening to 16 different instruments, all beautifully played, but all playing slightly different tunes with no coherent direction amongst them. I don’t out and out hate this, but it does feel a little too art house nonsense for the sake of being art house nonsense for me to really want to invest in any more than like the first 4 or 5 tracks. 4.5/10

The music is pretty obnoxious and absurd, some cool arrangements but half of this listen was strlaight hell. Not the biggest fan of his voice, and some parts are so unnecessarily out of tune. It's one of those albums that pretentious chuds will try to convince you it's on purpose, but it's not. It's just straight ass. So much potential too. I like tracks 1, 3, 5, and 10 however. While it shlucked, the atmosphere was kinda cool due to the anxiety it gives.

A bit experimental for my taste. Parts I enjoyed, but mostly a little out of whack

Nope, didn't like it. Some of the music was artsy and interesting, but really disliked the vocals. 1.5/5

I cannot say anything that is true for the entire album. Each song does their own thing, and it either hits or completely misses. There were a few moments where the music got me, and it made for a nice backdrop for a walk and mulling some stuff over. Other times the music was distracting, annoying, unpleasant. Perhaps conciously so, but that doesn't mean it worked for me. Difficult to rate, but I don't think I will listen to this again. But it was certainly interesting.

annoying

Once I got to the third song, I felt like this one might be a song by song breakdown (First time I've done this, and don't plan to do it very often again), so here goes: 1) Heaps of Sheeps: A little pretentious, not really my thing, but it's fine. 2/5 2) The Duchess: Holy fucking shit what is this garbage? His singing is awful where he devolves into mumbling halfway through a phrase, or trails off into nothing. And the experimentation in the instrumentation is just offputting. 0/5 3) Maryan: Actually liking this. Kinda reminding me of some of the avant-garde type sounds in 00's/10's rock metal (Particularly when it comes to Kayo Dot or maudlin of the Well - which makes sense because apparently others have compared them to Wyatt). Singing is still a little rough, but it's good. 4/5 4) Was a Friend: A little long and repetitive, but enjoyed this one a bit too. Very Kraftwerk if they decided they needed avant-garde jazz saxophones in their music. 3/5 5) Free Will and Testament: Musically, pretty good. Vocally, kind of annoying. Like a far more annoying Damon Albarn. 2/5 6) September The Ninth: Some good avant-jazz here, tad long though. 3/5 7) Alien: Some good bass and fun drumming. Again, very Damon Albarn-ish vocals. A little repetitive, but the pianos coming in at the end are nice. 3/5 8) Out of Season: Feels like an undeveloped piece. Just there. 2/5 9) A Sunday in Madrid: Kinda wasn't paying attention to this one, but it seemed fine. 3/5 10) Blues in Bob Minor: Like the drive of this one. First time I've truly enjoyed the vocals too. 4/5 11) The Whole Point of No Return: More of an end-terlude, but it's good. 4/5. Overall, mixed bag, but I think I'm settling on the 2. Some of the vibes on this thing are great. But some of the more weird stuff just doesn't work for me.

Would be better without him reading his shit poetry over what’s otherwise interesting well played music

i really liked some songs but others were not my taste

boring ass-album.

Kult albumcover, ellers ok-

Started well, but then moved to screechy, out-of-time, out-of-tune flute and strings. Feels quite chant-y and meandering vocally, and then instrumentally feels like they went 'how many instruments do you want playing at the same time?' and Robert Wyatt went 'YES'. There are some more pleasant tracks, but they are juxtaposed by utter rackets

I can see why this is hated. Its vocals and mannerisms are aggressively twee and british, little attempt is made to keep any generated momentum up and it appears to be trying to annoy the listener on purpose. However, there is light in there. The combination of jazz sensibilities iver folk playing does uncover some lovely melodies and there are brief flashes of brilliance.

Robert Wyatt- the vocals are really hard to listen to for me. Some interesting instrumental stuff but I didn’t connect with anything. He played drums in Soft Machine.

Maybe I just didn't "get it" but wow this was not for me

Kult albumcover, ellers ok-

Very strange and atypical album. Felt like I wanted to like it more but the album was more interested in being out-there than being good to listen to. Definitely some okay proggy moments, but on the whole unremarkable. Top tracks: Maryan, Alien

Well I have a feeling he has better albums but it mystifies me how this one made the list. Drab.

variado

experimental and weird and some of it cool but not really my bag

Eh...

1/11, 9%

Not too sure what to make of this one. Pleasant enough but didn’t really give me much of an urge to go back to it.

I guess you'd call this a concept album, however some modicom of quality control would have helped, case in point track 2: The grand old duke of york, scratched out on a violin with a vocal that i would be ashamed to produce at karaoke Some of it was quite good, but a lot more misses than hits

If you loved Brian Eno’s work in the 70s and his work as a producer for Talking Heads and U2… well, you will probably enjoy the opening song of this album. And if you are a fan of Bob Dylan, you might appreciate the homage “Blues in Bob Minor.” Each of those songs deserves a star.

It’s def not a 1 but it’s def not a 3 if you know you know

I'd just rather listen to something else

This is a classic example of "You should like this album because of a previous album that was likely much better." And... I don't hate it. But I don't much like it either. It's too twee and precious for my liking. 3/10

No está mal, pero por momentos me resultó monotematico e inclusive aburrido.

shleeped on robert wyatt with good reason

this put me to shleep :/

There is some beauty in this, but it is overshadowed by the uneasiness some of the songs produce I keep editing between 2 & 3 but final score is a 2 due to the stress it gave me to rate this

Weird and interesting 🤔 not my cup of tea, but not wholly terrible

An interesting slice of British psychedelic folk that exists outside of time (it was recorded in 1997 but sounds like a product of the 60s or 70s). It’s a dreamlike stew of sounds that is compelling in a strange way. The music is mostly beautiful enough to make up for the frail, pitchy vocals. Robert Wyatt is clearly a guy who thinks a lot about music, but he is definitely not a great singer. Overall pretty enjoyable but not something I’d play on my own. 2.5

OK.

Not very good.

Blues in Bob Minor

Kind of odd with wimpy vocals. Free jazz is rarely a bonus in my book, too. Not a fan.

Alien is very good, and the instrumentation is cool all throughout but otherwise "not quite smiling, not quite frowning" or whatever he says at some stage during, is a pretty solid description. Blues in Bonlb Minor, away t'fuck.

Meh

2.4 1x decent but weird and little too experimental

Not for sheleeping, it has its moments but overall didn’t capture me

This dude is surely among the worst vocalists on this list, but I quite enjoyed the instrumentals.

This is #day475 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I got a Soft Machine record back on #day159 and gave it a 3. That was experimental jazz rock for the most part, while this one leans more toward progressive rock and whatnot, yet still retains that free jazz spirit. Pastoral, if you will. I was going to give it a 3, but then I remembered those vocals... So, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day476.

Ekkert sérstaklega sniðugt. Frekar pirrandi bara. Sé ekki það merkilega við þessa plötu.

Loved the Soft Machine album on here, totally unknown to me and right up my street. Although struggled with the cockney singing that took away from the album and Rock Bottom felt like it kept the worst bit (vox) and lost the quality of the whole band. Similar on this, but also maybe not up to the same quality of backing either. I’m all for experimentation and out of the ordinary but this just doesn’t do it for me and the voice just really grates on me and makes it feel basic. Also, clearly just don’t like much of anything Brian Eno is involved in. Yeh, not really enjoying this. Instruments okay at times, voice really not for me and arrangement just not grabbing me. And actually started annoying me by the end of it

I don’t think I *get* this one. I could not understand a lot of the lyrics except for something about spiders understanding arachnophobic people. It’s definitely artistic, sounds different than many of the 60s/70s rock albums that we get so many of. I’m just not sure I’m the target audience for this.

Boy that was a boring listen. The only interesting song was “Blues in Bob Minor”. So songs to irritate your pub patrons was the point?!?

Started out promising but got a little too strange...and then stayed a little too strange for me.

Best Song: The Whole Point Of No Return. The mix of Gregorian-esque chants and trumpets was kind of neat. Worst Song: Was A Friend. The exact kind of experimental music that I find most obnoxious: some dude speaking over music that itself isn't that interesting. Overall: This definitely feels like it comes from the era and culture of music where one could get away with being "weird" or "creative" without necessarily being "skilled" or "musical". Sometimes it is lyrically interesting, but it is rarely fun to listen to.

Довольно заунывно и неинтересно

I dont really like Robert Wyatt's voice . . .

First song is great

Slow paced art rock that pulls in a bunch of different instruments sounds and musicians. Fairly boring.

I decided to give it a go as it seemed so different from everything I've heard lately and I really enjoyed the instrumentation. But the vocals, man they suck. Its this particular way of singing thats sadly typical to UK prog. Sounds like an old man shouting at the cloud. Roger Waters style (ugh). And then it goes completely off key for "artistic" reasons. Nah

This was ... I guess interesting. I couldn't really get into it. A lot of the time I was listening it kinda just faded into the background and then all of a sudden I would hear a weird cello or vocal performance that made me go "whaaa?". It was certainly very ambitious instrumentally, but I'm not sure if it really gelled into anything I could understand. By the time it was over I was done with it and didn't really enjoy it very much. I've heard worse, but I wouldn't call this a good album, let alone a great one, but I probably just didn't get it or something. :shrug: Two stars.

Not interesting. Sounds like the bassist from a much better band tried to take a crack at it solo. Wont listen again

So British

Eh

No sé que decir. Se me ha hecho raro y largo, casi al final hay una canción bastante bonita dedicada a Madrid que me he guardado.

Interesting, I know he's highly regarded (even if the music is a bit 'out there'). Would be interested in hearing more. Mid 2s.

Shleep is an experimental album that leans heavily into the strange and odd, but it often feels pretentious and boring. The instrumentation doesn’t save it, and honestly, it’s just not compelling.

Not great, though did weirdly remind me a bit of Baxter Dury

Wtf

I legitimately love the music of this album so much, it has the feel of a nice little jazz combo and I really enjoy it. But his voice, idk. It just doesn’t pair well, maybe it’s an acquired taste, but I would rather just hear the instruments alone haha.

.......is this lolrandom rock? Eclectic experimental music that sometimes hits and sometimes misses. Lyrics crafted by a man not as clever as he believes, but with a few good parts often quickly ruined. The vocal performance is pretty shit tho, innit? You can really hear how many different artists were involved in making the album. Too many cooks spoils the shoup or whatever. At least the production is competent.

Best Track - "Blues In Bob Minor"

Nope, I’m not sophisticated enough for atonal sound experiments and off-tune singing. Somehow he got great musicians to work with him. The strings and horns save this from being a 1.

Unique and interesting, but not good. Actually pretty unlistenable

The first song was nice but the rest was a bit too weird for me, somehow his voice was annoying (oops)

Experimentell but a little bit too much

Very interesting, but I'm not fully an Eno person. And now that we have Blackstar, this is not necessarily worth a listen.

This sure is an aggressive album. No concern for the listener, only for novelty for the sake of novelty.

1st song was quite enjoyable. The following songs went completely downhill. The rest of the album withered on into another psych rock, jazz fusion, noodling ramble... A bit like this review! Sad face

A couple of the songs are not bad, but they're overshadowed by the torture that is the 2nd song.

Um som diferente do que eu costumo ouvir, eu ouvi fazendo outras coisas em casa e em alguns momentos os efeitos sonoros me assustaram kkkkkk mas eu gostei

Boring at points, though a weird sound that I can't wrap my finger on.

This album is all over the place, every time it hit me with a song I enjoyed the next one would be mind numbingly boring or unlistenable.

Track 1 - Super Furry Animals B-side Track 2 - Toddler goes nuts on GarageBand Track 3 - Don’t let a lack of melody, structure or timing get in the way of making songs. Why does this sound like Brian Eno?? Track 4 - Syd Barrat has a psychotic episode while a cat sits on a synth Track 5 - Another Super Furry Animals B-side Track 6 - Big Band Jazz ensemble do ketamine. Track should have been titled ‘Regretamine’ Track 7 - A wild Brian Eno appears...Again. (Edit: oh shit this was meant to be a joke but turns out it is actually Eno.) Track 8 - Fell ashleep to this one. Track 9 - Still shleeping Track 10 - Woke up to a knees up cockney version of Bob Dylan. Very confused had to check I hadn’t accidentally pressed shuffle Track 11 - Trumpets in a haunted crypt Tl;dr - This was fucking weird.

1997. Interesting sound from English art rock. and Strange Jazz elements thrown in. Some songs were good but others lost me.

Favorite Song: Alien Least Favorite Song: The Duchess

More noodling

Slow and weird

Weird art rock

neeeeeeee

Little weird and this guy can't sing

Like...what?

I pretty much fell ashleep during this listen and can't remember if I liked it or not.

Corey's favourite - an Avant Garde album! It has some OK songs, and some weird ass shit. So I will say 2.5 - round down because WTF mate.

This needs some classic 90's attitude! Where is the personality??

Started into "Heaps of Sheeps" and read the reviews thinking I am not understanding the general pretentious artsy feelings. "The Duchess" starts. There is no doubt this is pretentiously artsy. There is a part where Wyatt makes a roflcopter sound. "Maryan" has a cool little repetitive guitar run at the end that is interesting. "Was A Friend" is annoyingly terrible. "Free Will and Testament" has a cool slide guitar part in it. The song reminds me a lot of The Flaming Lips. What a Jekyll and Hyde album.

Interesting. But nothing I would put on to listen to.

Fascinating wikipedia page, dull album. I did like some of the basslines.

Maybe a quarter of this isn’t too bad and even edges toward decent. Unfortunately, the lows are pretty rough.. though to be fair, I’ve heard worse on this list

J’aime pô

Was not my cup of tea

Melkoista artsy partsya että oli miltei vaikea kuunnella. Menetteli….

Heaps of Sheeps is fun. Everything else sucks.

Wenn man keinen klaren Gedanken fassen kann, aber meint man müsse Musiker werden und die Welt am Chaos hinter dem frontalen Cortex teilhaben lassen

Schrecklich. Free Will and Testament ist gut, deswegen gerade noch 2 Sterne.

A weird album. It's definitely interesting, but not always in a good way. If you told me that this was put on this list because it was pulled from a hat, I would believe you. It's not horrible, but it is a gentle reminder that the list is 1001 albums to listen to before you die, not 1001 GOOD albums to listen too before you die. 2/5 Won't listen again

A little too experimental for me.

This record is way too eclectic for me. Favourite Track(s): Blues in Bob Minor Least Favourite Track(s): A Sunday in Madrid

Swing and a big miss, for the most part

Rock. Not bad but boring.

Not very good. Horrible vocals.

This was a very odd album. Not something I'd listen to again.

Experimental and Fusion of styles and sounds. I did not enjoy it, the vocalist voice was tiring after a couple of songs.

Was not my type of music. Sounded like some shit they would play before bedtime in kindergarten.

This was an odd album listen. The album felt very artsy or experimental to me but I just don’t know if this album was for me. Most of the songs just had a bunch of random sounds and instruments but I think what bothered me the most is that he sounded very out of tune and like he was struggling to find and stay on pitch for most of the songs. I don’t think I will be listening to this album again anytime soon. Not my cup of tea personally.

3/10 - this album was too weird for me

Better than the last Robert Wyatt album I guess. Ridiculous that this dude gets at least 2 solo albums and Weezer gets none

Not for me.

Big miss for me, I wanted to go high 2 but I don't think I can justify giving this 3 stars. Some nice moments for sure but overall not a fan

I always like being introduced to noteworthy artists I've never heard of, even when their music is far from my thing. And Shleep is most definitely not for me. I found it relentlessly laborious, though it picked up at the end with "Blues in Bob Minor" and the ambient closer "The Whole Point of No Return." I actually kinda liked (or at least disliked less) a track from another album Spotify started playing after this one, so maybe I can find some Robert Wyatt stuff that's closer to my thing.

Uhhhhhhhh....some of the bass lines were very cool. The album cover was also cool. Otherwise this sounds like open mic night at a coffeehouse in Venice Beach. What am I missing here folks?

Just found this an odd really. I really struggled to keep interested because it feels like a bit of an unfunny parody after of an artist. No thanks would not listen again.

The music feels soft and weak, flip-flopping between jazz and an overly sentimental ballad. It has the vibe of something where they’ve thrown the kitchen sink at it, hoping something sticks. Unfortunately, this just makes it feel even more a drone fest for me. Shonestly? Not for me. Shanks, but no shanks.

I don't like the style of essentially reading prose but in a funny little sing-song voice. It reminds me of very early prog rock and just sounds like a poorly written song delivered with weak vocals. The music is also a little thin and rambling. Another album that sounds like someone's self indulgent pet project, great if it happens to chime with you but difficult to find enjoyment in it if you don't.

Puh..

This sounds like a free album you got when you bought some unknown MP3 player back in the day. There's a reason those were free and this album is in the same category. 2 stars because it had some decent music to it.

How sheeply awful! Brings a whole new level of dissonance with some of the worst vocals I've endured.

I liked the first song, but the rest of them just didn’t deliver IMO

2.5

I don't remember this album much, seeing as I was mowing the lawn to it, but I do remember that it wasn't memorable.

Having only heard Shipbuilding before, I didn’t really know what to expect here. I keep switching from ‘this is actually pretty good’ to ‘this is actually really annoying’.

Strange, disconnected and chaotic. There doesn't seem to be much fluidity with this one and reminds me of something an adult child would produce. I've never heard of this artist or record before, and I'm not sure I would revisit it. I appreciate it for being weird, but it's just not for me.

2 stars Not really for me, but I liked that it was kind of odd. I fell asleep to it and it was trippy. But I don’t think I’d listen to it for fun.

It was okay, but nothing to memorable for me.

Probably not the best to listen to an album about sleep after only getting 4 hours of it, but I was determined. I dug some of the instrumentals and how they were a little discordant and off beat. But man, I don't care for Wyatt's voice. Just felt like it was a wrench in the whole thing for me.

minimalistischer Folk-Rock, 1997 -> 2

This guy is just so weird. I did love the heaps of sheeps though. If all his music was like that I would be a fan. But it's not all like that...

not my type

Really liked some of it, fully hated some more of it. 3 feels too generous, 2 is unfair.

i regret to inform i think that if a single one of these songs came on a playlist i'd think it was good and interesting but as it stands full album length is killing me. Another album where every song has some part of the instrumentation or production that i think is interesting but also every one is paired with something i can't stand

A lot of exploring the fringe capabilities of clarinets and whatever in here

Songs dragged so obviously the album did, not really my vibe

Fint og flott, men veldig kjedelig? Kanskje feil modus, men dette tror jeg ikke jeg kommer tilbake til med det første. Litt for artsy og progete for meg. Høres ut som soundtracket til en døll musikal.

I don't even know about this one. The first track is decent, the second is something, and then it just kinda swings for the fences. I kinda want to listen to other stuff of his just to see what it's like. I do want to listen to it again later when I'm in a more chill mood. I don't think my more chaotic day is the time to try and figure out this one.

так долго внимательно слушала вчера что сегодня опять ничего не помню, кроме того что не понравилось) назовём это слишком экспериментально и мимо нот для меня

Maybe I just don't vibe with this kind of music but, to me, this is horrible noise that I simply wish would end. I'm a fan of free jazz but I don't know what this was. His voice is incredibly grating and whiney.

Heaps of Sheep is fine Maryan is fine Not a huge fan of his voice, don’t like how it meshes with the instrumentals

This album fits its title very well. I had a hard time listening to these songs. It started off somewhat well with heaps of sheep and ended decently as well which helps it get a star. Everything in between was just sound to me. I don't know what the duchess was supposed to be but it sounded like something my younger brother would make.

3/10 I sometimes forget my sheet music too. 6-18-2025

Listenable at first but palled after a while.

Quirky. Not sure this is my jam

I do kinda go for the weirdness of this but there’s only so much I can hear about the miners from Asturias and their shiny moneyboxes

Again a little slow for my liking

“Heaps Of Sheeps” started off as an upbeat poppy song which immediately put me in a good mood and hopeful for this album. That hopefulness was short lived when “The Duchess” came on with its off key instruments and singing. What am I missing, why is this good? The rest was must the same, I really couldn’t get over the vocals. It felt pretentious and quite boring. The instrumentals could be quite good and floaty at times though. Come to think about it, it matches the album name and art quite well. Towards the end I found “Blues In Bob Minor” quite catchy. Not as bad as I was fearing after the first few songs but not something I want to listen to again really. 2 stars from me.

I did not like this. It was a few days ago, and I don't remember much about it beyond that.