Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
1974
Album Summary
Rock Bottom is the second solo album by former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt. It was released on 26 July 1974 by Virgin Records. The album was produced by Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason, and was recorded following a 1973 accident which left Wyatt a paraplegic. He enlisted musicians including Ivor Cutler, Hugh Hopper, Richard Sinclair, Laurie Allan, Mike Oldfield and Fred Frith in the recording.
Wikipedia4.4 - I was initially turned off by the vocals that struggle to keep in tune with a rather complex melody on "Sea Song." Aptly named, that song floats on a sea of sound that seems to envelope and immerse you in a strange and delightful soundscape reminiscent of "Kid A." In fact, so many sounds seem to directly inform "Kid A" that Thom Yorke could well be accused of ripping it off. There's the riot of woodwinds on "Little Red Riding..." that's reminiscent of "National Anthem" and then there's "Alifib" whose garbled vocals bring to mind "Everything In Its Right Place." Wow, as I'm writing all this, my esteem for this record just keeps rising. Then there are the moments of spoken word, especially on the final track, that add so much atmosphere. And let's not forget the backstory! Yeah, this one's a trip. I'll come back to this.
This is simply wonderful - probably my favorite discovery from this list so far. I found this much more accessible than your average prog. The whole thing sounds like a dream, both the instruments and the vocals. I could get lost in this album... Fave track - "Sea Song", but really this album demands to be listened to straight through...
Obviously this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, and honestly I can see why this is hardly anyone's cup of tea, but goddamn I have to stick up for Robert Wyatt. First of all, the fact that he became paralyzed while in the middle of making this record, and that he then carried on to complete it and continue his music career, is nothing short of miraculous. I have always found his music both haunting and comforting, particularly his voice, but if you listen to this album through the lens of what he was going through at the time, this album takes on a whole new depth and dimension. Yes, this album is challenging, but to be the cathartic, soul searching record that it is, it has to be challenging. If you have an immediate negative reaction to this album, I get it, feel free to move on. But if you find yourself not quite sure how to feel about it, give it another spin. I promise you it becomes more rewarding with repeated listens (particularly on a good pair of headphones at night).
I almost turned the album off after the first two tracks, but told myself, “you only have to listen to the album once and never again…” so I kept listening and I’m very glad I did. It’s beauty hit me despite my reluctance and disinterest.
This is something I could sink into. First listen of Robert Wyatt. No possible way to digest it all in the first listen. My favorite kind of music. Sounds ahead of its time.
An expansive and unusual album. The beginning is rather dirgelike before taking off into a horn filled modal jazz like middle section. This album is tinged with pastoral British folk passages undergirded by experimental lyrics and instrumentation. It’s honestly rather brilliant.
One of the most beautiful sounding albums ever. It is very typical English art rock, and I always thought of it as The Hounds of Love of the 70s. It has quite a reputation, and for sure, Radiohead fans will like it. In short: a great album, 5 stars easily.
I had never heard of Robert Wyatt but as I listened to “Sea Song” I was very intrigued and engaged at this truly unique and very odd love song. I stared at the cover of the album as I listened and felt myself drifting into its world. Do I love this song…? I think I do… “A Last Straw” meandered about and I felt myself drifting like a krill in a giant ocean as the music pushed me this way and that through its currents. It was strangely wonderful. I could live here. Midway through “Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road” I realized the singing was backwards. I had to reference the lyrics to realize he was unsinging the lyrics from the first half of the song. I would have thought it was some musical joke but I found it strangely satisfying. The horns in this song are wonderful and there is an excitement with really lovely piano and a driving beat. “Alifib” has more of that drifting-along-in-the-sea vibe that I really am loving. The inscrutable lyrics sound almost like a prayer amidst the shifting currents of the song. Wonderful. “Alife” continues in a similar way, but becomes more frenetic as it advances until the kind of wild saxophone bellowing away at the end. The chant at the end is really odd and I am not sure what it all means, but I really liked the drama. “Little Red Robin Hood Hits the Road” then closes the album in a really perfect way. It is dramatic and cacophonous through its first have, then settles down with some quietly droning strings and a strange monotonal chant. A somewhat maniacal laugh closes the album. Wow! This is really surprising to me that it was created in 1974… it sounds more in line with Radiohead or Thom Yorke’s solo stuff. I had no idea that something like this existed 40 years ago to serve as such a unique source of inspiration. I love hitting ROCK BOTTOM with Robert Wyatt. The swirling sounds took me into a watery world in a way that was a true surprise. I connected to the stark and solitary world it creates and will happily return there again soon.
This was the perfect listen at the perfect time. Why wouldn't someone sing backwards during my stay at The Great Northern Hotel from Twin Peaks? Will I ever want to listen again? Who knows. But it will remain a special memory forever.
Probably the most enjoyable jazzy/proggy album we have had on this list, although that's a very low bar. I can definitely hear some echos of this in Radiohead and God Speed! You Black Emperor.
It is albums like this that keep me doing this list. Having only know of Robert Wyatt through his song Shipbuilding I was expecting an album of folk ballads. That would have been OK but an album of wild sounding jazz fusion mixed with psychedelia was a 100 times better. I had to check I was still listening to the right album at one stage as some of the noises wouldn't have been out of place on some bands I like that came 10-20 years after this release. I had no idea about Robert Wyatt's accident and the struggle he had gone through in the lead up to this album. It makes what I heard on Rock Bottom even more meaningful. I need to explore more of his work now
I only listened to it once, and to be honest I’ve no idea what was going on. He’s to listen to in parts but some really enjoyable aspects to it to. I didn’t hate it, and I’m going to go back and give it a bit more time so I guess that’s a (generous/benefit of the doubt) 3/5 in my book.
WTF. this is one of the more unlistenable things we've come across. the jabberwocky lyrical content (i can't tell if they are lyrics or backward masked sounds most of the time), and the whole thing is psychedulic, dissonant mumbo jumbo.
Well this was wild. Really cool experience. I should check this out again at some point.
I don't usually listen to art rock, so I was not sure I would enjoy this album. But actually, most of it is very solid, though it gets a bit boring in the middle.
This got pretty adventurous. Kind of like a folky/prog sound. Interesting.
This is so weird and artsy I love it. The instrumentation is prog-y and orchestral, it sounds amazing.
Well, what is this? - "Experimental jazz meets psychedelic pop" with a strong emphasis on "psychedelic". "Alife" even resembles Jean Michel Jarres Ethnicolor from the Zoolook album, even though it's and entierely different genre. I found it strangely difficult to fast forward or skip tracks. The whole album is very trippy, in a good way. This is far from my usual tastes, but I'll give this 3.5/5.
The very few pages of Finnegan's Wake I've read come to mind, I'm sure because of the water.
an insane and mournful fever dream. like a David Bowie-Radiohead AI-generated salad
Pretty sick. Sort of King Crimson-y. Super psychadelic, a little jazzy, very progressive, but more chill/ambient than heavy rock and also a healthy dash of creepiness.
Had it on as background music but there was some freaky shit going on. It's AHRT ROCK man. Pretty amazing in the context of him becoming a paraplegic before writing/ recording.
Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt (1974) When Robert Wyatt so self-assertingly identified (then, anyway) as a Communist (not the ‘Eurocommunist’ variety, but the hard core unreconstructed Stalinist ‘Tanky’ type), he invited an assessment of what’s beneath the apparent nonsense on this record. When confronted with innovation, a serious listener will seek to understand. This involves, at minimum, a look into the artist’s cultural context. Now, this is not a political album. It presents itself as experimental, psychedelic ‘rock’. And to be fair, I discerned two moments of beauty in the midst of all the failed experiments on this record. But what kind of over-compartmentalized mind produces these remaining sonic doodles? The listener must set aside the (totally justifiable) pity for the artist’s personal circumstances and assess why is there all this disorder? Why must simple scales be punctuated with seemingly arbitrary and certainly inconsistent atonality? (This ain’t Arnold Schoenberg or Alban Berg.) As an analogy, the same question might be posed upon viewing a Jackson Pollock painting in 1955 or Vincent Van Gogh in 1890. It’s not that it is necessarily bad art. It’s that the ‘why’ of the art is yet to be discerned. A turn to the poetry of Osip Mandelstam is instructive, on the flip side of the Stalin phenomenon. Nonsense can indeed have sublimely potent meaning. But I’m not seeing or hearing it at Rock Bottom. Why, I would ask Mr. Wyatt, is there all this chaos, all this disregard for conventional (at least) conceptions of what is good, true, and beautiful? Surely it’s not merely a Bolshevik revolutionary desire to destroy classic liberal notions of art. Surely it’s not merely Capitalist avarice. Surely it’s not a neo-Gnostic triumph of undefined spirit over matter. Surely it’s not a Socialist grab at the affirmative action brass ring. Critics are at a loss to explain this (I am not alone; and, in the interest of full disclosure, I, too, was a Communist. When I was 11. I grew out of it). One is left scratching one’s head. I really want to know. You got my attention, but briefly. Was that the point all along? 1/5
Wanker music. Example of some of the egregiously self-indulgent pap produced during that time.
OMG. That voice. Perfectly named album: "Rock Bottom". Horrible album in every way. Rather listen to Yoko screaming. F
I don't blame Robert Wyatt for making this album full of noodling nonsense; I blame the listmaker for pretending as though there were anything of merit here.
Is this the rock bottom of the generator? Lets find out… The album opens with sea song the instrumentals are unique and interesting a true special delight worthy of an award for a top track but the vocals are horrible worse than John martyn and the guy from violet femmes combined. Still he’s very instrumentally appeasing though to be honest even if the noises he makes are migraine inducing. The last straw is a great slow piano track tainted by this man’s voice, he’s not even like Bob Dylan where it’s the lyrics that count as a good lot if the song is this guy singing “ wa wa wa wa” and the rest is this decent but not amazing verse. Little red riding hood hit the road has these great trumpet effects making an enjoyable and entertaining musical experience ( much better than instrumental only albums like tubular bells and the tortoise albums) there’s around 2:30 of bliss until this man tries to make ah sounds bringing in the fatal entrance of his villainous voice the thing is with a different vocalist all of these songs would be praised probably in the same level that bands like the Beatles and Radiohead get. Starting off the albums second half is Alifib it’s not the most interesting instrumentally ( being a bit more drab and slow) but it’s still cool the lyrics this time are to note too being hilariously dreadful but in a funny way and it’s funny though as he sounds so serious when trying to sing these words. Alfie is the part two of the song having more interesting natural sounding drums haunted synths. The lyrics are of the same quality but the singing is louder slower and deeper making him sound stupid, there’s no other nice way to say it. The chant at the end is so bad it’s hilarious. The album ends with little red robin hood hit the road it’s a shame the vocals are there from the start as a purely instrumental track could’ve saved this from a 1. It’s not exactly the worst on the generator but there’s no other possible score to give than a one. I would recommend to give it a listen but nothing else in an odd way it screams 1001 album’s you must hear before you die as it’s not necessary 1001 album’s you’ll like before you die.
Das ist mal wieder der Grund, warum diese Liste auch Spaß machen kann. Fast mehr Kunst als „nur“ Musik zieht Wyatt uns hinab in einen Wahnsinn, in dessen Zentrum alle Instrumente aufhören zu spielen und stattdessen anfangen zu singen. Eric Chenaux hat sicher mehr als nur eine Prise des zerstoßenen „Rock Bottoms“ in sein Gesamtwerk eingeknetet. Völlig faszinierte 4.5
Wave after wave, Robert Wyatt takes us on an astonishing and marvellous trip to the sea. His frail voice is the auditory equivalent of spindrifts: it has an automatic effect on you, and can even repel you at first given its somewhat flimsy grasp of pitch sometimes, but once you get used to it, it becomes close to a mischievous, evocative friend tickling your senses. Soon, you don't notice Robert's quaver is relatively vulnerable anymore, because you're already under the surface with it, bathing in the middle of strange and poetic sonic landscapes. Everything about this record is liquid--the voice, of course, but also the synth and organ layers, the oozy basslines, and the many jazzy brass flourishes. It would be a mistake to only address the sonic textures, though: repeated listens indeed soon reveal how the tracks are carefully constructed too, their different parts and intricate arrangements phasing in and out of the foreground, weaving their seaweed fabric as their tides ebb and flow all around your ears. Water is enticing, but it's also treacherous. Take the short intro of wonderful opener "Sea Song", for example. You might believe that those relatively by-the-number piano chords announce a somewhat mundane ballad, yet the emotional turmoil right after those first seconds sounds far more intense than what you could have expected at first, and this until the deliverance of the transcendant final part, filled with hope and longing. Wyatt is also unreliable in the ways that he sometimes winks at the audience, especially when he makes goofy non-sequiturs in his lyrics or uses a lower grotesque timbre to create unexpected lighter moments compared to the rest of the tortured proceedings. In that realm, see also the backwards-recorded voice in the middle of "Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road", rewinding everything that was sung up to that point in the song, a playful move that suggests the sort of tricks a child could play on you. If the key word to "get" this record is catharsis, it's still one taken with a huge grain of salt, in keeping with the oceanic mood. Everything is nicely summed up in the last track, "Little Red *Robin Hood* Hit The Road": yes, its first part does amp up the intense longing to embrace an ocean of experience and emotions already diplayed in the rest of the album, supported by mellifluous electric guitar licks, unmistakably played by Mike Oldfield. Yet as grand as this first part sounds, the song (and album)'s conclusion returns to the quicksands of that surrealistic grotesque mode we talked about earlier, mocking transcendence through Wyatt's voice, here set once more to a gruffy, near-comical mode. This earthy coda suggests we finally returned to the shores of mankind, welcomed by a wrinkled mariner gently admonishing us through his inane and uncomprehensible babble. Our odyssey is over. The end. What a trip. What a strange voyage. Far less groovy and free-formed than Wyatt's original band Soft Machine, but far more poetic and evocative, *Rock Bottom* is a seventies prog-rock masterpiece which could not be further distanced from all the virtuosistic clichés of the genre. As such, it's bound to be discovered again and again by future fans of experimental music, undettered by the nonplussed reactions of shallower minds around them rejecting all this as utter nonsense. The tides, they come and go. Robert Wyatt knew it, and we can all be glad he went with the flow here. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 838 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 89 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 39 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 33
Strange but soothing, intoxicating, expansive, a waking dream. Like swimming underwater through an ocean of prog, free jazz, rock and Middle Eastern/Byzantine drone and melody. An incredibly beautiful album.
Wow so this album is quite a journey. I'll admit during the opening strains of Sea Song I wasn't expecting to give this a very high rating but at some point it clicked what was going on. This strange proggy, folky beautiful mess of an album unfolds in front of you, constantly surprising but never sounding out of place in context of the rest of the record. Robert is a brilliant songwriter and incredibly cryptic lyricist and his delicate warbling, meandering delivery takes a while to get used to but seems to reflect exactly what he was trying to achieve. Not to mention he has recruited a hell of a team to play with him. This is the sound of a group of musicians who have got wild experimentation down to a fine art. I can see myself revisiting this many times in the future.
Very lovely. Never heard this. Amusingly had a later Elvis Costello album yesterday so it's a before and after Shipbuilding here, which is fun. Absolutely love Little Red Riding Hood the first, and Alife. I'm obviously going to love this with my NEU! predilections. Drink it in. Also this has Ivor Cutler on it at the end. 5 big stars.
I'm sorry Radiohead who??? This is one of the most moving, gorgeously crafted albums I've heard-- can't praise it enough! To think I might have never even heard it without this list!
Rarely has solace been found when hitting rock bottom. It typically means one has approached the lowest ebb of life imaginable; a point where the point of no return has come upon them and seeks to immerse itself. That may have been the case for Robert Wyatt had he not seen the light that got him through the other side. Rock Bottom, for him, is the turning of a new leaf; a declaration of a new creative life that allows him to wander as freely as possible regardless of the physical limitations that defined his life, for better or worse. It could have been full of self-pitying misery, chock full of ruminations of a life left unrealized; instead it marked the beginning of a quest altogether new, exhilarating and thrilling.
Занимательный арт-рок. Первый альбом Роберта Уайатта после несчастного случая.
poetic and weird i kinda like it like if the beatles did too many drugs.
While preparing to record the album, the drunken Wyatt fell from a third-floor window and was paralysed from the waist down. Nevertheless, Wyatt made Rock Bottom one of the first known rock records recorded by an artist in a wheelchair. (8/10) FT: Sea Song
Really enjoyed this. It has a rhythmic bouncy folky feel for a prog rock album. So much better than angry shredding rock nonsense.
Incredible story behind this album. The songs are definitely a bit eclectic, but they are relaxing and enjoyable to listen to. Very creative
Unusual, but I like the songwriting. I personally would prefer the production to be less electronic, I'm not sure how well it fits the rest of the style. I knew the first song from a folk cover, its a great track although I still prefer the cover
I wasn't in the mood the first time I listened but I enjoyed my second and third listen. It is weirdly beautiful with some very strange lyrics.
Nice Melodiesthis album was a lot of fun… sounds like a 70s version of Radiohead
Rock créatif des débuts des 1970, presque iconoclaste. L’histoire humaine derrière les textes est émouvante. Me fait penser à Patrick Watson par sa créativité.
Belle surprise, je ne connaissais pas du tout cet artiste. J'ai aimé tout le côté étrange, dissonant, expérimental. Je réécouterai certainement.
More enjoyable than I expected. Reminds me of John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. More experimental jazzy than pop/rock. 4/5.
A very unique and interesting prog rock/psych rock album from the former Soft Machine drummer. I understand that the avantgarde weirdness isn't everyone's cup of tea but I love this. My fav is the last song.
Gott, was ist DAS denn jetzt schon wieder? Nach 4 Minuten habe ich mir die Frage gestellt, ob das absichtlich komisch sein soll. Wird besser. Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road ist ein gutes Stück. Man muss allerdings was genommen haben, um auf Alifib und Alife zu kommen. Leider ist er nicht rechtzeitig davon runtergekommen, um die beiden Stücke wegzulassen.
On the fence with this. Fully original and a great deal of individual vision (some reminding me a of Chris Knox) but the execution a little scattershot.
I liked this album's artsy, atmospheric instrumentation and maybe could have given it a 4 for that alone if it weren't for the vocals being so irritatingly distracting.
Interesting album. Probably not something I will put on again, but it's good.
Weird experience. Not that I really care for it, but it has it's moments, such as the end of Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road
Unique instrumentation, cool little album. Would have preferred a bit more change in singing style over the album
Wired and wonderful at times with some exquisite cameos. Studious returns for further listening may discover more.
Nice, but despite my sensitivity to the genre it failed to rock my foundations.
Some interesting sounds, like a proto-Radiohead at their most experimental or even a bit of a Pink Floyd or Bowie vibe some jazz elements in that the structure is just not there especially in the piano playing. Seems less polished though, it's a rawer sound than those other bands. Not sure that I like it but it's definitely unique and I think worth a listen. Alife is straight up hard to listen to.
I didn't know what to expect from this at all. Oddly hypnotic and captivating.
Interesting I suppose. Had it on in the background...probably deserves a closer listen.
Disc complexe i difícil, que es una mica dur de sentir. Es pot percebre la seva qualitat i els temes són d'una densitat que no embruta la intensitat en la composició i execució de Wyatt. Un d'aquells famosos "clàssics per descobrir" que jo acceptaria (en la seva suposada magnitud) només en part
Comfortably the best attempt at music I've heard this hour. It felt like how giving an Eskimo kiss to a baboon's anus after a curry feels.
Great production and mixing, sounds really smooth and perfect. But the actual style of music, a mix of ambience and psychedelia simply did not wow me in any way. The songs are too similar and lack direction.
This is very weird music! not quite right for the morning commuite, maybe better suited to being slumped in a chair with a dram. I enjoyed lostening to this, found it quite trippy and very original.