Reviews (page 3 of 8)
Its too experimental for me. Some Parts though are really nice.
Meh. It's ok, I guess. More interesting than pleasant
Psych art rock that wilds out in the 70s
Transcendent! I can see, though, how this might rub some people the wrong way; Wyatt's voice is probably not for everyone (though I love its delicate fragility). But for me, this is close to perfect.
It’s definitely impressive that Robert Wyatt manages to complete this album after a terrible accident that left him a paraplegic. However, that fact does not make this a great album. Let’s just admit that this album is ass.
A pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, I never heard of this. Lot of great musicians on this. Really innovative music. Surprised at the amount of vitriol leveled at Wyatt for stepping out of their comfort zone. This exercise has heled teach me acceptance and tolerance. All of this music is worthwhile whether if is to my liking or not.
Meh
Tipo um miojo com Requeijão
hm dasch ein biseli weird i see. er singt mit sehr viel akzent irgendwie haha. de erst song goht so nienets ane?? wow aso italie het au gest geg bosnie verlore und isch drum nöd ade wm aber ich find sis gejaule gad insaaaane nervig und die ganze trompete uf little red riding hood oder wasauimmer schliiimm. hett etz sicher chöne ufmerksamer zuelose aber BRUDI han ich das nöd gnosse
ICH LIEB S COVER und jöö de wyatt gseht mega herzig uus ahhh okee es isch de type vo musigkritikmusig sea song gfalltmer instrumentell recht aber s a a a a a a a hetmi chli abglenkt mannn ich wetts iwie gern haa aber mit art rock chan ich hüfig eifach nöd so vill ahfange, au wenn ich hüfig s konzept vode musig cool finde aber ich han eifach WENIG SPASS little red riding sogar GAR KEI SPASS alifib und alife machtmer ähnlich vill spass bin ich froh wenn denn das fertig isch sorry wyatt ich han dier welle es 2 geh bis ich gmerkt han, es isch nur will du cute usgsehsch und ich Mitleid han. aber vlt bisch au en tubel, ich wirds nie ussefinde
Yeah listen, this album is super odd and the droning is not my taste, I am happy to never listen again. But I can’t deny the turmoil he must have been going through at this time. I just wish I understood it more. At least it was only 30 mins…
Nope
Nonsense
Quel étrange mood.
J'comprends que ma note augmenterait après des centaines d'écoutes mais nos chemins doivent se séparer.
Euhm ja, wie dacht Robert dat hij een plezier aan het doen was? Soms gaat een muzikant gewoon lekker spelen, zoals John Lee Hooker op de vorige plaat. En soms moet er geëxperimenteerd worden, nieuwe wegen ingeslagen, waarvan de muzikant zelf ook niet weet waar ze heen leiden. De jaren zeventig waren ook daar een vruchtbare periode voor. Niet alle experimenten waren even geslaagd, maar een jaar na dit album kwam Queen met het ook best experimentele nummer Bohemian Rhapsody, en we weten hoe het daar mee is afgelopen. Terug naar dit album. Ik vrees dat dit weer een van de doodlopende weggetjes is die de muziek is ingeslagen. Dissonanten, gemummel, piepjanknor-gedoe. Weer eentje voor het Internationaal Festival van de Lelijke Muziek, dit jaar een heel weekend lang in Zierikzee.
Energietrekkend vaag zolderkamer geluid.
Psychedelisch en wazig. Dat zijn mijn eerste typeringen. En ik heb hier niet zo'n zin in vanmorgen, ik sta hier niet open voor. Ik zou het ergens nog een keer moeten proberen, maar het einde van de lijst wreekt zich en ik ben bang dat ik gewoon op 1 of 2 sterren ga drukken, zonder me er al te druk over te maken. En door! Ik lees nog even de wiki: blijkbaar is er een soort cultus om de man heen ontstaan van Wyatting, wat zoiets is als ongemakkelijke muziek opzetten. Later werd dat misschien vervangen door rickrollen. Dat vind ik dan weer geinige weetjes, maar het geeft ook aan dat dit dus ongemakkelijke muziek is om naar te luisteren. En ik hou niet van ongemakkelijke muziek over het algemeen.
Sorry, but the title of this album says it all for me: I don’t enjoy listening to this music, so I did give the album a listen, but no more than a minute per track…
It's safe and respectful to say I did not "get" or like this record much at all. It's very pretentious art-rock that goes off the rails early and never regains it's footing.
1. zea - 1 2. ztrauu - 1 3. hood - 0 4. alifib - 1 5. life - 1
Not yet quite sure what to make of this album other than the fact that I enjoyed its weirdness. Definatly one to play a couple of times again to see if my feelings for it grow or it it was an interesting distraction.
Why does this absolute turkey have at least two albums here?
I'd have to give this another listen but it was quite experimental and drone-y for my tastes. I don't particularly see the fuss but maybe a second listen in the right mood.
What an album. Some real Philip Glass type shit. The first and last songs are the most accessible, and feel pretty polished. Some of the middle stuff is hard to get through. Thinking of it as a unique work of art made by a troubled dude, it's pretty enjoyable.
weird in a way i can appreciate. there are enough cool sounds and vibes, but a lot of the eccentricities on the back half don't really pay off. Sea Song is lit. very soft 3
Rating: 8/10 Wow, what a low rating for a piece of art that is actually so inspired and unique. You obviously don't put this on for some fun and easy background listening, it's a strange record that breaks many conventions of rock music that was firmly established by that point. Rock Bottom is an actually experimental and insane effort with a somber feel and a psychedelic touch. I've really been sleeping on this, in my first time listening I don't understand much of it but I am really intrigued and believe there is such a depth here that can be uncovered with more time spent. That's usually the first sign of great and touching art. Has a mad genius kind of feel. The album honestly kept getting better as it went on, with the closing track being my favorite. And it sounds like it was actually supremely influential to art rock that has been made in the many following decades. 4 for now, could be higher one day honestly.
Yes it's pretty bippity boppity bad, but not as bad as music can be. Some originality and experimentation that I have to respect, but not much more than that 2.9/10
Probably one of my favorite artsists I've discovered via this site. A really experimental, sometimes proggy singer songwriter. I think he will be a 5 star artists for me one day but I need way more time to digest his work as it's a little dense/all over.
I understand the situation this album was made in. But my word, bleak would be more enjoyable. This is nothing. Its just not good. Considering the personel on the record you would expect so much more.
Disco maravilloso de un artista maravilloso!
All good until Alife. One of the most annoying things I have ever heard. It basically went downhill from there. I'm giving it two stars because I like albums that are creative. This is definitely too creative for me.
Dubya tee eff???
it's really weird, but had some sauce to it Will I listen to again: 20%
Playing this twice required a decent amount of energy. Happy to forget about this
Put it off for a while as he is a bit challenging. Didn't hate it but his voice is pretty annoying and couldn't latch on to anything.
Jeg visste dette kom til å være weird. Og det var det. Ikke dermed sagt at det var dårlig.
Loucura, álbum conceitual, mas pior que eu curti. Fiquei curioso pra saber mais sobre a banda e o álbum, mas distraía um pouco enquanto eu trabalhava. Precisa pegar uma Berga e ouvir com calma esse álbum. tem potencial.
It’s ok
Really strange, Lynchian at times, silly Beatlesesque other times 2.5
3/5
This is something I would like to like but it’s pretty awful.
I'm sorry I complained about 50s Jazz yesterday. I'rather listen to hours of saxophone solos than having to sit through this pretentious crap.
Yes!
I have not heard this before. I don’t think I’ve heard any of Robert Wyatt’s solo material, but I have heard the Soft Machine. I was expecting a lot more drums in this, considering he drummed for Soft Machine and was pretty amazing on those records, but according to the article he was paralyzed in an accident prior to recording. So, terribly sorry about my mistake, Mr. Wyatt! This starts off a little aimless but seems to coalesce midway through the second song and really picks up from there. By the final two songs it hits some real beauty.
I do like some of his stuff, but not this particular outing.
First 3 songs were decent. Lost me a bit with the gibberish. Was almost as if he was trying too hard to be “psychedelic”. On another day it could’ve got a 3.
I tried listening to 40 seconds of it and gave up
A good album could maybe even bumb up more stars with a few more listens. First half of the album is really good, but falls of slightly towards the end. A album that needs more then one listen to appreciate it.
Nah, not for me. Just someone frigging about. Might as well have recorded me on the keyboards in Music in 2005. Not interesting, Not funny. If he didnt record & produce it himself, whoever didnt talk him out of it deserves a slap too.
Just couldn’t finish it
Ramblings of a mad man. Got to track 4 and had to call it.
I try to give every album I hear for this project a fair chance, I really do. And I can picture someone liking this album for its artistic vision or for its fascinating history. But for its sound? I have no idea who likes this album purely for its sound. I don't even dislike Psych Rock on principle but in every song, the artist finds a new way to annoy my ears. Be it nonsensical lyrics, instruments that resemble chalk on a blackboard or lengthy passages that add nothing to the experience. Each and every time I thought the song might be fine, something had to ruin my listening session. And I understand that this seemingly depicts a sailor descending into madness but I feel like a short film using this as the BGM would solicit more praise from me. I usually pick 2 songs I liked best I cannot do that here, I wish to never hear any of them again. 1/10, I truly hit rock bottom with this one.
I get it. Accident. Paraplegic. Awful circumstances and he rose above to finish creating the album anyway. I cannot stand his voice and out of tune singing.
Album #56: Rock Bottom - Robert Wyatt Genre (W): Art rock, Canterbury scene, progressive rock, psychedelic rock No singles. I have not listened to this album before. Thoughts: The music sounds nice but the lyrics make very little sense. I felt like sleeping listening to the album because it felt droning and boring. Favorite songs: A Last Straw
p335. 1974. The mostly aptly titled album on the list. "Ambient jazz" FFS. This is dreadful stuff - no tunes, farting horns, and annoying vocals. On the plus side, it's short. Stick to drumming, eh Rob?
I don’t feel very refined, as this just came across as noise to me.
Songs were too long, and a just a lot of soft noise
A second Robert Wyatt album on this list. Last time, I wrote about the phenomenon known as ‘Wyatting the jukebox.’ I’ll write about it again. Wyatting is when you go to a pub, visit the juke, and play the most over-serious buzzkilly artsy fartsy bullshit you can think of. You deflate the vibe from the pub, you make everyone sad, and then every person then hates you forever after. Hearing Rock Bottom does illustrate the appropriate terminology for such a faux pas. I would never induce this album on anyone unless I disrespected them and wished them pain. I understand the catastrophic circumstances around this particular album, and I actually am pretty into Soft Machine, but no, Rock Bottom is near or level to the rock bottom of this 1001 albums list.
I get that this is supposed to be a meditation on mortality and all -- but it's a hard listen. Not because of the emotional content, but rather because it's just so dissonant. Not my cup of tea.
Yeah, nope.
2.5⭐
Good but not my style
Kicsit nehezen hallgatható
I don't know about that one but hey maybe I need to listen to it bit more.
Not a very long album- only six songs. The art is fascinating! This album has a very pensive and apprehensive feel to it. Alife is super weird but in a really mesmerizing way.
2/5. There are a lot of moments across this album that are almost super interesting/brilliant but then it just never fully delivers. As an example I love the idea of the more chaotic, jazzier passages of the album but in my opinion it doesn’t go far enough with them. And that’s really the whole album, a scattershot of interesting ideas that never get fully realized.
This was too out there for me. Did not enjoy.
Complete nonsense, the critics and Dimery have really dug their own reputational grave with this one.
I appreciate the different approach but did not enjoy this one
At first I was thinking a 2, but then upgraded to a 3 once I was vibing with track #3. And then I was really digging the last track and upgraded to a 4 Edit Jul 17 2026: 4 --> 3
At first the music seemed quite jumbled and unorganised, it was hard for me to parse what was going on, but as it went on I understood it more and more. A lot of interesting sounds, sometimes mixed together in a way I wasn't a fan of. Highlight is Alifib.
I’m not sure a couple of listens are doing this one justice and i’m not sure I’m up for more. It’s very noodley. It is very poorly recorded. I don’t much like his voice. But the songs seem good.
This is #day571 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… time to cross out yet another name from the list, as this is my second and final Robert Wyatt record. Now, this kind of stuff is a little too much, even for my open-mindedness, especially when those vocals kick in. "Alife" was the one that caught my attention, though. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day572.
bizarre but thats how i like it dammit
Astounding. My first time tapping into the lyrics on this album and it kind of floored me.
While I appreciate musicians trying to be artistic and have a varied sound in their albums, there’s a level at which it’s just too much. A lot of this was too out there for me and quite disjointed.
DNF
This is just crap - no real melody, the lyrics are nonsense and most of it is discordant nails on a blackboard stuff. Never in the top 1001 ablums of all time in a million years
Canterbury Sound, Wyatt había sido el batería de Soft Machine en su mejor etapa y de Matching Mole ( Soft Machine en francés), palabras mayores. Con el accidente que le partió la vida publicó este disco con la colaboración de Oldfield, Sinclair, Hopper y Mason entre otros. Se pasa casi 20 años sin publicar nada hasta que vuelve por sus fueros con los excelentes Shleep (1997), esa obra mayúscula que es Cuckooland (2003) y Comicopera (2007). Sonidos psicodélicos, atonales, jazzísticos, una experiencia extraña y en cierta manera única. Me recuerda a los mejores Flaming Lips o Talk Talk, quienes le tienen como un referente. Abre Sea song y te deja un poco extraño, A Last Straw es una maravilla aunque lo mejor está por llegar: cierra la cara A con Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road, que es un viaje único con Mongezi Feza a la trompeta. Tanto Alifib como Alifie, los dos primeros temas de la cara B hacen referencia a su recién estrenado matrimonio con Alfie (quien firma la estupenda portada del disco) Alfreda Benge. Son dos temas difíciles que uno no sabe a dónde llegan. En Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road, el corte final de “Rock Bottom”, cabe destacar en su primera parte la guitarra eléctrica de Mike Oldfield (Kevin Ayers), y a partir de los 4 minutos la viola de Fred Frith (Henry Cow) y la concertina y voz del poeta y cantautor Ivor Cutler.
Bobby W is operating on a frequency that's mostly over my head, but occasionally the trough of the waveform clips me and I briefly get it.
At least the album is appropriately titled.
Left me feeling slightly annoyed
Robert Wyatt’s songs make me think of when children sing little songs about going to the store with their mom, or sliding down a slide, or any random thing. They just make up a melody as they go along, it changes randomly, sometimes it comes back to a central theme, sometimes not! Pure in-the-moment improvisation. Like a pleasant (?) hike in the forest. Sometimes fun, sometimes weird.
ok its BAD. A mix between a cat walking on a piano and a musician that doesn't know his own skill. So much potential and yet it's a complete mess.
6 songs = 40 min of listening, the songs are pretty lengthy but simple tunes, its an easy listen for 40 min.
2.4 2x didn't love it, but nothing stands out as poor
i think i hated this
The second song broke me and I will not be continuing.
Not memorable
I think I'm gonna need more time with this. I was pretty unconvinced by this through the first couple tracks, but something woke me up after that. After going back, I still haven't warmed to the start of the album, but there's something fascinating and authentic happening later in the album, experimental in a good way, something deeply felt, particularly compared to how cold and soulless I've found most of the prog from this era. I'm going to come back to this.
Rock Bottom feels like an apt title. Could barely make it through a single track
One of the best. Sea song is a top ten favorite of mine.
It was fine, but pretty unremarkable and unmemorable. I won't be returning to it.
I'm sorry, but...what the fuck is this shit? I've already failed to keep this civil, but in the interest of civility I'll just say that *to me* this is akin to Captain Beefheart--it might be creative, but it is not good. Different strokes for different folks and all that, but...I can't imagine too many folks who legitimately enjoy this. We'll leave it at that.
This was really strange and never really clicked for me.
It’s weird and noodley and nonsensical and British jazz-folk but I really like it anyway
Lots of weird sections, some parts that were really cool. My favorite parts were the instrumental sections - some of them brought to mind Radiohead and early post rock. Not really what I'd call enjoyable, but definitely interesting.
What if Tim Burton made a beach movie about a drunk Johnny Depp character who thinks he's an innovative artist and because he's rich and people call him eccentric. That's this album. Weird, theatrical, self-conscious, wearing strangeness like a costume. The voice is objectively bad but works for the vibe. The songs feel like a soundtrack to a low budget indie fantasy-sci-fi movie. Let's be real: he's a good musician who chose to make something weird, quiet, and fundamentally unserious. It's folk weird Pink Floyd. Warm production, messy, alive. Still not great. Confused? But not in a good way. Interesting like a conversation with a stranger on a bus. You'll forget it by the time you get home.
Very experimental and competently produced, which is respectable, but does it sound good? Not to me, honestly - aside from a few moments. Faves: Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road
Too weird and off putting for me. Reading about the album I can see how you get an album like this, but I don’t like it at all.
I imagine this is what Steely Dan sounds like to their haters. That said, I found myself somewhat enraptured by this album. Admittedly it's unfocused, and indulgent, and kind of up its own ass, but that's what I liked about it. It's so unbashedly honest with itself and overflowing with genuine soul that it's good fun. Vocally and lyrically a mess (boo, that spoken-word stuff) but the actual sonic range must have blown a few minds back in 1974. Definitely seems like the kind of record that requires a few listens with the '"it's pretentious" instinct turned off, but I actually really liked it. I think the unsubtle uses of the atonal tradition are a misstep here, though. Less improv would have really made the thing come together into more coherence, but it's stuck in this awkward jazz-y tradition that forces you to pick through seven minutes of undistinguished and muddy instrumentals to find brief snatches of incredible beauty. Still, despite the hippy-dippiness of it there's a lot to like and it made a much better second listen. Alifib in particular is magnificent - it almost comes close to an early Aphex Twin track in its complex electronic majesty more than a decade beforehand. Fav tracks: Sea Song, Alifib
Interesting and very much a unique vibe. Sure it's weird, sure it's not an album to listen to everyday, but I don't mind a challenging listen that sets it's own mood. I'll go for the 3 instead of 4, cause at some point it does get a bit repetitive, but I liked it
I don't know what I just listened to but that Alifib-Alfie is just trippy Jazz Wank. It's interesting, I'll give it that. What the hell was that German guy talking about? 2
Nah
I can appreciate this album. 3
Sehr artsy, aber verliert mich so ab der Hälfte.
Very chill prog rock originator, amazing team up of musicians. Interesting exploration of tones, but still a little weird. A solid beginning for a new horizon of music.
4.7 Not something I would listen to on the regular and I’ll probably never listen to any of these songs again really. However, I do see why the music in this album is praised and appreciated because overall I think the sound of beautiful, just not really my thing Favorite Song: Alifib
No standouts
For me, this album was an interesting audio experiment. Sadly, the experiment failed.
I needed to listen twice but then it clicked. Maybe not the greatest album ever made but a crazy good experience.
"Yes, me and the hedgehog we bursting the tyres all day, as we roll down the highway towards the setting sun." Not at all what I'd call easy listening but Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road II made this art rock album finally "click" for me. I wasn't a fan of the call and answer of Alifib/Alifie, but I do enjoy the British folkness underneath the atonal jazz bits. Sea Song, Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road I and II are a hoot to sing along to.
Listening session: february 12th, while commuting to internship Listened to before: no Thoughts: oof this is not my cup of tea. Normally I can appreciate some more experimental music but this just sounds like music they use for ecstatic dancing Favourite track: Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road
This was the worst thing yet. Whoever included it should be ashamed.
not entirely my vibe… but I get it I guess
Дійсно цікава музика, яка мені не сильно подобається
Послухати софт машин, послухаємо і Вайатта. Звісно там де умовний Річард Доусон навчався, там Роберт Вайатт викладав. Дуже англійська музика, класика кентербері прогу. Жанр специфічний, але при уважному прослуховуванні - дуже цікавий з безліччю ідей і нетривіальних аранжувань. Мені загалом подобається. 3.5, ближче до 4.
Robert Wyatt is in this list too much.
Rock Bottom was a bit of a difficult album for me to really enjoy. This album was made by Robert Wyatt so it makes sense that it's gonna be a bit crazy due to Wyatt's unique writing style but this one kinda goes overboard. This album wasn't super abrasive which is a big problem when it comes to albums that just throw everything they can at the wall and just hope that it will stick but the fact that the songs seem to lack proper structures makes them real hard to enjoy as songs. Maybe there is something that I'm just not getting with this album due to the fact that it's even on this list but regardless, this album isn't one that I'm willing to go back to. Best Song: Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road Worst Song: Alife
wow i don't like his voice
Interesting album, felt very artsy. Didn’t hate it but didn’t love it. Honestly it felt kinda out there but Robert’s voice was nice
I wish it was his voice not his legs that got paralyzed so we wouldn't have to listen to his catterwaling.
God help me, but I really like this guy's work. I preferred Shleep but this was abstract and almost feeling like it was falling apart at times. It was a really interesting headphone listen and no song had a single moment I wasn't interested in what was going on. This can't be that popular, it's almost inaccessible, but I'm glad to have heard it.
Opens with the sonic equivalent of a soggy paper straw. I wrote that before seeing the name of track 2. Track 2, strong start. Gotta punch through a lid Bubble tea straw. Ohhh okay Track 3. Amazing brass. Backwards man. Amazing bass. Solid metal straw Track 4 a hypnotic melody. Solid classic McDonald's yellow stripe straw. Track 5 funky, wild stuff. Great bongo work. Has the squeaks like a plastic lid of a fast food cup with the sliding up and down plastic straw. Track 6 - I'm not sure what to say. Lyrically might be an issue, but sonically it works. Silly glasses straw. Track 1 sounded better on the car stereo.
In some ways, this album sounds like nothing else. It meanders like jazz but has the song structures of something that vaguely resembles rock. Its lyrics are often impenetrable, with wordless vocalizations often taking over. It's repetitive in a kind of minimalist way, with parts not really repeating but circling around the same idea in different ways. It's bursting with creativity. It's also a bit of a chore to listen to. The free-form structures make it hard to latch onto anything, in part because all the unique stuff is so subtle. There are no hooks or really even repeated parts on this, just quiet horns and small jazzy flourishes here and there. It sounds really nice - everything is crisp and clear. But it defies anything but a close listen that focuses on every part of its world. I'm not surprised many enjoy exploring that world, but it's not for me.
An album with a moving backstory that I didn't enjoy listening to all that much.
Para ser disonante, tienes que saber ser consonante primero. Un disco interesante, lleno de muchas cosas para analizar. Tiene muchas similitudes con artistas actuales como Jerskin Fendrix o Daniel Blumberg. Considero a este disco un trabajo virtuoso, vanguardista y sumamente artístico. Me gusto mucho. La construcción de cada pista es muy buena y pude identificar elementos musicales muy interesantes. La polifonía en cada pista es muy peculiar y única, y, repito, muy similar a la de Jerskin Fendrix. Las disonancias con la armonía base utilizando todo tipo de instrumentos, incluida la voz, suena incidental pero es completamente a propósito, lo cual habla del excelente musico que es Robert Wyatt y todos los involucrados. Hablando de, me gustaría mencionar la grandiosa ejecución de cada músico involucrado en el disco, además de la impecable producción de este, por parte de Nick Mason (Pink Floyd). Músicos de primera, expertos en jazz fusión o rock progresivo, dos géneros por los cuales tengo un profundo respeto y admiración. Gran disco. Joder es arte.
Not my cup of tea, hay buena creación de espacios y destellos muy buenos pero creo que al final como obra no termina de convencerme. 3/10
Some of the instrumental elements were cool but his voice and the more experimental parts are so disruptive
First thoughts, “oh, this is bad.” But then my second thoughts were, “is this playing backwards?” Third thoughts, “is he just heavy breathing into the microphone?” The best song was the first song that played when the album was over.
Idk if it’s because I listened to it at 5 am but I didn’t hate it??? It was kind of funny tbh
Terrible. The songs weren’t memorable and the vocals were bad.
Horrible day, horrible music. Wish he was quadriplegic so he couldn’t have made this album
Man.
Alfie made me feel like I was dying
I honestly wanted to like some of the songs but his voice is so fucking terrible
I think we played this in middle school band!! Avant garde music doesn't do much for me...I wish it made me feel something but I just leave feeling unsatisfied. Minus one point for his funny accent. 1
weird
So apparently I did something with my Spotify where this album played over and over like 3 times. While I did not think this was very good, after the last listen I thought the lyrics were pretty cool with Alifib and I even kinda dug the last Red Riding Hood song. Mushroom flashback? Maybe I'm going a little or a lot crazy? Combo of both, probably. Anyway, can't see myself revisiting this album, but it certainly was worth a few listens. Considering the story, I'll give a 2 to Mr. Wyatt. Way to persevere through some tough circumstances. 2
1.5 Yeah, I’m not really sure what to make of this. I did a bit of research and learned that this album is the product of a tragic accident, one that left Robert paraplegic, leading many people to hail the music contained here as tortured brilliance. Obviously, I find that terrible and don’t wish to make light… but I just didn’t find anything here listenable, much less brilliant. I don’t know if saying that makes me an a-hole or if everyone else is being a bit patronizing (maybe a little bit of both?), but to say that I enjoyed this would be a lie. Like, I get the appeal of someone like Daniel Johnston - though not always the most pleasant on the ears, the sincerity is undeniable - then there’s this, which just felt like noise. While there’s admittedly some sense of musicality buried underneath all of it, a level of which I’ll be the first to admit that I’m probably not clever enough to compose myself, I also don’t think I would ever want to make something like this? Above all, I’m glad this guy was able to turn his rock bottom into a crowning musical achievement, one that has found its fans, but I just don’t get it. Even the album cover sucks - while I’m all for minimalism, this just looks unfinished. The song titles are sort of interesting I suppose, however, when you boil them down, they’re just nonsense. Maybe I need to read more into what draws people to this music to understand, but I’m willing to accept that this just might be a me issue.
No, just no.
once again, the reviews here are a little worrying. even so, i want to give this an honest listen and review Sea Song - 4/5 A Last Straw - 3/5 Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road - 4/5 Alifib - 2/5 Alifie - 1/5 Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road - 3/5 Average score: 2.8/5 ⭐️⭐️ there were ideas here. not all of them were great in my opinion
Prog rock that I don't really get
His madness fits in nicely with my own.
Discount Syd Barrett. I get dreamy, psychedelic but this is belligerent.
I am slowly working my way through the lowest rated albums in this book. I did not enjoy Shleep because I like music and that was a shit album. Shleep does have a higher rating than Rock Bottom though. Can an artist really name a piece of art "Rock Bottom" and expect there to not be jokes or some sense of the listener thinking the title is a self-fulfilling prophecy? Robert Wyatt is a good musician and there are some things on here I could really listen to repeatedly and end up enjoying. The problem is he will ruin a song with bizarre spoken word riffs or what appears to be moaning. Sea Song is an excellent example of this. I want to give this album a higher score than I gave Shleep, because I did like it more, but a "3" means that I liked it and/or saw its place in the book justified. Neither statement is true. My favorite songs: Sea Song Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road
Weird without many redeeming qualities
#25/1001 🇬🇧 Robert Wyatt's version of Shipbuilding is one of the saddest, most beautiful tracks i've heard but saddly this album doesn't live up to this standard. I'm setting aside the backstory and the fact that its remarkable that he even made this album. I just find the experimental nature tedious and silly. There is something great in there but i find it hard to see past the wibbling and replaying tracks backwards. I've never taken acid, maybe I'd feel different if i had. Sorry Robert. Best track. Alifib. Note: listening to this on the day my best friend from 6th form died. Maybe i need to try it again when i'm more in the mood.
8/10 soundscapes of melancholy
I can see that someone might have appreciated the art of it, but I think it belongs somewhere between not on the list and Kid Rock. It's very chaotic and the lyrics sound like a mix of English, backmasked Arabic, and nonsense. The artsy-fartsy people who like this can keep it. There are moments where you get a few bars and think "Oh my, a bit of music I can hang onto", and then it gets interrupted with a goose-honking saxophone or a weird turn of phrase and you remember "Oh yeah, I'm listening to Robert Wyatt, not a sensible musician". Ending the album with that laugh sounds like he just pulled the biggest joke on all of us. Like... "I made the worst album I could think of and YOU ALL LISTENED TO IT." This is like the Voynich Manuscript of albums. My Rating: 0/5, but I have to put a 1.
It's fine. A bit avant garde without the payoff I was hoping for.
A volte sembra che canti come Elio E Le Storie Tese. Non è un buon segno
A beautiful, but challenging, album. I admire Wyatt's approach - he really doesn't sound like anyone else. Sea Song has some of the most emotional harmonic choices i've ever heard, and each song has something of worth, be it a swarm of angry wasp trumpets or a charmingly cynical line. However, you have to wade through some nonsense to get there, and at its worst it's pretty unpleasant, and not in an enjoyable way. I'll balance out with a 3. One that everyone should listen to once, but maybe not more.
A very weird album and my first 1/5. I don't even know what to write about it, it was just an unpleasant listen.
Can appreciate the instrumentation and this album generally but it’s a little too experimental / prog for me (appreciate the background info I learned about robert Wyatt too)
Some of it was entertaining, some was a bit too ~experimental~. Sounded like an amateur noodling in the studio for a half hour. The saxophone sounding like someone attempting to murder a goose did give me a good chuckle, though. 2.5 stars
This would have been a good album if it had been instrumental and cut the sax. As it was the saxophone was irritating and the vocals didn’t add much.
Sea Song
That title absolutely does it justice Without a doubt the worst album I have ever listened to, congrats Robert. I said something in my velvet underground review about how I listen to music because it sounds good and it’s like he didn’t even try this time. I would have been fine with it sounding boring but it took everything in me to not skip every song in the album. At least velvet underground has some level of “at least it’s influential and a lot of the music I like today wouldn’t exist without it” but this one isn’t even that. There were legitimately songs on this album where I questioned whether they were music or not. Absolutely hated the half baked vocals and the blatantly wrong/ear bleeding notes This is the first time I’ve ever given out a 1 and I don’t think any album deserves it more than this one. Genuinely bummed to hear there’s another one of his albums on here
it sounds like open-mic night at karaoke it sounds like a middle school band warming up it sounds like rock bottom, both in title and in content you could make any number of zingers but none could capture how horrible this is im starting to think the 1001 albums guy ran out of ideas and just put this in to see who really read the book and actually listened to the albums within
I generally believe that there is always something redeeming about an artist's work. That no matter how it sounds on the surface, there is something underneath that gives it worth... Historical context, a single fantastic song in a sea of mediocrity, a lyric or a chorus that just strikes a nerve... Not so in this case. Hot trash.
They weren’t kidding when they named this album Rock Bottom. This is just doing nothing and it sounds like a bunch of toddlers at random instruments. I genuinely wanted this album to end so badly, it felt like torture to listen to it in one sitting. I wish that album was shorter, every time something my relatively good plays, something else kicks in and immediately ruins the song. And the lyrics and singing were just awful. I could go on more, but I feel like everyone has similar thoughts. I can’t understand anyone that likes this album.
This might just be the worst album I have ever heard. Every song is completely incoherent, it feels like each instrument was recorded for a different song, and they just took a random one of each and just overlayed them onto a song. And that synthesiser in the back ground, constantly just there playing an annoying riff and never going away. Also this guy cannot sing. I really don't like his voice, it's so unsettling in a way that I can't quite describe. I get that this is experimental, but there is a fine line between being innovative, and being insufferable and annoying. There is not even a moment on this album that I have anything positive to say about. Did I need to hear this before I die? I don’t even think this qualifies as “music”.
Oh my - NO
ovo je krenulo i mislio sam si, okej, malo je vrckasto al sviđa mi se, ovo će mi se dopast! al pretkraj sam si mislio: naš šta, dobro sam, mogu i bez ovoga... malo se raspalo sve do kraja albuma. šteta jer je početak solidan. naučio sam da je "larder" smočnica
190/1089 hmmm beatles-y slow piano dirge… not really for me but it’s fine. the secondhalf of Sea Song with the vocalising and synth/theramin section is quite nice Okayyy I like the sound and energy of A Last Straw red riding hood is soo unnerving to me, i like it in theory and certain parts but i was on edge for the whole song and sort of overstimulated the sounds are quite retro video gamey which is kinda fun. there’s just constant high pitched sounds in the background of these songs that i don’t enjoy. perhaps a remaster of the album would solve this for me finding out he’s from Bristol definitely didn’t shock me. I really appreciate his intention and style etc regardless of if i feel i need to listen to this album again faves: A Last Straw, Alifib 65/100
Someone who thought they can sing and their friends said they could- they can’t
Light rock
they are all kinda long. And idk ab like if this is an experimentala lbum but i didnt like it.
jännää tunnelmaa ja erikoisia ratkaisuja. Taidelevy
I liked it. I liked the mood and the atmosphere of the album. The vocals, especially on the first track, are unique and sometimes off key towards the end but I like it. I especially enjoyed the Red Riding Hood songs.
Not my favorite, tbh. But an incredibly beautiful sound is to be found.
Must have been slightly progressive if not average for its time, since the psychedelic rock has been a huge thing over the sixties with more inffluences than just The Velvet Underground. It´s not bad, but it doesn´t speak anything to me.
Very interesting record. Can see shades of Radiohead on later tracks. Lots of interesting overlapping sounds.
Fav: little red riding hood hit the road. I was conflicted by this one bc I admired what he was trying to do but I could simply not get into it at all. Very disorienting listening experience honestly
awful
Now what in the ever loving SHITE is this????
Hmm?
That was bad.
chato mds
I tried to give it a chance. Really. But it is just time I’ll never get back. Hard pass.
An incredible bleak experiment.
I’m not quite sure what to make of this one. I have a soft spot for Robert Wyatt - he’s never knowingly ordinary. However, this album mostly washed over me; A Last Straw and Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road were the most memorable moments, bringing jazz influence to bear and some experimental touches, and I couldn’t wait for “Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road” to end, but other than that it was quirky but ultimately fairly unremarkable.
pretty nice album. not my usual listen but deeply appreciated
Indeed I hit rock bottom while listening to this
Honestly, I didn’t hate it.
Super weird
Interesting I guess
I really like Robert Wyatt’s work and this is no exception. He arrangements are fantastic and these songs really communicate the turmoil he was going through. I prefer Shleep and Cuckooland of his albums but this is still excellent.
This was a good listen. Challenging at times, thought provoking and meandering at others. I can really hear the influences this might have on some of the more ‘pastoral’ post rock/post-rock adjacent artists like ‘caroline’ and ‘black country, new road’. Bits of early Eno come through here too for me, as well as king crimson. Despite that it also sounds very much a unique piece of work and I enjoyed the journey that it went on. The story of Robert Wyatt the musician (particularly during the recording of this) only really adds to the mystique of this as an album.
This guy again? C'mon, Dimery. Nobody liked it the first time around. Quit trying to shovel this shit and call it gold.
Apt title
Interesting sound. It's a little eerie.
There’s something funny about one of the lowest rated albums on here being called “Rock Bottom”
me gusta la musica lenta pero esto es dms lento
Wasn't expecting an album like this. I really liked the vibe, had a dream like quality to it. I don't think I would put it as a must listen but glad I didn.
Up its own butt. Too artsy for its own good. Tries to use a bunch of spicy and complex chords, but the singing is not precise enough to pull them off, so they just sound atonal. Songs are long and dragging and lacking true movement. I kept skipping ahead looking for things to gel to a purpose, but they just stayed the same. Contrast to things like "Close to the Edge" that starts dissonant and chaotic, but builds to a purpose and has movements. This is all just self involved.
It does take a couple of listens, but the music is fantastic! His voice is quite off-putting at first, but after a few listens, it gets less annoying. It really does fit. But the music, is really sublime. Great musicians doing interesting, jazzy compositions. Pretty sure I like "The Last Straw" the most, but it's all very interesting. There are some VERY strange vocal choices here. Why would you end "Sea Song" with that off-key "yodeling"?? It's bad enough getting to be Ok with this fella's voice, then he goes and does that? Yike! "Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road" the first one, is a jazzy, noisy little number that will be incredibly divisive. I love it, but can easily understand why someone would hate it. More gibberish on "Alife" and some crazy-making sax blasts, but again, it's so weird I like it. "Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road" the second one, has the weirdest little poem that makes me giggle like the crazy person that wrote it. I'm giving this thing a 4 not because it's the best album ever or anything, but there are some big swings and for the most part it works. I definitely think everyone should listen to this twice because they'll find something to like, even if they're annoyed by most of it. Stay weird, people!
Not really my thing tbh
A Last Straw might be the worst song I've heard on this list. The rest wasn't terrible. Not enough to warrant a 1, but very close. 2/5
My daughter referred to this as “sad stoner rock”. That’s a pretty accurate analysis. At first listen I had no ideas what was happening, no idea where it was going and not sure I should care. The song Little Red Riding Hood felt like the climax of a Radiohead song, but there was no conclusion nor intro. The jazz interludes were interesting but, again, just existed without transition. Even after reading the info, it made sense but I couldn’t find myself enjoying it any more. I think I discovered I am not an art rock guy.
Random thoughts: * I read about this album and learned it was by a guy who had recently become paraplegic. And Nick Mason from Pink Floyd was involved. I was pumped expecting something pretty cool. Boy was I disappointed. * It was such a downer of an album. Nothing caught my ear and I could do without this again. * I didn't actively hate it and made it through the album which is why it gets a 2. But I will never be choosing this one again. Skip.
This is a really interesting and psychedelic album! I think Robert Wyatt could have used a collaborator and I don't love his vocals a lot of the time, but I was hanging on this one's every note. I can see how someone would hate this, but it really resonated with me.
Not a massive fan of prog rock. Sea Song was ok, but nothing else interested me.
Big fan of Pink Floyd and this album had some echoes of early Floyd, however I found some of the tracks on this album to be slow and weird and there was no enjoyable musical interlude. Also, I wasn't massively impressed by all of early Floyd.
Ok
no 💜
sad story! Dare I say this has signs of Meddle or Pompeii with sneaky Mr. Mason producing... I don't think this is particularly great and shouldn't be on this list, but I enjoyed listening. A very bang average album
Just like the other Robert Wyatt we did, I hated this. His voice is unbelievably irritating
One of the other reviews describes this as "noodling" which I feel like is the correct descriptor. Kinda psych, kinda avant garde, pretty crap.
Eh 5/10
Robert Wyatt made this album so that others wouldn't have to. I can get what he's doing but I didn't like it.
Thought it started out strong, then kinda petered out in the backhalf. The first half was above-average interesting progressive rock essentially, but then the vocals and lyrics of the latter part of the album made me roll my eyes.
I'm sorry.
I think there might a been a good song in there somewhere, but the vocals made this a hard listen.
While I do admire how experimental and different this was, especially for the time, I can't say I was engaged with a ton of it. It roped me in well enough with the opener, with that very synthetic, ballad take on a prog song. It's a serene opener that sort of captures the feeling of this album cover, super whimsical, and free-going on some faraway beach. The first few songs follow suit; 'A Last Straw' has this very short yet enchanting piano loop driving the whole thing. But by the time it gets to the second half, its tangential and directionless nature starts to show. There's some proto-ambient stuff here that was cool, specifically on the weird organ on 'Alifib', but as soon as they threw in this sort of out-of-place sax section on the song's "free jazzy" counterpart 'Alife', I felt that all immersion was just lost. Didn't work for me at all for some reason. I'll say again that I do admire the very tight concept and very linear and consistent progression this album undergoes; it sort of nails this feeling of spiraling out of control and into pure abstraction. But by the end, I felt like I couldn't get lost in a lot of what was being presented, especially in the second half.
It wasnt bad, but it was chaotic and hard to listen to
Although I like prog, the Canterbury scene has never been my thing. I like prog for its epic, grandiose sound, but the Canterbury scene, although using similarly complex structures, tends to be more relaxed and minimal. That isn’t really a bad thing. It’s just comes down to preference, and for me, bands like Soft Machine were never as exciting as Pink Floyd, Yes, or even Kind Crimson despite their shared jazz influences. That being said, this album is still enjoyable. It’s pretty unique, especially the vocals, which is always a good thing. It takes a minute to get into, but the surreal atmosphere is also nice. It’s still too minimal for me, so not my cup of tea, but it was fun enough. 7/10
I'm normally a big prog guy and I appreciate the difficulties that Mr. Wyatt was dealing with around this time with his accident and all. This just wasn't for me though. A bit too abstract.
If you reading this review before listen to the album, don't worry, you can die before it.
Hmm?
2/10
Cool backstory and pioneering sound but really not great. 2.5
Boring British "Art" rock
18
This album is absolutely enchanting, with so many layers and different sounds. I'm so impressed by how a complex and enjoyable album it is. It has a lot of experimentation, but also a lot of taste. Some parts of the record – concretely, the song Alife – remind me of Current 93's neo-folk, which is quite interesting. I find this album very unique and beautiful. It's not an easy listening, but sure it deserves the attention required; it's such a pleasant, delicate and fantastic musical experience.
Intriguing. I doubt I'll jump back to it but I was impressed by the mix of sounds
Thank god that ended, this one gave me a some god chuckles so I’m glad I listened to it. Having said that… get in the bin.
No idea what this is even supposed to be, not for me 1.5*
Weird stuff but not particularly interesting or fun to listen to.
Triple blind for me. I’m honestly not sure what to think. It sounds like a Pink Floyd tribute band. Experimental, but not overly. I don’t see myself coming back again…
This was good music to fall asleep to on an airplane when youre jetlagged. Limited uses outside that.
Despite never having heard this before, it's familiar and at the same time I know it's nonpareil. A deep disorentation woven in with beautiful golden threads of harmony. Fairy tales pulled at through echoes of jazz. Something absolutely steeped in darkness, but there are ripples of watery light. This album is a forest pond in autumn....... its water too darkly tannic to gauge the actual bottom, but there are silhouettes of golden leaves. It is like finding out that another person can 'hear' flashing lights. You both sit there and marvel at each other then go on your separate ways knowing you're not actually crazy. Anyway, I followed him.
YAWN!!!!!!
the dreams I had when I fell asleep listening to this were my rock bottom
Bigdog... I just cannot gaslight myself into caring
Boring droning flat off key schlock.
Excellent
When listening to the initial song for the first time, I thought that maybe the ratings in this site could be correct. However, as the album progressed I ended up liking it quite a lot. First of all, yes, this album is super weird and experimental. The melodies are tense and very uncommon, the rhythms sections are quite complex and there are parts where the man starts singing nonsensical words. But, once I got used to this chaos, the album offered a very subtle, sad and even mystical experience. The first song of the album, 'Sea Song', may not be a great welcome, as it feels very flat and not so sad when compared to the others, but the next song, 'A Last Straw' is when it starts to get a bit more interesting. It incorporates drums and a piano, both giving the song a bit more of emotion, specially the melodies of the piano. They are intricate, but sound very good. The following track, 'Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road', keeps the energy left by the previous one, but it is even more weird. It features some very chaotic trumpets and in the middle of the track, every thing gets reversed, except for the drums and horns (I think). But it works very well. I didn't notice it was reversed after a couple of listens, which should tell how well integrated the effect is in the song. The next three tracks, 'Alifib', 'Alife' and 'Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road', I think are the most beautiful songs of the album. They nail that delicate and sorrow atmosphere that the record goes for. The first one is very minimalist, with just synths, bass and voice, all sounding very quite. The second one is a bit more chaotic. It reintroduces the piano and drums, but they are now accompanied with a saxophone and a bass clarinet. Regardless of being a bit more random, the synths help keeping the sad tone. The final track is divided in two parts. One half is as melancholic as the previous two songs and it has some very melodic and beautiful guitars. The final half is a very calm way of ending the album with just an harmonium and viola playing with a voice singing on top. Before reaching the conclusion, I just wanted to pointed out a funny thing. The guitars in the last song reminded me a lot to the Skype's ringtone. With that being said, I think this is a great album that required multiple listens to be able to appreciate its very melancholic and sad sound which hides between all the madness.
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this guy before. I read a little about him and he inspired, like, everyone. You can hear it in the music, too. The piano and vocals of the opening, Sea Song, sound like something Bowie would write—and, add some more electronic elements, and it could be a Radiohead song. It’s beautiful and haunting, with stripped down production that makes it sound like you’re in the room with him. It’s a complete out-of-body experience. A Last Straw is beautifully dreamlike, with fuller production and bits that sound even more like Radiohead. It has a tense build to it that does feel like slowly drifting farther and farther out to sea. The little whooshing sound at the ending that somewhat leads into the opening of Little Red Riding Hood offers a wonderful change in dynamics as well. Little Red Riding Hood itself teeters the line between ambient and distractingly discordant—which pretty much sums up the whole album. It’s something you can let yourself be absorbed into, but first you have to become comfortable with the weirder bits. The bass in this song is also especially good. Alifib has beautiful instrumentals, and while I understand the reason for the repetitive, breathy vocals, I find them a bit annoying. I feel as if they could have shortened the intro by a good twenty or thirty seconds. That said, when the actual lyrics start, they’re quite beautiful. Alife continues the build, with some more interesting production and creepiness. The little drums itch something in my brain. The instrumentals are so interesting and the vocals are utterly devastating—I can’t quite explain them, but they are. The sax outro is fantastic. The final track, Little Red Robin Hood, continues the eerie feel, but chooses to build it up less with dynamics and more with tempo and energy. The repetition of “can’t you see them” is agonizingly desperate and the drums add a sense of urgency to the track—all before it fades into a slow dirge…and then it’s Scottish? The lyrics gain a bit of a political edge, and act as a grounding, bringing you back to earth after nearly forty minutes of discordant jazz and dreamy ambience. It’s a jarring ending, but it works quite well—especially with the sudden stop. I find it really interesting that this is from Domino. I don’t know, but seeing that it was released by the same label who released stuff by Arctic Monkeys and Wet Leg is kinda funny. MBV is also on Domino, though, so that at least is kinda similar. This album isn’t everyone’s thing, and that’s understandable, but as a work of art I do feel as if it is fairly objectively good, and it’s obviously influential. Much of music today wouldn’t be the same without this album. Recap: Favorite songs: Alife Least favorite song: Alifib Comparisons: Low, OK Computer, Daydream Nation, The Aeroplane Over the Sea Rating: 4:5
Buy the album, not the story right? I will not be buying this album.
did not hate it
Stopped at second track. Hate this.
what a waste of everyone's time this album is not even close to listenable
I don’t like his voice and there’s a reason — he is a communist. Fuck communists. The album is okay sometimes, I like surrealistic and psychedelic vibes that occur sometimes. It's experimental, so. Not a very good experiment, more like excrement. I can't help but humiliate and joke about commies, especially when you've failed as an activist just as hard as your ideology failed. Nothing added to my playlist. 2/5 —————————————— No liked songs
Wonderful stuff, recommended.
Nope. Just... nope.
Jazz rock fusion , nick mason produced, good scat Sea song Little red riding hood
Difficult to describe - weird, certainly. Foreboding, often. Never precisely beautiful, but sometimes wondrous, yes. Wyatt masterfully builds tension, and doesn't always release it, but keeps the listener raptly attentive. The music goes in unexpected directions, the vocals are often bizarre. On a different day, this might end up being rated 2 stars, or 5. I'll shamefully split it down the middle. *** 1/2
< The Beatles This is the kind of album I'm conflicted about, in a way. For one thing, it sucks, is annoying and I'm struggling to see why it's "essential" in any way. However, on the other side, the book/list SHOULD be a wide variety of music and should include all kinds of stuff, even experimental/fuck around randomly hitting a piano bullshit. That said, I'd be more open to bullshit like this on the list if so much of it wasn't taken up by every album ever made by a Beatle, 3 fucking Dexys Midnight Runners albums, copious repeats of other artists, often English, and the metric shit ton of 50s and 60s English bands that desperately wanted to BE the Beatles and a shitload of 70s mid as fuck English rock bands.
Did not enjoy.
The first song Sea Song was almost enough to push me over the edge and not proceed any further. It was interesting but not quite for me.
Robert Wyatt's backstory (no pun intended) does make this record interesting. I'm going to revisit later but I'm rating a 3 for now.
Ya not really my style
I did not enjoy this other than the beginning of track 2
I remember hearing a joke that went like: Why did the drummer get kicked out of the band? He started writing his own songs. (or something like that). Anyways, Third by Soft Cell was one of my favorite discoveries from this list, I really like the chaotic jazz that was displayed on that album and I usually really like experimental music (I gave Throbbing Gristle a 4), so I went in with high expectations. Sadly I found this one to be pretty boring. There were definitely some highlights and great moments but 75% of the time I was disinterested. A lot of this album just seems a little sloppy. Mid 2.
Seriously THE worst Album so far
I’ve had Shleep by Wyatt previously and I remember saying it might be my overall worst album so far. Well now it has some competition. Hate is a strong word and yet somehow not strong enough to describe how I feel about this one. Maybe it takes a few listens or maybe listening to it in work isn’t the right setting. Maybe he just isn’t for me as an artist. All I know is I’m not a religious man but I shall pray he has no more albums on here.
I mentioned the following in my review yesterday, but it’s relevant again today: Ever since I hit the 1000 albums milestone, I’ve been trying to predict what album I’d receive next. Yesterday, I guessed that I would get Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom, but I wound up getting it today. That’s the second day in a row that I’ve gotten an album the day after I guessed I’d get it. Spooky. Anyway, this is my second Robert Wyatt solo album to review, after the aptly named Shleep, which nearly put me to shleep. I haven’t been looking forward to reviewing this album, but hey, at least it’s only forty minutes long! This album was quite a bit better than Shleep, and even though I’m not a huge art/prog rock guy, I enjoyed a good amount of Rock Bottom. I didn’t care much for the vocals throughout the album, but the arrangements were really unique, and the keyboard playing was consistently really good throughout the whole album. Even though not every song landed with me, I was certainly never bored while listening to this. The only song that I really didn’t care for was Alife, where I really didn’t like the vocals at all, and I couldn’t find anything enjoyable about that particular song. Some notes on a few of the individual songs: On “Sea Song,” my immediate reaction was that I didn’t care for the vocals. However, the keyboard playing was outstanding, and it was enough to make me forget about the singing. When the keyboard playing shifted into that bit that was a bit more freeform, it made me feel really uneasy all of a sudden. I don’t know if that was the purpose of that section of the song, but if it was, kudos to Mr. Wyatt, because it was incredibly effective. The vocals got even weirder as the song went on, but those keyboard bits at the end were awesome. “A Last Straw” was interesting too. The vocals still weren’t my jam, especially the ‘wah-wahing’ that was going on, but the keyboard playing was good enough to allow me to tune the vocals out. “Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road” had some great keyboard parts too, but I really liked the horns and percussion as well. The sound was a bit chaotic, but I thought this was still a really beautiful song. For an art/prog rock album with only six songs, Rock Bottom was pretty enjoyable. Even though the songs were a bit longer, they were all pretty interesting, and I thought this album was really unique. I probably wouldn’t go back to this album, but I can appreciate why it made the list.
i couldn’t appreciate it because of the lack of any melodies. i can appreciate the other artistic aspects, but this album is just not for me.
Ugh. 1.
I think this is the kind of album you appreciate more the more you listen to it. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5
If I could give this negative stars I would
Enjoyably unenjoyable
I think you might need drugs for this one. It's awful
I’m a huge Robert Wyatt fan. The story behind this record is particularly wild. After being the drummer in the influential psych and art-rock band The Soft Machine Robert Wyatt started recoding more experimental music under his own name and with a new group Matching Mole. He fell out of a window in a tragic accident and became paralyzed from the waist down. Dealing with extreme depression and the life altering injury he changed his primary focus to playing piano and using synths. This record was him working through his depression and coming to terms with his new situation. He has continued to make strange and beautiful records for the last 50 years.
Pretty weird stuff
Pretty good and different.
1.5/10
I'm struggling to characterize my thoughts on this. It is... bad. 1/1
huh.
I don't know what this was and why it's held in such high regard. Absolutely awful. Nonsense lyrics about mustard and custard. Never going back to this or have any interest in his other work.
I can only imagine this is included on the list due to the author's drug fuelled nostalgia. This is fucking awful. I can find zero redeeming qualities. Set it on fire, then take the ashes, encase them in concrete and bury them deep underground so that nobody will ever have the misfortune of being subjected to this shower of shite ever again.
Some interesting stuff, but mostly boring 70s drug psych mumbo jumbo. 💤💤
Not unpleasant, not so weird that it was tough listening, neither felt wonderfully weird. Bit of a middle ground
Pretty interesting and experimental.
I truly don't have much to say here, just glad I'm done getting albums from this guy. I will highlight the fact that Wyatt apparently recorded this album following an accident that rendered him paralyzed, so my commendations there. The praise will end there, however.
Started out slow, but ended up being a great listen. Very interesting and unique. 8.5/10 Favourite track: N/A (they all flow into eachother well)
There were a few moments that kept it from a 1, but that was about it for me
Hate this
I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this right from the jump when, 1/3 into the one song that is the most downloaded, there was a bunch of random aimless playing that sounded made up on the spot with no forethought. It set the stage for the rest of this album which was, by and large, aimless.
Hmm, couple of songs moved jazzily along but not great
Часто слушаю этот альбом.
Apt album title.
Such a unique album, moving but never sad, fantastic but never silly. Just really human and beautiful.
Truly one of the greatest albums of all time. It's unique, complex, weird but still accessible. A true blessing to the ears.
I can sometimes consider this Robert Wyatt album my all-time favorite. It evokes a ton of emotions in me, completely transporting me to another world. For me, Rock Bottom represents complete artistic freedom, a journey into Wyatt's very personal universe, which is concrete for him and abstract for us. It's sincere music, deeply vulnerable, surreal, and introspective all at once.
I don’t recall ever listening to this album before, although I know Wyatt’s work with Soft Machine and his later cover of Elvis Costello’s “Shipbuilding’. Rock Bottom is different from both of those and takes a somewhat avantgarde jazz/folk approach. Robert Wyatt’s voice is fragile and faltering, occasionally slipping out of key, as he sings along to music largely made up of synthesiser drones, shimmering with tremolo, and noodling, on both synth and piano, accompanied by bass and drums. The songs meander and both time and pitch seem flexible, keeping the listener a little unsettled. At times it is almost like listening to a slightly warped vinyl record, not unpleasant but neither does it lend itself to casual background listening. You leave the record a bit off balance.
Without any prior context to this album, I quite enjoyed it - quite avantgarde with a certain darkness. After listening I read up on the context which was fascinating. Although I probably wouldn't listen again, this is one of those albums that absolutely belongs on the 1001 list
Meh
133 En general tengo una tendencia a evaluar super bien las cosas que encuentro raras, pero algo me pasó que acá no pude conectar muy bien, yo creo que fue algo de las voces de este disco. La primera parte del último track (Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road) me gustó harto, pero del resto no creo que lo escucharía de nuevo.
This is not good.
I started this off convinced I'd be giving this album 1 star. It grew on me. The discordant arrangements reminded me of what Radiohead has done decades after this album. I'm bumping up the rating because of its innovation, but I don't think I'd listen to it again.
Not for me.
I'm finally returning to this website after over a year, and boy, what an album to return to! This seemingly quaint and inconsequential collaboration between some of the most artsy Englishmen of the time (Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, "Tubular Bells Guy" Mike Oldfield, celebrated poet Ivor Cutler, prolific guitarist Fred Frith, etc.) has exceeded any and all expectations I had going into it. Each of the six tracks on this record create a vibrant and colorful picture of the ocean, delicately balancing the beautiful landscape of the ocean floor and the treacherous, stormy waters above. After learning about the making of Rock Bottom, it becomes very obvious that Wyatt's accident played a large part in developing the tone of this album. The marine environment this album resides in also doubles as an allegory for the emotional turmoil that he must have felt at the time (e.g., "Sea Song" includes references to seasonal depression, "A Last Straw" may imply a domestic argument), and many of the more avant-garde moments create an uncomfortable tension that further exemplifies this metaphor. Overall, Rock Bottom is a captivating and rewarding listen that I imagine will become one of t=my personal favorite records very quickly. Standout Tracks: Sea Song, Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road, Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road Score: SS
I was impressed by how dull this album was.
First listen
ROCK BOTTOM ROCK BOTTOM. STONE COLD HITS THE ROCK WITH HIS OWN MOVE. Shades of Wrestlemania XVII or “X-Seven” as the famously intellectual early 2000’s demanded it be called. I’m surprised that the also famously intellectual sport of kings, professional wrestling, caved to the societal pressure and dumbed themselves down. Sad. Anyway, what in the sweet hell is this? Outsider 70’s music hopefully. I listen to that one weird drug dealer guy who sang “Thicker than a Smokey.” Somebody Higgins. Man that’s a lot of funny words in a row. Sea Song - Yup. This is weird. The singing is pretty bad but we’ve got weird suspenseful piano music and alien horns, so it kind of fits. This was insane. Thumbs up A Last Straw - Oh yeah, were randomly caterwauling baby. Apparently this album was released fairly soon after he fell out of a window. Defenestration type beat. Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road - Yeah! Get outta here ya little tramp. Take your stupid grandma with you. Go on! Get! Horrible singing over jazz absurdity FEATURING spoken word babbling? This is right up my alley. Alifib - I don’t know about the grunting but I do know this is insane. Kooky even. Alife - I think this is just by my subconscious brain during a sleep paralysis dream. I say that, because this song title looks like the corrected version of the previous song title. Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road - Possible fake Scottish accent spotted. A rare miss. Except it’s not because it’s more demented shit which endears this further to me. Brain damaged prose, hastily concocted and sputtered over bizarre jazz instrumentals and ominous keys. I’m kind of in love. I’ve also learned of the concept of “Wyatting” which is playing these songs in crowded bars/nightclubs where a jukebox is available. Apparently his wife hates it, but if I’m listening to “Alife” instead of “Shape of You” AND irritating bar patrons? I’m a happy fellow. This was a bizarre ride and one that I’d be happy to take again. This kind of trip is rare without pharmaceutical assistance. I’m here to refill my prescription. 3.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road, Alife
2.5/5