Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Very interesting to read about the circumstances surrounding it. It's best enjoyed as an art piece rather than an actual listenable album. Worth listening to once but only once.
More orchestrated sound pretending to be music. This album was unique though, in that every track was horrible, but in a totally different way from the previous one.
Dear God, what is this? This is what David Bowie would have sounded like if he'd never progressed past his more bizarre creations like The Bewley Brothers; in fact, there are LOT of late 60's and early 70's Bowie notes throughout this album (as well as some nods to Barrett-era Floyd, thanks, I imagine, to Nick Mason's production credit; one could also suggest Scott Walker's influence). Yet, it lacks none of the pop sensibilities that (usually) kept Bowie, Walker, or even Floyd from going off the rails. This is a dark and weird album. I would like to think that a second or third listen would be more revelatory, but that's ot going to happen.
I'd like this album better if it weren't in English. OK, that was snarky, but let me explain. I have real trouble turning off the part of my brain that turns sounds into words and words into sentences and sentences into stories. So Wyatt's under-enunciated and occasionally under-supported vocals, produced like clouds and mixed too soft for my taste, are a big challenge for me. But when I was able to corral that part of my brain, and accept that the lyrics are either gauzy and surreal or just nonsense holders for vowel sounds, I could try to appreciate this album like I would any other art music in a language I don't speak. And there is some interesting sonic stuff going on in the instrumentals, especially in "Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road". And then a snippet of English, or English-sounding phonemes would get through, and put my teeth on edge again. Ultimately there's nothing here worth my effort. You know those songs on psychedelic albums that exist between the radio hits to give you time to decompress and just sort of float along? This is 40 minutes of those songs, building up to something that never comes (or maybe leading out of an awesome song you missed).
Ouch. I did not enjoy this at all. Slow, unpleasant voice, some occasional irritating sounds. Not for me.
Nah
“Mum can we have experimental David Bowie?” “We have experimental David Bowie at home” Experimental David Bowie at home:
Didn’t really get it, credit for risk taking
Avant Garde. Lots of grunts and winding vocals. Pretty sure Robert is getting pleasured by someone in Alifib. Not, uh, my jam...
The review is in the album title. How is this on this list?!
Not a fan — too dissonant. The ending couple of songs are pretty good though
Too artsy fartsy for me. There were some interested elements mixed in but overall I was kind of bored. I probably just don’t get it.
Noodling that isn't for me.
I usually like weird psychedelic music, but this was too much even for me 😂
Weird edgelord pick
Nice sound first listen to Robert's stuff will look At some others
What a waste of time. This album sounds like someone recorded the disjointed sounds of a middle school orchestra warming up, then running it through a synthesized piano machine, while whining about how much they needed a kazoo to round it all out. This fucking sucked. 1.5
It’s was entertaining, but so repetitive it got a little bored.
Severely not a fan!
Couldn’t make it all the way through on this one
Pretty cool
Long songs Stressy alternative piano, guitar, drums
I didn't get a lot out of this one. It seemed unnoticed.
Not a fan. Tried 3 songs. Annoying this is the first album generated for me. Heh, I’ll stick it through.
I'm sure this came from a place following the accident, but not particularly fun to listen to
He's such an interesting, influential & all-round good guy & you so want this to be good, but I'm afraid it's awful!!
Really weird
I had Shleep a few days ago and now this and its probably even worse then that. Shorter, yes, but every song, if you can call it that, is interminably long. SO. BORED.
in all honesty, i can’t remember a single track from this record. i don’t want to sound too harsh given to backstory to this album, but the sound really was not for me. there’s probably some artistic interpretation in there somewhere, but it’s not one for me to find
He's right
Sometimes beautiful. Sometimes discordant. Too often meandering.
Nah, not for me sorry.
I guess one would hit rock bottom after being in an accident that leaves you a paraplegic. There are only three ways you can go with alcohol: it kills you, you stop drinking and never touch the stuff again, or you fall out a window blind drunk and get paralyzed from the waist down.
So, this is a tough album for sure. But I don’t think it’s the worst thing on this list. I guess I kind of appreciate the effort here, but it does fall short and gets a little too off at times. 2/5 Won’t listen again
This is some real art house bullshit.
Not bad. "Shleep" was horrible for me because it felt like forced weirdness. This one feels much more genuine, and most importantly, the vocals don't make me want to rip my ears off. Pretty good, Robert Gyatt.
Poor guy
This one was weird. Somehow both psychedelic and chaotic at the same time. It flows like free-form/improvised jazz at times, but with a bunch of weird sounds. 'Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road' has polyrhythms I'm pretty sure. All in all I didn't enjoy the album much, but it did have moments of just pure confusion or just interesting things enough that I didn't turn it off Standouts Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road "No geese or seagulls were harmed in the production of this album"/5 (2/5)
Il y a des albums qui arrivent dans votre vie comme une évidence, d'autres comme une énigme. Et puis il y a "Rock Bottom". Celui-là, il ne se contente pas d'arriver, il s'écrase avec le bruit sourd et terrible d'un corps qui chute. Pour piger ce disque, il faut connaître le contexte, et putain, quel contexte. On est en 1974, Robert Wyatt, batteur-chanteur génial et co-fondateur de Soft Machine, l'un des fleurons de l'école de Canterbury, n'est plus dans le groupe. Mais surtout, un an plus tôt, le 1er juin 1973, lors d'une soirée bien arrosée, il tombe du quatrième étage d'un immeuble. Bilan : la colonne vertébrale brisée. Il passera le reste de sa vie dans un fauteuil roulant, paralysé des deux jambes. Fin de sa carrière de batteur. Le fond du trou. "Rock Bottom". Je vais poser une question, et d'ailleurs une question que tout le monde se pose en écoutant ce disque. Est-ce que "Rock Bottom" existerait sous cette forme sans cet accident ? Est-ce que cette chute physique a été le catalyseur de cette plongée musicale abyssale ? On a envie de dire non, par pudeur, par respect. Mais au fond de nous, on sait bien que la réponse est oui. Car ce disque, c'est le son d'un homme qui a tout perdu, y compris l'usage de son corps, et qui, depuis le fond de l'abîme, décide de tout réinventer. Quand j'ai mis ce vinyle sur la platine pour la première fois, dans la boutique où je bossais, je m'attendais à du rock progressif, un truc un peu barré dans la veine de ses anciens collègues. Grosse erreur, car ce que j'ai entendu ne ressemblait à rien de connu. Ce n'est ni du rock, ni du jazz, ni de l'ambient. C'est du Robert Wyatt. C'est une matière sonore unique, une sorte de brouillard musical où flottent des bribes de mélodies, des expérimentations électroniques douces, et cette voix... Ah, cette voix. Elle est le coeur battant et fragile de "Rock Bottom". Une voix d'une tristesse infinie, mais sans jamais tomber dans le pathos. Elle est haute, presque androgyne, diaphane, mais chargée d'une émotion brute, à vif. C'est la voix d'un homme qui ne peut plus crier avec ses poumons, alors il chante avec son âme. C'est une plainte, une berceuse pour adulte brisé. Elle flotte au-dessus d'arrangements qui semblent à la fois minimalistes et d'une richesse incroyable. C'est là toute la magie du disque : il déstructure tout. Loin des délires cosmiques de Yes ou des fresques narratives de Genesis qui cartonnaient à l'époque, Wyatt fait l'inverse. Il ne construit pas des cathédrales sonores ; il nous invite dans sa chambre d'hôpital, dans son espace mental. L'album est d'une intimité presque gênante. On est face à une oeuvre qui déconstruit pour mieux reconstruire. Les structures des morceaux sont éclatées, liquides. Ça commence, ça s'arrête, ça dérive. Des nappes de clavier étranges (merci Mike Oldfield et Ivor Cutler), des samples avant l'heure, des sons de jouets, un trombone mélancolique... Tout ça s'agence non pas selon une logique musicale traditionnelle, mais selon une logique de rêve, ou de cauchemar éveillé. C'est une musique du subconscient. L'atmosphère générale est incroyablement dépressive, on sent le poids de la tragédie, la chape de plomb du destin. Et pourtant, paradoxalement, une légèreté incroyable s'en dégage. C'est peut-être ça, la liberté absolue. Quand on a touché le fond, on n'a plus rien à perdre. On peut tout essayer, tout oser. Il n'y a plus de codes à respecter, plus d'attentes à satisfaire, juste le besoin viscéral de créer quelque chose de beau à partir du chaos. Et c'est incroyablement beau, "Sea Song", "Alifib", "Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road"... Inutile de les détailler, l'album est un tout, un flux ininterrompu de conscience musicale. C'est un disque qui ne s'écoute pas, il se ressent. Il faut se laisser couler avec lui, accepter de perdre pied. À l'époque, en 1974, ça a dû être une sacrée claque pour les amateurs de rock progressif. Un OVNI total. Pour ma part, l'ayant découvert bien plus tard, il m'a semblé être le chaînon manquant entre le free-jazz, le rock expérimental et tout le courant post-rock des années 90 que j'aime tant. Des groupes comme Talk Talk ou même Radiohead doivent beaucoup, consciemment ou non, à ce que Wyatt a initié ici. "Rock Bottom" est un chef-d'oeuvre. Pas un chef-d'oeuvre facile, pas le genre de disque qu'on met en fond sonore pour une soirée entre potes, sous peine de voir tout le monde se jeter par la fenêtre. C'est une oeuvre exigeante, qui demande une implication totale. Mais la récompense est immense. C'est la preuve par le son que même au plus profond du désespoir, l'art peut non seulement survivre, mais aussi atteindre des sommets de beauté et d'humanité. C'est le son de la résilience. Alors oui, mon 4/5 est juste car c'est un "beau 4/5" et pourquoi pas 5 ? Peut-être parce que c'est une oeuvre si intime, si à vif, qu'elle ne s'offre pas facilement. C'est un disque qui vous hante, qui laisse des traces. Il faut être dans de bonnes dispositions pour y entrer, mais une fois dedans, on n'en ressort pas tout à fait indemne. Un disque essentiel, à découvrir absolument.
very obscure album. have to give it a second listen but I don’t hate it nor do I love it. just a very unique album.
The opening track should have been titled "Sea Sick". That pretty much sums up the entire album: appropriately titled "Rock Bottom". This album is equivalent of going to someone's home for a dinner party and having the host's child be a massive, loud, pain in the ass. Everyone at the party wants to kill the little monster, all while the host beams in pride and brags about their spirited child. I hope there's a special place in hell for the moron who put this on a "must hear" list. ZERO stars.
it’s odd because i feel nostalgic for this lost world but it’s also so shitty
Avant garde music, but weirdly compelling. Other Robert Wyatt albums are in the 'never the same twice' style, but this seems to have a small amount of structure. I was. at least, able to keep listening (had to stop listening to the last one, it was so awful). This is a big improvement - though still never coming close to mainztream music. On reflection, its similar in some respects to PIL's Metal Box - just much, much better and is actually listenable.
I don't get what makes this interesting. His other albums had momentum, melody, novelty and weight. This is just amateurish.
I enjoyed this. It was quirky and felt like "Outsider art" to me. A feeling confirmed by Ivor Cutler turning up at the end. I will return to this.
Really confused me this one!
Kinda conflicted because there were some interesting instrumental moments, but the rest sounded like a subway performer on MDMA
Masterpiece!
Sea Song 2.9 A Last Straw 2.7 Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road 2.3 Alifib 2.2 Alfie 2.4 Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road 2.3 Score: 2.466666667
This album was really disappointing. I thought it would sound different based on the cover and it's just not good.
Very ambient, very rare and unique, honestly it’s quite good except for some of the songs that I did not like as much, I couldn’t listen to them. But overall some of the songs are really atmospheric and nice to listen to.
it was just ok....
Good probably but not for me
Well shit, this was weird as fuck and what a delight it was! Not nit not, nit no not, nit nit folly bololy! 4 stars
1.5 not good
Weirdly interesting or interestingly weird?
woozy, dreamy, singular, wonderful. Ivor Cutler's drones are particularly magnificent
Fine
1.5
I don't hate it. It's weird, it's not my normal type of music. But there's something really enjoyable about it and all of its artsy style.
Eccentric and dissonant, but occasionally beautiful. Robert Wyatt’s album post his life changing fall is interesting, but not accessible. I didn’t find anything memorable enough to recommend other than the opening track. Songs like Alifib I actually found to be pretty annoying. Probably a 2.5 in my book.
What a mess. Far too prog rock for me.
dissonant and interesting
Een soort huismerk Bowie. Een beetje spookachtig theatraal geneuzel, wat ingewikkeld en met een aardig hoog ckv gehalte. Een net niet goed gestemd pianotje, letterlijk gekwaak, geschaterlach ofzoiets. Snobkeuze, kutmuziek.
I hate to be cruel to the handicapped but Sir Wyatt is no Don Henley in the vocals category
Interesting parts, but bit too artsy
A masterpiece from former Soft Machine drummer/singer. The opening song is worth the price of admission alone.
Not for me.
A bit eccentric, but it grew on me. A mix of psychedelic rock, freak-folk, and a hint of jazz.
I did not enjoy the album. it sounded too whiney. I did not bother finishing the album
I don’t know. I think it’s really good at some parts, and a bit tedious in others. Strangely, there are two songs with the exact same name, but they’re completely different. For me, the first Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road is the highlight of the album. Overall, I think the album starts a bit slowly, hit its stride on the third song, and finishes strongly. Solid three stars with the slight caveat that you absolutely have to be in the right mode to listen to it.
It’s not often that I say myself, I’d rather not go on living than have to do it listening to this. In that context, I think it’s a testament to my fortitude that I got 1:30 into the second track.
Complete crap start to finish
I'm sure "talk about ROCK BOTTOM" jokes have been made so thoroughly that I'm ashamed to mention them, but sometimes cliches are razor apt.
The info about this album is better than the album
Art rock. canterbury scene. Al final un poco rollo, un poco sinsentido. Pero bueno.
the first half of this album is otherworldly but the second half is a little underwhelming and repetitive, if it wasn’t for that it would be a strong 9/10, but with the second half, I’ll give it a 7/10.
This was more Interesting than Good.
It sure was something. I didn't quite love it but I found it pretty interesting
I weirdly like this. It’s normally not my thing, but this is kinda cool.
The obnoxious equivalent to interpretive dance apparently is experimental Rock.
Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom proves that putting various noises together does not make music! The mindless mumbling and discordant piano were distracting as best. The album was sort of deceiving; it dabbled in psychedelic and progressive rock with an interesting mysterious sound, but then it would devolve into nonsense. Anyway, I'm glad Wyatt had the foresight to keep this under forty minutes and not subject me to a double album. I couldn't tell you why this album is included on this list.
Imagine Renaissance Faire-loving art school students who have a band. Half of them like jazz music and half of them like space age ambient music and they can't decide which sound is a better fit for their band. They get together and noodle and experiment regularly in a paint-fumed garage. None of them are really vocalists, but that doesn't stop them; they certainly like to strain their way through some discordant vocal noise and mumbles, anyway. They take every psychedelic drug available to them and then proceed to make an album. That is what this album is. And really, I don't know what else to say about it. I don't know about rock bottom, but we are definitely scratching near the bottom of the barrel with this one, aren't we?
I really like “Rock Bottom” for its avant-garde and experimental approach. I can easily find myself listening to music all day that fits those styles. I’m just learning about the Canterbury scene, but this album is a great introduction, especially since I’m a fan of the avant-garde side of progressive rock. I really appreciate the album for its instrumental experimentation, but also for the studio production side of the experimental elements.
Couldn't listen
I don't like being this blunt or negative in my reviews.....but....I have no idea why this is on this list. I don't find many redeeming qualities. I won't come back to this.
A little too chaotic and esoteric for me; not a fan. I could barely get through it.
I dunno. Can’t tell if I find this annoying or interesting. Probably needs a couple more listens to see if it settles with me
I didn’t mind this album, but it definitely felt more ambient than attention grabbing. So much so that as I write this the follow day, I only really remember the vague vibe of the album. There are no hooks or melodies that have stayed with me. Again, I know it wasn’t bad by any means, and I quite enjoyed it while it was on, but the lack of staying power definitely says something about its impact, or lack thereof, on my personally. I doubt I’ll be returning to this, but it was a nice ambient breather.
Yet another 'must' album graces the list, and I'm scratching my head trying to decipher why it's listed here.
Eno style ambient synth textures combined with a psychadelic jazz musical approach encompassing sax and trumpet blasts, squidgy basslines, organ vamps, piano tinkling, and an experimental poetry approach to lyrics conveyed by Wyatt's fragile voice. It builds and builds through slow repetition and layering that brings more dissonance and disorder and polyrhythmic tension that all creates a sense of anxiety and anticipation. With a watery theme, it conveys the feeling of being overwhelmed and giving yourself over to the force of the sea, not thrashing against it, letting waves wash over and push you around, succumbing to a blissful dark sense of dread disorientation and powerlessness.
your average relaxing album
You're an odd guy, Robert. A cool one though.
Clearly influential but not exactly a fun listen.
Rock your bottom.
actually kinda halfway up
Although a fan of the "Canterbury scene", I've never really been a fan of Robert Wyatt's music or his voice.
I am a bit conflicted by this one. At times I really liked it. Then it went a bit crappy.
I didn’t really like shleep and I didn’t really like this either. His irritating vocals over overwhelming, overlapping psychedelic folk stuff is just so annoying to me.
Had a lighter David Bowie vibe to me
Tried too hard and failed completely. Somehow, any track would be ruined by something. +1 for Oldfield's signature guitar on the last track.
Feels like an experiment gone wrong. I felt frustrated throughout this as I believe there could be something really really good here but it's execution is just all wrong for me. Can't help feeling frustrated at what this could have been.
Overall, wildly creative (particularly for its time), with some pretty incredible synths and harmonies. But the vocals aren't great, and the music lacks anything catchy or memorable to balance out its experimental nature. Right from the first track, we hear heavy use of synths that had recently entered the rock/pop music sphere. Some cool keyboard layering, combining electric and acoustic sounds, and inspiration from jazz (including a nifty piano solo over augmented and diminished chords). The vocalist's British accent is pretty strong, possibly inspired by Bowie's early works, but more distractingly untrained than Bowie's vocal. (Take that weird and unnecessary vocal solo in Sea Song. Yeah. Not great.) Lots of complex melodies that lack an obvious melodic hook. I suspect more effort and musicianship was placed on the drums, bass, and keyboards, which are the star instruments in most tracks. Ignoring the vocal, the sound is reminiscent of Radiohead - specifically the Kid A record, as another reviewer pointed out. A proggy, dreamy sort of feel, with production that favours layering and surround-sound rather than something performed live. Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road is particularly relevant here for its crazed overlapping horns (The National Anthem) and artificially-cut, psychedelic vocal snippets (Everything In Its Right Place), though the latter appears on many tracks on the Rock Bottom album. Radiohead pulled these ideas off better. 3/5 Key tracks: Sea Song, Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road (reprise)
some of the melodies are cool, a little noisy in places. okay for background music I guess?
Nice. Interesting. Mostly. Not sure what was happening at the end of Sea Song, but it kind of ruined it. You'd get nice and relaxed and then all of the sudden he's going "forsqueak you, alifi my larder" with a drunk sax or something in the background.
Gorgeous, the reason I'm doing this project.
Album 450 of 1001 Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom Rating : 1 / 5 This just left me confused. What did I listen to? Classified as 'Rock' but I couldn't find it in there.
Classic Canterbury. Influential. Great cast of musicians.
Pink Floyd's legacy. Please update your site so we can give albums zero stars.
Super mixed on this album. I’m thinking 3 purely on how weird and creative it is, but also how off-putting.
not my thing
meh. too mellow for my mood. wold br good background music
There’s some decent Music hidden amongst all the discordant strains and horrendous vocals… not nearly enough.to make it worth while though !
So I always listen to the albums without reading anything about them, in order to form my own opinions about them – and then afterwards, I read the Wiki highlights et al… Listened to this on the drive into work today, and had 2 distinct – and exact opposite thoughts while listening… #1 – If this was made AFTER Radiohead had hit the scene, then this D+ knock-off is definitely not worth your time… #2 – If however, this was made BEFORE Radiohead had hit the scene, then this album deserves a special place in the prog rock canon… After I found out that Robert Wyatt – after writing most of the material, fell from a balcony and was paralyzed from the waist down, that added a whole new layer of intrigue… Given the originality found on this album, combined with the vision and grit to get it recorded after his recovery, really puts this album in a different light… Definitely feels like layered sampling throughout the album, combined with sections of tracks that sounded like they were recorded normally – and then played back in reverse and embedded in several tracks – all with additional layers of instrumentation mixed in… The result sounds like a raw DNA precursor that forms an evolutionary line directly to the seasoned Radiohead of the late 90’s and 2000’s… Sections of “Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road” definitely has hints of Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” from their “Kid A” album released in 2000… Not saying there are any direct corollaries, but the style, layering, and overall sound are along the same lines… Given all of the unique aspects of this album – which is not easy to listen to the first time through (i.e. neither was Radiohead’s “Kid A” or John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” – good company for sure…), this deserves more than a 2 – so surprisingly for me even, this clocks in as a solid 3…
This felt too eccentric even for me. I felt as if I was listening to the mind of a madman, or something straight out of Alice in Wonderland. This is where I feel more experimental genres go from boundary pushing to just incomprehensible. Not a pleasant listen, and not much going on
Great! 4 stars
It starts off promising. Interesting Jazz-fusion sound that is sometimes beautiful and generally chill and quite charming. The first half was easy to listen to. The album slowly degrades into a journey of progressive experimentation strangeness, with endless noodling and just plain weird stuff going on. Difficult listen towards the end and was relieved when it was over.
A perplexing yet revealing look into the singular creative mind pf Robert Wyatt. Ends brilliantly, too
Eh this was ok probably wouldn’t listen again.
First listen to this musician.
So weird
Hard to express my feelings on this album, but I truly adore it. So mysterious, otherworldly, unnerving, disturbing, enchanting, transcendental. It treads ground that no mortal man was meant to explore. Somehow I feel that what's great about this album is similar to what makes Moby Dick so great. A fascination with and reverence for the unknowable depths of both the sea and of the soul. I'm not very eloquent so I'll just leave this quote from the novel that is just one of the most fantastic passages I've ever read: "The sea had leeringly kept his finite body up, but drowned the infinite of his soul. Not drowned entirely, though. Rather carried down alive to wondrous depths, where strange shapes of the unwarped primal world glided to and fro before his passive eyes; and the miser-merman, Wisdom, revealed his hoarded heaps; and among the joyous, heartless, ever-juvenile eternities, Pip saw the multitudinous, God-omnipresent, coral insects, that out of the firmament of waters heaved the colossal orbs. He saw God’s foot upon the treadle of the loom, and spoke it; and therefore his shipmates called him mad. So man’s insanity is heaven’s sense; and wandering from all mortal reason, man comes at last to that celestial thought, which, to reason, is absurd and frantic; and weal or woe, feels then uncompromised, indifferent as his God."
Weird. Pretty sure one of the last songs was a gaggle of geese talking to a hunter or farmer? The story behind the album is quite interesting, I just couldn’t get on board with it. Yet, somehow this felt ahead of its time and influencer of music to come. I can appreciate that, I just didn’t enjoy it.
Rock Bottom is the second solo album by former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt, originally released in 1974. June 1, 1973 would be a date that changed Robert Wyatt's life forever. During a late night party, an inebriated Wyatt would fall out of a 4 story window. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. Spending time in the hospital allowed Wyatt to explore musical ideas for a solo album. Pink Floyd were very involved throughout Wyatt's recovery, even throwing a benefit concert while he was still in the hospital. This record would be produced by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason. The record is characterized by spacious soundscapes and introspective lyrics. It's really a glimpse into Wyatt's mind at the time, which was undoubtedly filled with dark thoughts. I mean he was truly at "rock bottom" trying to recover from a life changing injury. The songs are synth-heavy but in a psychedelic way, which I dig. There's even some free jazz influence at times. The perfect amount of weirdness. This album fascinates me and I truly believe it is one of my best discoveries from working through this list.
Didn’t mind this but a bit too prog for my tastes, and the backwards track didn’t really add anything,
This is a mess. The vocals sound reluctant. It's not exactly structured songwriting. I don't think that was the idea. It descends to nursery rhymes at the end. Ivor Cutler comes close to saving it.
Difficult listening from an artist who maybe is less concerned with the audience's feelings than his expression, who was experiencing a real crisis in his life. Mad respect for this output, but it's not a "fun" record. It does take concentration and patience.
Interesting music. Not bad.
Not good. The worst of psychedelic art/prog nonsense. It's what I assume a bad acid trip is like. What's with the backward tracks? I had a hard time listening to it forward. 1.5
first to songs were not rubbing me the right way but did get better done think that I would listen again
A little too avante garde.
This is really a 3.5 stars. Some super-fun prog. Some less-fun meandering, though still interesting.
Hated his voice
Yo. Wtf? Yes.
Took a little bit to get into but I listened 3 times. Godspeed You! Black Radiohead
One of the more confusing listens on the list so far, I had to give it another listen the next morning, to fully digest it. That said this is a borderline masterpiece, just from the music alone you can tell there's a lot of pain behind the songwriting, and as it turns out Robert Wyatt got permanently paralysed. I can see why people don't like this, it feels amateurish at times, and a bit too avant-garde at others, but when it comes together (Sea Song, Alifib suite) its perfect, and unlike anything else.
Hij is beter bij softmachine
1 nummer heeft ervoor gezorgd dat dit net geen 1 is
Art rock that I just could not get into. Reminded me of A cross between avant garde Bowie and John Frusciante’s first album.
Not sure what I am listening to
a very... interesting album indeed. peculiar ambient soundscapes, strange dissonant instrument ensembles, a whole bunch of tracks that just make you go... huh? i'm sorry, this is like actually avant-garde. i can't deal with the squawking horns for that long. seriously, what? it starts decently enough though.
At several points in the album, it sounded like they recorded a bunch of instruments falling down the stairs. Those moments were the highlights.
Album title fits the album perfectly. Because this is utter doo doo. Rock bottom indeed. 1/5
This sounds like if a Ska band tried to make a radiohead album. You can tell this guy is drawing from the same well as Pink Floyd and other BritProg from the time but the kookiness weighs it down over and over.
Second day in a row of something too ~artsy fartsy~ for me.
OI LOIKE YEW MOSTLY LATE AT NOIGHT A BWA BWA BWA BWA WA WA WA WA WAAA This would be a lot better without the vocals. He's not a particularly good singer and the lyrics, when you can understand them (and they're played forward instead of reverse) are pretty dumb. The instrumentation is good, and as much as the keys wander in some songs they do form a cohesive pattern eventually, which is satisfying when it ultimately gets to that point. I listened to this at work and kinda regretted it. I feel like I should be laying down and highly medicated to "get" it, and I'll probably do that at some point, skipping some obvious parts. One listen really isn't enough, kinda like hearing "Music For Airports" by Brian Eno, which is one of my favorite albums, and I didn't really like the first time I heard it. That's probably not a coincidence since Wyatt is credited on at least one track there. Anyway I'm saying too much about an album that is 6 tracks, 3.5+ of which are mostly unlistenable squeals and rambling repeated lyrics about nothing in various British accents. The first “Little Red" track and "Alifib" are things I'll revisit. The rest couldn’t even be saved by bong hits unfortunately.
Another weird messy album. Worse than yesterday.
space jazz? improvisational psychedelia? weird but good? Like early Pink Floyd
Sad
Interesting? Lyrics didn’t mean much to me, but a unique vibe, constant tuning but attuned.
I guess this joke must have been done a billion times, but this album was certainly the embodiment of rock bottom. It started off really bad with the first song and it's atonal quirks and overall... not good things. Then I noticed on Spotify that it was the most listened-to song of the album. Yikes. It got worse pretty fast after that, with 'Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road' and 'Alfie' probably being the epitome of badness. There are just so many elements that are out of key etc. which makes it very unpleasant to listen to. And the songs drag on forever as well... blah. You have to give him some props for trying out something different, but it didn't work out at all. Or maybe it's the genre, I don't know. Definitely one of the weakest albums on the list so far. And it's a bit frustrating as well, because you can hear that he's a quite capable singer, he just chooses to make it bad like this. Makes you wonder what could've been if it was different.
Psychadelic noodlnig. I just don't get it. I mean it's different and all, so props for trying but just not something i could get into. I feel some 1 star albums are just bad or bland this was just weird and not something i enjoyed.
"I can't forsake you or forsqueak you" the fuck is bro on about
At first I thought that it was a bit mad. However after reading Robert Wyatt’s story of how he got drunk, fell out of a 4 story window, lost the use of his legs and worked on some songs whilst “in a trance” at hospital, I get it. It’s certainly experimental and Wyatt doesn’t have the most incredible singing voice, but the album links with the personal story which makes it rather poignant. Music ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lyrics ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Vocals ⭐️⭐️ Update: I’m now listening to “Alife” and I take it all back. This is now moving into the realms of poor music. When I started this I vowed to complete each album. This is a chore. Ok I got to the end. It’s not for me. It might be for some people, but it’s not for me.
Well, there is a reason that 99.9% of the US has never heard of Robert Wyatt and I wish I was still in the majority.
Áhugavert. Slatta progg með ýmsum tilþrifum. Mun hlusta aftur.
Not really sure about this album. Best track IMHO is little red ridinghood. Might be worth another listen at some stage
nick mason momentti, momentuaalinen hetki... valitettavasti vihaan ehkä jokaista asiaa tässä. paskainen keihäänkärki on tällä kertaa vokaalit, jotka mikälien alueen englanninaksentti amplifioi saamaani nautintomuutta mitä herran kimisevä huhuseva lauluääni jo valmiiksi tuottaa.. musiikki ei ole millään tavalla kiinnostavaa, eksperimentaalista, ja valitut äänet tuunaukset fiilikset wibat mitä instrumenteista lähtee ovat enemmän ärsyttäviä kuin tyydyttäviä.. kaheli partamies...... nick mason nick mason nick mason nick mason nick mason nick mason nick mason nick mason nick mason paras ihminen ehkä historiassa mutta legendat, sankaritkin välillä mukana jossain turhassa. hyvä metatarina tämän takana, koskettava, mutta musiikki on tässä vaan paskaa vaikka olen antanut monelle kummastukselle niitä korkeita arvosanoja a last straw
I had never heard of Robert Wyatt before. The proximity to art rock is unmistakable. And so much of the album reminds me of Genesis or Pink Floyd. Unfortunately, the album didn't convince me enough to be completely enthusiastic. But Robert Wyatt and his album will definitely get a second chance. 3/5
I would love to meet the individual that gives this a 5 star rating because holy shit this was some weird stuff. Not really sure how it’s music but it apparently is. Don’t have much to say other than it was pretty weird. 1.8/10
Wouf, pas le meilleur sur la liste des albums mous
This is quirky out of the gate. Sea Song taps into some more "proggy" influences, especially toward the back half with the wandering synth lines that remind of ELP. I'm enjoying Little Red Riding Hood a lot -- the wandering trumpet work reminds me vaguely of Cuong Vu [https://cuongvu.bandcamp.com/album/its-mostly-residual]. Song has a disorienting atmosphere. Partly owing to the buried chaos of the trumpet, but amplified by the reverse looping and inverted vocal sections. This is an absolute trip. I enjoyed this one. Don't have much to say other than that. This is a weakish 4 for me.
Well someone dropped acid and thought they made a good album. When they sobered up I guess they still thought they should put it out in the world. 1.5 stars. only because some of the instrumentals aren't terrible but I hated this album.
Feels like the whole first song is offbeat. Math rock, perchance???? waawaawaaaaawawawaaawaaaWAAWAA Kinda weird, some bright spots, but also some scratchy bad tuneage in there.
Very interesting song structures thats for sure. In the first Little Red Riding Hood the horns and drum tapping were really cool. The whispering of Alifib the whole time in Alifib was spooky. This album confused my brain it was so random, but strangely extremely enjoyable. It was like the weirdest parts of The Beatles and Pink Floyd mixed together.
This dude british af. This is also spacey af. I honestly can't really tell you if I liked this or not. It was an interesting listen and seemed pretty loose psychedelic wise. Reminded me of some earlier Pink Floyd a bit at some parts. Overall weird low 3. Also read that \"Wyatting\" is a thing where people put on obscure songs on the jukebox at bars. This is awesome and reminds me of putting 20 min Gizz songs on at Stan's.
You're kidding, another Robert Wyatt album?! This sounds like something a kid would make when using a piano for the first time. "You just don't get it man, real music is arrhythmic, aimless, and a-tonal." Fuck off.
when i got shleep on here a couple weeks ago, i figured that Robert wyatt's voice must have changed as he aged, or he was doing a little late career experimentation or something. apparently, no, he's just been rocking with this god awful vocal style the whole damn time
Kinda quirky, mostly chill
Almost unlistenable. Parts of this (large parts) are barely music to my ears. It feels deliberately unapproachable.
This is way ahead of its time for 1974. This is in a good way.
I can definitely hear that inspirations for Radiohead.
You can die without listening to this album... Actually you'll feel like dying while listening to it...
This was pretty bad. Rock Bottom is a pretty fitting name
A little too weird.
just because an album is weird and inaccessible doesn’t mean that it’s brilliant. case in point, an album previously reviewed for this challenge, captain beefheart’s trout mask replica. oof. i would certainly say that this album definitely falls into that category as well. many songs do not seem to carry a distinct rhythm or melody and the singer can’t carry a tune. it’s a dumpster fire of an album, but at least it clocks in under 40 minutes.
What is this and why do I have to listen to it?
Interesting and experimental for it's time, but I prefer the other Robert's albums more
Gear: Fostex TH610 Artwork: Regal-taugliche Bleistift-Kritzelei Mix: kränkliche Vocals, blecherne Oberflächlichkeit, für einen gelernten Drummer sind die wirklich kläglich untergebracht - abgesehen von Percussion in "Alife" Musik: wirklich interessante Ideen - in der ersten Hälfte wirklich schwach rübergebracht. !gitraßorg dnu -giznie hcilkriw driw dnu ttelpmok lamhcon reba mublA sad hcis therd etfläH netiewz red nI Wertung: 🦀🦀🦀/5
Art rock. canterbury scene. Al final un poco rollo, un poco sinsentido. Pero bueno.
I really like Soft Machine, Wyatt's former band at this point, but I couldn't really get into this album. Some of the music was interesting but overall I was disappointed by it.
I guess it was interesting. It wasn’t enjoyable to me but it wasn’t “bad” and maybe for the time it was bold.
He was definitely going for something. I don't know what that is and I didn't like it.
Didn't like this one at all. Not sure what I'm supposed to get from it, or how it was supposed to do anything but annoy me.
This was perhaps worth listening to for a few music lovers when the album was released, typical 70s arrangements paired with bad vocals. But I don't want to listen to that in the year 2024. That's why this is a top 10 album of the 1001 albums that are no longer worth listening to.
Disco difícil pero genial.
Not good.
Far out. The second song reminded me a bit of The Shins and was my fave on the album but overall I don’t think I would listen again.
I got a headache while listening to it. Was it the album's fault? Maybe not entirely, but I wasn't digging it.
Genre: Art rock, Canterbury scene, progressive rock, psychedelic rock Very interesting sounds. Definitely worth listening to. Never heard of him before this list. 3.5
I get that people need to experiment and this wasn't terrible. But it really wasn't something I ever needed to listen to ever again.
I don’t really know what this was supposed to be but I enjoyed it
Albums like this is what I come here for. Never heard of the artist or the album and at first I found it simply strange, but intriguing. And with every run this keeps getting better and more clear and beautiful. I love music like this, because it can grow on me and I will definitely revisit this.
Leaning a bit more towards liking it than not now:)
sounds decent but is just noodling and not very interesting noodling
I very rarely rate things 1 star based on the music alone. But this is a bad album. And Jethro Tull already did folksy prog - and better.
3.5/5. Not my cup of tea but the circumstances to get this album made is wild, dude ended up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life after falling out of a window while shitfaced.
Not my cup of tea. Little too avant garde. 1.5/5
Not likely to be everyone's cup of tea, worked very well for me, and the ear cleanser I needed after the stream of poor offerings.
Helps to understand the context of this album on the first listen.
I liked it. You should give it a listen.
Nah. This ain't it.
I've tried with Wyatt, and I'll try again but this is painful stuff.
Robert Wyatt’s magnum opus is a psychedelic progressive folk masterpiece; a delicate oddity; chilling and beautiful. Simply put, Rock Bottom is a stone cold stunner
It's weird, but it sound as if it's only weird because it's all he can do, not because he's creative.
Bizarre album, quite jazzy.
Not an easy one to take in during 24 hours. I had heard this before having tracked it down for the original version of "Sea Song" as covered by The Unthanks. I really like that as a starter on this album though it does drone on too long. The rest of the album is less melodic and between the atonal wheezy synths and Robert's nasal whine this can be quite grating if you aren't in the mood. I have to say though I like it anyway, it sounds like it has come from a very dark period in his life (which it did), and it's very original. Probably not essential but worth a listen again just to appreciate the variety of music in the 1970s. Also a great album for apparently annoying reviewers on here who think music is good or bad depending on which genre they decide it's in. A spooky wonky and slightly disturbing album of droning tunes that make you worry for the artist's and possibly your own mental health. Definitely an odd one, but not without merit. Also if you think this is too weird, for god's sake don't listen to any of his other stuff.
I'm not familiar with this artist at all. Interesting mixture of synth and acoustic instruments. Not crazy about Robert's voice, but the lyrics are interesting. Weird soloing with LOTS of dissonant chords and rambling sequences, like he's looking for the correct notes to hit. Some of the lyrical choices, the long sequences of odd 'wah-wahs' definitely rubbed me the wrong way at times and drops this down a bit. An interesting listen, but not my favorite. 2/5
bit of an experimental sentimental mess
Pretty rock bottom but not completely like the other that is bottom!
Now I like weird music, but this manages to be weird and boring at the same time.
Interesting
An obscene amount of noise
8.5/10 Amazing discovery. Highlights: Alife Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road
What is it? Jazz? Folk? Singer-songwriter? I have decided that I can't really get with John Martyn, but Robert Wyatt just has something that means he is always listenable. If you like you like.
Noch ein Album, das für mich zu viel mit freien Disharmonien spielt.
I didn't get it. Good for him for continuing to make music after a life altering accident....so yeah. Not for me.
This guy can't sing. and im glad I had some data analysis to distract me through this, because it was a chore to listen to.
Oh my. I like a bit of prog rock in the right circumstance, but this sort of bollocks just proves why the Sex Pistols were so damned important. Horrible album. Really unpleasant.
It took me a few listens until I started to get it. This isn't a pop album. You couldn't dance or rock out to this album. Instead, we have a listening experience that requires you to relax, close your eyes, and wonder in the musical landscape that is compared best to ambient pieces of the period like Brian Eno and Mike Oldfield (from Tubular Bells, who plays guitar here). Robert Wyatt is a former member of Soft Machine, the biggest band (alongside Gong) from the Canterbury scene which consisted of a form of prog rock that heavily incorporated avant-garde jazz, psychedelia, and long drawn out jam improv. I previously reviewed Soft Machine's Third and found it grating and shit quality. I also reviewed Wyatt's 90s solo Shleep and found it to be a very fine record. Compared to Shleep, this is less accessible but also more coherent and constructed. The pieces work better collectively, feeling more satisfying, emotional, and thought-out. This is one I'm sure we'll grow with time. Every track has its purpose and warrants its length and track position. I like the reoccurring themes with how certain tracks mesh together. Nothing ever felt too excessive like with his Soft Machine work. This feels very mature and careful to do what it does well. I may not fall in love with it, but I see no reason not to give this a perfect score.
Okay. The Robin Hood songs are the best.
beatles
Idc
That was some complex weird shit. Not my cup of tea
This is not music, this is torture
Really loved the last half of this album, but the first half was a bit too messy.
Very weird but somehow also quite nice
I understand that Robert Wyatt was really going through a difficult time in his life when he recorded this. He had just had a horrible accident that left him partially paralyzed. The album is titled “Rock Bottom” for a reason. It plays like an early Pink Floyd album (with Nick Mason producing, even) but with none of the humor or charm. This is a sad album. I can appreciate this as a piece of art that conveys one man’s personal and complex emotional state. But as an album? It’s a tough listen. Not just because of the sounds themselves, but the meaning behind them. It’s chaotic at times, repetitive at times, and always keeping you on edge. But not in the fun and exciting way. Did I enjoy my time with this album? I don’t know if someone can “enjoy” someone else’s pain in the way you “enjoy” a great album. I appreciate this for what it is but I’m not going to sit here and say I enjoyed it. 3 stars. Standout tracks (if there has to be one): A Last Straw
Garbage
Had weird lyrics kinda
No.
This truly is a rock bottom for me
Música estranha para gente esquisita. Inglês. Produtor do disco é o baterista do pink floyd. Progressivo, com uma mistura de ritmos. Experimentaçao musical. Melodia lembra David Bowie. Na minha opinião irrelevante musicalmente para atualidade. Não vou ouvir novamente!
certainly took me on a journey. At first vocals put me off, then considered them another instrument amongst the cacophony. Enjoyed would only relisten when super in the mood 4.3
When the sound poetry started mixing with q children's bike horn, my soul left my body.
"Partly fish, Partly porpoise, Partly baby sperm whale, Am I yours?" Wonderfully weird and dreamlike. Amusingly bizarre but heartfelt lyrics, backwards vocals, cool instrumentation. I love it and will have to check out more Robert Wyatt. Rating: 4.5/5 Playlist track: Sea Song Date listened: 25/03/24
Answers the age-old question “What if Peter Gabriel sucked?”
This ripped! It sounds a lot like progressive rock albums from the same era like CAN and Faust and Genesis and Pink Floyd but it’s more of a rock/pop/jazz genre fusion than any of these other albums. Very unique and very good. Had me zoned in at the PC absolutely tearing through work, writing emails at an impressive clip
Ez 2. Nothing really great about the album but the last song kind of ripped for me.
Another album I cannot really label or categorize easily. Very ambient and experimental. I found this recording a little more to my liking than other experimental styles probably because I heard elements of jazz in the music. The lyrics were very difficult to interpret.
Robert Wyatt again? Yeah the last one was weird and rubbish seems like this one is too.. Few tracks I. Hmm some of this sounds alright? Oh. No it's just quieter, and by contrast less annoying.
Can't deal. He has such a weaselly little voice. Thumbs down.
Don’t hug me I’m crying AH MUSIC, shit gave me schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. Definitely Rock Bottom. First song was kinda good tho.
Pa escucharla bien mariwano bien bateao, si no... Puede ser una experiencia algo extraña. Me gustó en realidad. 7/10
I'm exactly high enough for this
#163. This album kinda just sucks, doesn't it? 1/5: thankfully short Song added to playlist: A Last Straw I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link
Sucks about this guy's legs but this wasn't very good
This album was alright. The final song was especially good. Many of the tracks are a bit forgettable but I want to keep trying the listen to this one. 3.3/5 -> 3/5.
Not bad
Robert Wyatt is good but I don’t like his music very much. This one was very light and ethereal.
Weirdness
What in the ever living fuck is this. This might just be the worst I album I have been given yet. 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 fucking 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. This album truly is music at its rock bottom.
01) Sea Song - 5,5 02) A Last Straw - 5,0 03) Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road - 4,0 04) Alifib - 5,5 05) Alifie - 3,5 06) Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road - 4,0 TOTAL: 4,58 (46/100) Ok, the music is slower and his way of singing is special. Like Radiohead before Radiohead. But what I found annoying are his "wahwahwahwah" wailings in almost every song so far. It's irritating. The music is in places almost dissonant. It's like bad jazz. And I hate jazz. Is song number 3 starting to be played backward halfway through? It's like I entered the red room in Twin Peaks. Song number 4 is kind of tolerable from the middle to the end. And what the hell are those noises at the beginning of the song number 5? Like someone is cleaning windows... OK, this one was the final nail in its coffin. It's a ★ for me. I don't think song number 6 can save this. Is this Mike Oldfield on guitar? Oh, yes it is, I'm good :-) But the song is not. Bye Felicia!
The intro to the first song had me hopeful...but my hopes were dashed quickly. What even was this? Experimental prog? No, thank you. This album would have been much better either with a different vocalist, or none at all. 3 for the music, 1 for the singing =2
Börjar lite trevande men växer ju längre man kommer på albumet.
why
skemmtilegt. er orðinn gamall. 4.
I deserve something for listening to that. Wish I could vote lower.
Did not enjoy this one very much - too many vocalizations and strange melodies.
The people who recommended to push past the first two songs were 100% right! I was not feeling Rock Bottom at all but by the end of the album I was in love with Robert Wyatt. It has a very… Pink Floyd/Radiohead/Prog Rock vibe; I can’t believe his work is not more well known. I’m excited to dig into Wyatt’s backlog and check out his collabs with Brian Eno and the rest of his albums :)
This was... weird
I usually like to play devil’s advocate for the lower-rated LPs on the project, but this one won’t be getting my support. Had a bad morning and this album only made it worse, going from an okay dreamy ambling to a misguided attempt at harmonic noise music. The incessant horns and nonsensical vocals grated on my patience, and I am struggling to see any artistic meaning in such truly awful composition (or simple juxtaposition) of noise here.
Um homem deprimido e apaixonado. Aparentemente ele criou parte do álbum enquanto estava hospitalizado depois de cair, bêbado, de uma janela do quarto andar e ficar paraplégico. Pensei em desistir no começo, mas quando vi eram 39 min só, insisti. As duas primeiras músicas são a descida pro fundo do mar e depois é uma festa lá embaixo! Percussão deliciosa em vários momentos. As letra são delírios. A voz dele é horrorosa, mas ele a ama a esposa. Tratei esse álbum como um filme. Talvez eu não o ouça de novo, mas foi bom conhecer esse senhor gordinho barbudo que parece que poderia escrever peças de comédia. 4.5 estrelas.
Did he fall? Or did they push? Jazz-folk-foodeli Fook rite off.
My goodness this is bad. Frequently dissonant music accompanying vocals that range from terrible to truly awful. I'd like to say its creativity and originality kept me listening to the end, but it was my OCD, the basic pursuitist nature of my personality, and my dedication to this project.
long self-indulgent tracks of garbage
I hope I never hear this album again. Sounds like music made by people mid crazy acid trip for others on a peak acid trip. Unfortunately I am sober, and really struggled to appreciate it Some occasional cool jazz sections which have given it a slightly higher score. No stand out songs because
I normally like like weird. I mean most people tell me I love weird music. But not this. I do not know what is appealing about this, I normally like this sound in fact it is one of my favourites but it is like he just tried to butcher it at every chance. His voice is awful just because it's British doesn't make it good. The constant use of what I can assume is a voice changing thing going wa wa wa is dreadful. This came out the same year Kraftwerk released Autobahn and I feel bad for any English people who had to do with this Avant-Garde instead of Kraftwerk. This is one of the highest rated albums on RYM and usually I liken myself to these people and often agree but I just can't here. Going to have to be 1 star for the bad mood it put me in.
I didn’t expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. I really love the first song. It’s what I image someone to write if they are not a musician, but is really good at following their ear. The chord progression doesn’t really make sense at first, but then you realize there is an actual journey happening. The rest of the album just sound like someone used music as their playground to make something that felt good to them. Though it is very alternative, most of it makes sense without even having a obvious plot to follow.
So after listening to the first song….I thought maybe I might really like this. And then it just got bizarre and while I can hear the musicality in it. It’s not like listening to a Jazz album. It’s a mishmash of stuff that occasionally has something interesting. I will likely not be listening to this again.
3 stars
Nope found this one a pretty painful listen, prog rock is hard for me at the best of times, but the vocals on this make it a bit unbearable.
This was actually really good, fresh and current.
It’d be average psychedelic rock with a capable singer…but this poor fella’s voice and enunciation…fingernails on a chalkboard.
Gave it a few tries but even as a Radiohead-fan I can´t get used to this. I really can´t stand this vocals and had to rate it down further just because of the voice.
What a beautiful album. The baby talk love songs to his wife are wonderful. They’re so tender and reassuring. The music is noodling, but everyone involved is pulling in the same direction. Ivor Cutler is doing the spoken word parts at the end of each side. (Ivor Cutler was a comedy/folk singer who doesn’t have an album on the list, but he recorded 20 Peel sessions, more than any other artist except The Fall).
Idiosyncratic, compelling and unusual, Wyatt really carves out a niche of his own here and messes with form and structure and composition.
Absolute drivel. If this had been the first album on the list I'd have given up on this project immediately
It’s shit
I'm feeling a 2.5. I think if I cared enough to listen to this more, I might grow to kind of vibe with it.
This album was dull at times, weird and interesting at times. It also has an interesting background story, not that such things should be terribly important to my rating of the album. It was really hard to know what to think about this, but overall I think it's really good 4/5
Quessé que jviens d'écouter ? Confusion x1000
I’m surprised I’ve never heard of this guy until now. I’m not sure where to go with this after one listen, I need more time with it to give it a fair evaluation. Definitely caught my attention but I need to dissect it some more. Sounds like a soundtrack for a nightmare , a horror house, or a descent into madness. One thing for sure is its one of a kind. I’m going with a 4 for now for creeping me out.
Although I liked the Psychadelic music era and Pink Floyd, this album really didn’t do much for me, not sure why it was selected???
No
Too many choices made about timbre that grated my ears for me to ever want to listen again
art rock of this caliber is an automatic 10/10 for me
Gentle nerd art rock that maybe I do want.
This one is hard for me to rate. While I appreciate the artistry, it's not something I would listen to again unless I was super high, or on shrooms. I'd probably enjoy it much more than.
At first, I thought this album was a little too proggy for my taste. As it went along, though, I got won over. The album is so strange and quirky that I haven’t very engaged with it. At times, it’s a bit of a challenging listen, but I found it to be rewarding.
Mais um acústico sem relevância para mim.
70s radiohead Very interesting and super well written but i don't love it 3.5/5
Interesting. In a good way. I think. Fragile, but I’m not sure if it’s fragile like the first snow flake of the winter or fragile like the exhaust of a Fiesta XR2i that is held on by 12 month old gaffer tape. Definitely in the “glad I’ve listened to it” category whilst also being firmly in the “not sure I actually enjoyed it” slot.
"art rock", kinda spooky feeling
o . o . o . o
Probably the most ridiculous album I’ve ever heard.
Quite possibly the weirdest thing I ever listened to. Possibly some context required: I listened to this while walking to Old Trafford in a crowd of around 70,000 people, very aware that while other people were chatting, drinking, chanting and so on, I was listening to Robert Wyatt have a bit of a breakdown. I read the backstory to this album, and it's so interesting, but quite often it just sounds like the other Wyatt album I've had - a singer singing a different song to the backing. It's got some lovely bits and pieces on it, and some that are laugh out loud funny. I'd recommend it to someone. But not necessarily someone I liked very much.
Wow. Nobody can play the squeaky balloon quite like Robert! Honestly, I can think of a lot of different albums I would rather have listened to instead of this.
4.5
Awright