Album: Rock Bottom
Artist: Robert Wyatt
Born: Bristol
Released: July 1974
Genre: Psychedelic Jazz
Influenced: Brian Eno, Scritti Politti, Talk Talk, Everything But The Girl, Radiohead
Even more than Kate Bush or David Bowie, Robert Wyatt is a distinctively English musical original. On this album, Wyatt also managed to recruit one of Scotland's true eccentrics, Ivor Cutler, to perform an inspired cameo. Wyatt's music is not easy to describe, though jazz is probably the most important element in his sound; his heroes growing up were Miles Davis and Gil Evans. To his Dad's despair, he decided to take up the trumpet rather than a more classical instrument like the violin or piano. Wyatt was childhood friends with Kevin Ayers, a fellow "long hair" in conservative East Kent, and their partnership would form the basis of Wilde Flowers and later Soft Machine. Ayers' brilliant sense of melody and songwriting and Wyatt's unorthodox drumming and approach to composition combined to produce a completely unique sound, something that was never really captured properly on record and which has been unfairly lumped in with "prog rock". Both Ayers and Wyatt would find a truer and more complete expression of their creativity as solo artists. Wyatt's life was also completely upturned by an accident in summer 1973, when he fell out of a fourth floor window at a party and broke his back, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. Rock Bottom was his response.
Soft Machine's connections with Pink Floyd helped Wyatt in two very obvious ways: first raising money for him after the accident with a charity concert and second by the support of Nick Mason, who produced Rock Bottom. Wyatt wrote much of the material in Venice while his new wife Alfie worked as the assistant editor on the classic 1974 horror film, Don't Look Now. Alfie also created the artwork for Wyatt's solo albums from Rock Bottom onwards. She would be honoured on this album with the ambient jazz of Alife, in which Wyatt's disjointed tribute gets a direct rebuke from his wife ("I'm not your larder / I'm your dear little dolly"). Alife and Alifib work together as a whole, the latter a more accomplished musical achievement, with Wyatt's percussive breathing weaving with Hugh Hopper's electric bass to produce a stunningly original sound. The vulnerability in Wyatt's singing voice, a trait that would come to define his sound over the years on brilliant releases like Shipbuilding, gives the end of Alifib real emotional depth. Sea Song and Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road are also highlights on the album. There's an otherworldly sound to Sea Song and the lyrics celebrate a redemptive love ("Your madness fits in nicely with my own"), while Little Red Riding is full of brilliant trumpet squawks and tape loops. The album closes with Mike Oldfield on guitar and Ivor Cutler reciting some absurdist Wyatt poetry, a feat that would launch Cutler's own musical career. Originality of this order is a real rarity.
Even more than Kate Bush or David Bowie, Robert Wyatt is a distinctively English musical original. On this album, Wyatt also managed to recruit one of Scotland's true eccentrics, Ivor Cutler, to perform an inspired cameo. Wyatt's music is not easy to describe, though jazz is probably the most important element in his sound; his heroes growing up were Miles Davis and Gil Evans. To his Dad's despair, he decided to take up the trumpet rather than a more classical instrument like the violin or piano. Wyatt was childhood friends with Kevin Ayers, a fellow "long hair" in conservative East Kent, and their partnership would form the basis of Wilde Flowers and later Soft Machine. Ayers' brilliant sense of melody and songwriting and Wyatt's unorthodox drumming and approach to composition combined to produce a completely unique sound, something that was never really captured properly on record and which has been unfairly lumped in with "prog rock". Both Ayers and Wyatt would find a truer and more complete expression of their creativity as solo artists. Wyatt's life was also completely upturned by an accident in summer 1973, when he fell out of a fourth floor window at a party and broke his back, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. Rock Bottom was his response.
Soft Machine's connections with Pink Floyd helped Wyatt in two very obvious ways: first raising money for him after the accident with a charity concert and second by the support of Nick Mason, who produced Rock Bottom. Wyatt wrote much of the material in Venice while his new wife Alfie worked as the assistant editor on the classic 1974 horror film, Don't Look Now. Alfie also created the artwork for Wyatt's solo albums from Rock Bottom onwards. She would be honoured on this album with the ambient jazz of Alife, in which Wyatt's disjointed tribute gets a direct rebuke from his wife ("I'm not your larder / I'm your dear little dolly"). Alife and Alifib work together as a whole, the latter a more accomplished musical achievement, with Wyatt's percussive breathing weaving with Hugh Hopper's electric bass to produce a stunningly original sound. The vulnerability in Wyatt's singing voice, a trait that would come to define his sound over the years on brilliant releases like Shipbuilding, gives the end of Alifib real emotional depth. Sea Song and Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road are also highlights on the album. There's an otherworldly sound to Sea Song and the lyrics celebrate a redemptive love ("Your madness fits in nicely with my own"), while Little Red Riding is full of brilliant trumpet squawks and tape loops. The album closes with Mike Oldfield on guitar and Ivor Cutler reciting some absurdist Wyatt poetry, a feat that would launch Cutler's own musical career. Originality of this order is a real rarity.
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