Robert Wyatt was a founding member of both Matching Mole and Soft Machine, which were both bands that were influential in both the Canterbury and progressive rock scenes. After an accident in which Wyatt fell out a window, Wyatt was left as a paraplegic and had to leave the band work behind. He soon began a career as a solo artist hat lasted until 2014 when he officially retired. This album, Rock Bottom (1974), is the first album from Wyatt after the accident, and was produced by Pink Floyd’s drummer, Nick Mason. The album was well-received upon its release, and peaked at #13 on the Billboard FM Action charts in 1975. I’m pretty stoked to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Sea Song” starts out with a mixture of flavorful synths and juicy piano set to a spacious beat that reminds me of the stylings of David Byrne and Brian Eno. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track so far. There’s a sort of darkness to the melody in the instrumentation, which is contrasted nicely by the light timbre of the vocals from Wyatt. Wyatt’s vocals really lean into his accent as well, providing yet another layer to the soundscape. Holy smokes, the piano builds up with the synths really nicely. Oh wow, a somewhat spooky background chorus accompanied by another layer of synths provides an almost ghost-like feel to the track. Oh wow, the vocal melody from Wyatt doesn’t have any words at this point, but has a ton of feeling that almost reminds me of an art rock version of Pink Floyd’s “The Great Gig in the Sky” when combined with the synth-filled backdrop. Great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
“A Last Straw” starts out with a smooth bass line and some light cymbals, and is soon also joined by a piano, which all give the soundscape a very jazz-like feel. Oh wow, some synths come in pretty shortly after the piano and almost provide an outer-space feel to the jazz-sounding beginning. I’m really digging the soundscape at the moment; the sound is like a laid-back jazz infused art rock style that I’m really digging. Oh wow, Wyatt has a vocal melody of sorts with no lyrics that continually builds tension and takes the tune into nearly psychedelic territory. Holy smokes, as the lyric-less vocal jam/segment ends, the tune drops back into place and releases a ton of tension. Oh wow, the soundscape gets super sweet as the track continues, becoming nearly ethereal in the process. Oh wow, I really dig the outro. Great tune.
Holy smokes, “Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road” starts out with a sort of syncopated orchestra of horns combined with piano that reverberates throughout the soundscape. Oh wow, the bongos/congas for the percussion provides a really light and super groovy rhythm to the track, and complements the sort of chugging style from the drum kit really nicely. Holy smokes, the tune has gotten into a super sweet groove, with the vocals reminding me a fair deal of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” with the layered harmonization sound. Holy smokes, there’s some reversed percussion in the track at this point, and the track has picked up a sizable amount of psychedelia with what sounds to be a sort of orchestrated chaos. Holy smokes, the bass line in the track seems to fade into focus as the piano and drums fade away, and somehow dials up the flavor in the track even higher. Awesome track.
“Alifib” starts out with what sounds to be some heavy breathing in an almost percussive manner, which is soon joined by some really interesting synths. Holy smokes, there’s an electric guitar with a really groovy, almost punchy sound that seems nearly hypnotizing to me, as the solo-esque art rock/jazz fusion style keeps me listening closer and closer. The track keeps giving more and more. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Alife” picks things up right off of the heels of the previous track, and immediately adds an air of tension to the soundscape with some dissonant synths and some building congas/bongos. Oh wow, there’s someone basically narrating the track, and a really interesting saxophone that squeals into the soundscape, and sounds nearly like nails on a chalkboard at times. Oh wow, the track seems to continue building on itself, and seems to be gradually resolving the dissonances and tension as the synths become a bit more harmonious and the saxophone is hitting some smoother notes at the moment. Oh wow, tension seems to gradually be building up again with the saxophone being pushed to the limits while the piano adds some dissonance and the percussion gradually increases in intensity. The progression of sound in the past few songs almost reminds me of some sort of horror/thriller movie. Great track.
Oh wow, “Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road” starts out with some really groovy synths and some marching percussion. Oh wow, the track is getting into some pretty far out psychedelic territory as things seem to be gradually wrapping up. Holy smokes, the soundscape sweetens up a ton and takes the form of an old British folk song with the baritone concertina and what sounds to be a violin, which drone into the soundscape as a very thick Scottish or English accented speaker narrates the final parts of the track. Super sweet tune and a really interesting way to finish the album.
Wow, this album is super interesting. There’s a ton of different flavors and a whole bunch of music packed into these six tracks during the 40 minute runtime of the album. I was really reminded a lot of the art rock stylings David Byrne and Brian Eno, with the addition of some jazz and psychedelic elements that were part of the Canterbury scene, and a progression of music that seemed to show the progressive rock roots that Robert Wyatt has. If you’re into art rock and/or progressive rock from the early 1970s, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A