Rock
Bottom (1974)
Brilliant album of soothing,
eerie and experimental music from the former drummer of the
Canterbury group, Soft Machine. Rock Bottom is
an introspective and emotional work that can be extremely minimalistic,
though quite beautiful. The arrangments are all quite
sparse, relying on Wyatt's childish yet emotional voicings,
his darkly humorous lyrics and a sonic collage of horns, keyboards
and minimal percussion. This is mood music for sure, sedate,
relaxing yet harrowing and simply brilliant.
The opener "Sea
Song" is simply one of the most original, pleasant and emotional
progressive rock songs ever composed. It is also the most
accessible and least "experimental" track on the album.
It features the most cohesive vocal line, a gorgeous, innocent
melody backed by a seeming toy keyboard that builds into a masterful
composition of harrowing lyrics and ironic darkness. "Last
Straw" again features a nice melody, and by the end of the track
we begin to settle into the album proper, which is experimental,
textured and full of amazing eccentricity. "Little Red
Riding Hood Hit the Road" and "Alifib" hit the listener like
morphine or some sort of anaesthetic, just sheer sonic soundscapes
pouring over one like waves, absolutely submerging as it dabbles
in fringe jazz and fairly psychotic poetry. Surprises
are always lurking around the corners of this masterpiece.
A beautiful album.
- Greg Northrup [Feburary 2001]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
Ruth
is Stranger than Richard (1975)
While nothing
could ever really live up to Wyatt's previous effort, Rock
Bottom, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is certainly
no disappointment. Split into two sides, Side Richard and Side
Ruth, there is a continuation of the experimental nature of
Rock Bottom as well as more song based material. In fact,
it is probably our protagonist's sly wit at play here, as Side
Richard is actually the more strange and avant-garde side while
Ruth is made up of the more song based material. As to be expected
there is a fair amount of Wyatt's wonderful vocals present throughout,
whether singing a song or just vocalizing along with the music.
Side Richard features
the sparse, almost minimalist arrangements of piano, trumpet
and synth. The "Muddy Mouse" series are short vocal pieces backed
by Fred Frith on piano. "Solar Flares" features Wyatt vocalizing
the entire song over a repetitive piano/bass/drum backing, and
building with slight intensity as it progresses.
Side Ruth takes
a longer look at more song based pieces with a jazzier feel.
"Soup Song" is a catchy, funky little piece about, well, soup
delivered in the typical, whimsical Wyatt way. "Team Spirit"
is the standout track of the album, and one of Wyatt's best.
Insightful lyrics with an interesting double meaning sung over
a droning horn loop and repetitive piano riff. The middle instrumental
break steps up the intensity with some free horn playing leading
back into the main song. If
you're already a fan of Wyatt, this is an easy choice. Taking
over the production reigns, his wonderfully eclectic and singular
vision shines through. A much more playful and less serious
effort. -
Mike Prete [May 2001]
