SHLEEP

"Shleep" is the 6th full-length studio album by UK progressive rock artist Robert Wyatt. The album was released through the Thirsty Ear label in November 1997. After two albums ("Old Rottenhat (1985)" and "Dondestan (1991)") where Robert Wyatt basically sang and played all instruments, he opted to include quite a few guests on "Shleep". A decision that ultimately provides this album with a very different sound compared to it´s two predecessors.

The "band" feel with lots of brass and the bit surprising addition of guitar mean that the melancholic atmosphere that was dominant on previous albums is a bit less melancholic in nature on "Shleep" (there´s even a touch of latin influences in the music at times, which is almost happy sounding). The material on the album are of a good quality but generally lacks the emotional depth of Robert Wyatt´s more introvert and melancholic albums. There are great tracks featured on the album though and a track like "September the Ninth" is proabably the best example of a highlight. Robert Wyatt´s distinct and fragile sounding vocal style is as unique as always and the great humour that all his albums feature in varied doses is more than present on "Shleep".

The sound producion and the musicianship are of high class. "Shleep" features a pleasant and organic sounding production and the music is delivered by skilled and passionate musicians. As mentioned above I don´t think "Shleep" is Robert Wyatt´s most deep album and neither his best, but it´s still a good quality and innovative progressive rock album (with a touch of jazz) that´s definity worth a listen. A 3.5 star (70%) is deserved.