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Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom CD (album) cover

ROCK BOTTOM

Robert Wyatt

 

Canterbury Scene

4.29 | 1004 ratings

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Kempokid
5 stars Of all the classic prog albums I've heard, not one of them sounds anything quite like this album. Now there are quite a few reasons for this, whether it's the sound of frailty and vulnerability of the vocal delivery, the extremely sombre mood, or the emphasised focus on atmosphere and tone, there are many aspects of this that play a pivotal role in making this stand out. The way each of these elements are executed to such a high degree along with some other interesting decisions are only some of the reasons why this not only manages to feel so different, but is also a masterpiece.

Sea Song kicks things off in an utterly perfect way with its short but perfect intro. Layers of keyboards come in, blanketing everything in this sense of melancholy, yet with some serious beauty to it as well. What makes this work so well is how quickly these layered chords fall into an uncanny sense of dissonance, seemingly revealing the true nature of the emotions behind the song. Every other aspect of the song follows this pattern as well, with the vocal melody phasing in and out, sometimes being quite sad and charming, but not often for long before it almost diverts into a sense of semi-mindless rambling. As the end of the song approaches, I feel like its outro best encapsulates everything the song stands for, with its breathtaking atmosphere as Wyatt meekly sings, at first seeming like a hint of underlying optimism showing itself, but before long, it all sounds strained, as if it's all a facade that's slowly falling apart by the time it reaches the end. A Last Straw is the one moment in the album that I'd potentially consider a weak link in this album, though with that said, it's still a great song. It is quite interesting listening to the way all the instrumentation seems to mimic the ebb and flow of the sea, and while it feels a bit aimless at points, the aquatic atmosphere feels undeniably cool and ends up culminating in an interesting listening experience regardless of it not quite living up to the tremendously incredible nature of the rest of this.

It's once Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road comes on that things get really interesting here however, not really because of any individual song, but the entire last two thirds of the album and how it works as a whole. This aforementioned track definitely sets the stage well however, with a much faster pace behind it that sounds rather frantic, as if some sort of awful event occurred and there's an immediate and overwhelming sense of panic and regret that just washes over. While in the lyrics it seems to be talking about hitting a hedgehog with a car, the emotions conveyed here could easily be interpreted as relating to Wyatt's serious injury and the world of change it brought forth for him. It almost feels as if the song as a whole just represents this state of shock, with the sound of remorse running through, the way the audio plays backwards at one point, and especially that end monologue. This part both feels crazed and desperate, as if someone is trying to helplessly convince themselves that everything is fine and will continue being final even when deep down they believe otherwise. This sense of sadness continues strongly into the next song, Alifib, which yet again has its own intriguing appeal to it. After a few minutes of quiet, atmospheric instrumental material, the real song kicks off, and immediately bowls you over with a profoundly melancholic tune. What truly makes this song stand out is the way it manages to sound so moving and sombre while having lyrics that are blatantly nonsensical. Nothing explicitly says anything in this song, and yet, it still ends up being so emotionally powerful. This one's probably my favourite on the album, so much is said with so little, the emotions ring so true despite from just the delivery alone.

Alife is where the really unique and clever stuff comes in, definitely the point where things truly start to feel outright genius as it ties a lot of stuff together in a satisfying manner. This song essentially recontextualises the previous one while retaining a lot of the same elements. Despite keeping the same general lyricism, with many of the same lines being repeated word for word, rather than using them to create a sense of quiet sadness, this ends up sounding insanely eerie and even a bit menacing. The dissonant instrumentation is undeniably a big part in this, with the steady percussion remaining constant as everything surrounding it goes all over the place while still sounding tied to that nonstop beat. The vocal delivery yet again goes a long way in setting the tone as well, with the repeated short phrases without even an ettempt of creating a melody sounding almost broken, just repeating things over and over. It also feels as if the lyricism here further contributes to this sense of uncanny strangeness, with the Spike Milligan-esque vocabulary being that final aspect that adds to the surreal, twisted genius of this song. Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road closes things off perfectly, taking similar themes from its similarly named counterpart, but yet again putting a completely different spin on it. The track sounds confrontational, repeating "can't you see them" as if it's forcing someone to come to terms with some sort of awful event, to finally stare it right in the face and accept. Given the amount of sombre material throughout everything here, I think ending it on this sort of note is a great move, gives things a cautiously optimistic note to end things on rather than everything feeling like an exercise in wallowing. That last monologue especially brings forth a strong sense of finality, with the beautiful and droning instrumentation complementing it, together making for a nice playout for the entire album.

Overall, I really do consider this to be the finest progressive rock albums I've heard at this point. So much emotion is brought forward in every moment, with a lot of complexity coming from these emotions as well. While the instrumentation itself often has some really impressive individual moments, it's the atmosphere it conjured that's the true star of the show. Along with the way it works with the vocals to provide a range of modes and tones, it's those moments where the feel of a song is ever so slightly shifted from moment to moment to create a world of difference in everything it conveys that form the strong backbone of Rock Bottom. Robert Wyatt really did make a masterpiece here, not only a masterpiece, but one that manages to feel quite unlike anything I've heard in the genre, and I consider that to be insanely impressive as well.

Best tracks: Sea Song, Alifib, Alife

Weakest tracks: A Last Straw

Kempokid | 5/5 |

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