Rock Bottom

Robert Wyatt-Rock Bottom-1974
Canterbury, progressive, art rock, experimental.

















This is one of my favourite albums of all time. I present to you all Robert Wyatt's debut solo album "Rock Bottom". The album was released in 1974 after Wyatt had left Soft Machine who were heading down a more intentional jazz path, which Wyatt did not want to follow. It was also after Wyatt's fall from a five story high window, which broke his spine. Most of the material was written before the accident however this event adds a lot of poignancy to the album which due to Wyatt's honesty and introspection creates a stunningly emotive effort. The lineup is also immense and features the cream of the Canterbury scene.

The album marks a huge step from Matching Mole; the band between Soft Machine and this solo work. The songs are much better crafted with more emphasis on the song writing to create deeper sounds and lyrics, with many of the songs building up gently to climax and immerse the listener in powerful moments. The heartfelt nature of the album owes to the excellence of expression by Wyatt, it connects with the listener(if there not a stone) far to much for it to be coincidence.

"Sea Song" is a stunning listen, with a quite apparent but not overdone nautical feel "Partly fish, partly porpoise, partly baby sperm whale",it works in the song better than it does written down. Wyatt carries every sentence like a man longing for something, which is what the feel of the song also portrays to me "But I can't understand the different you, in the morning when its time to play at being human for a while". A longing to really feel something apart from nostalgia or pretty words, to feel love in all its madness.

The other stand out song for me is "Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road" a song I never get tired of listening to and one of my favourite songs. The rather crazed mix of brass, piano, bass and drums creates a haphazard momentum for Wyatt's soft and gentle voice to try and reign in, before losing itself to the music and speaking as far as I can tell backwards. Its the small moments in this song that are wonderful, the trumpet playing a certain phrase or the bass sounding triumphantly resigned to being part of the mess. It is a wonderfully composed mess, summing up the contradictory and apologetic nature of love. The lyrics are beautifully simple when they are ledgeable and convey such raw emotion.

The stand out songs however do not stand out much, on nearly any other album they would be songs to point out, such is the strength of this album. "Alifib" and "Alife" are somewhat ominous sounding, as they play out their quite deranged thoughts. "A Last Straw" is probably the most straight forward sounding song with a lighter sound, and clearest lyrics.
The closer "Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road" is an epic affair and a great finish, for me it has a royal feel to it, if the royals were tweaking a guitar surrounded by mermaids and fish.....and clams...........before pulling out the viola and singing an absurd rhyme (with all the inbreeding it may not be too far-fetched.)

A classic for sure, art rock at its finest. Its imagery, emotivity, technical craft and history are a rare combination of traits that stem from the events surrounding this album. The album is largely about love, but its not romantic or flowerly and its far from the hippie pyschedelia of the 60s. This is a mature and somewhat ambigous album, melancholic in its sound yet subtly hopeful in its vocals.
One not to be missed whatever you taste in or knowledge of music.
jamscoopa

Please buy at:(or better, at an independent store)
UK
US
Or please delete within 24 hours, and buy this excellent album:
Rocky (320kbs)
See for more information:
Hulloder
amg
scaruffi

The Joys of Toys...

Kevin Ayers-Joy of a Toy-1969
Canterbury, psychedelic, pop


















Hello all been in America for just over a week now, Iowa City seems nice if not a tad small, but term starts next week which should liven things up a lot-I'll do a post about "The IC" later :).

My first post in the states will be a slice of whimiscal British psych=pop in the form of the debut solo album by Kevin Ayers-Joy of a Toy from 1969.
After Soft machine undertook a grueling tour of the states(woot) in 1968 supporting Jimi Hendrix, Kevin Ayers was exhausted and set of to Ibiza to relax. He would be replaced on bass by Hugh Hopper(a Wildeflower alumni) for Volume 2.
Ayers spent the time writing and living music rather than the hectic schedule he had been in prior, Ayers music show him to be a fan of the beachy tropical vibe which I can guess would be encouraged by the beauty of Ibiza.
The album is one of charmingly catchy yet gentle pyschedelic influenced pop songs. A very talented writer, Ayers shows his humour and imagination in all the songs which charm and sooth a willing listener. The stand out song for me would be the magnificent "Lady Rachel". It has an almost fairytale nature to it, the oboe creates an eerily inviting base to the song whilst Ayers deep and honest voice carries it with some wonderfully inspired lyrics to put the listener at ease. "The Clarietta Rag" another highlight, is an idylic trip into the mountains and really captures the simple yet satisfying feel of this album. With many of the songs featuring members of soft machine, Wyatt's drumming throughout the album in particular, it has some similarity to early Soft machine("Soon, soon soon"), but Ayers relaxed and somewhat lethargic approach sets it apart-in a good and bad way.
A really good album, maybe not the most adventurous or technically brilliant, but as a start for Ayers' work it's a great place to start.

-Listen out for Bananas-

jamscoopa

Please Buy this Album from:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Joy-Toy-Kevin-Ayers/dp/B00008Y2IU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1250448445&sr=8-3 UK
http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Toy-Kevin-Ayers/dp/B00008Y2IU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1250448516&sr=8-2 US
and many more other good independent retailers.
Or please delete after 24 hours:
Joy

Soft Machine - The Soft Machine

Soft Machine - The Soft Machine (Volume 1) 1968
Psychedelic, proto-progressive, experimental.


















Soft Machine were never a commercial enterprise and indeed still remain unknown even to many listeners who came of age during the late '60s, when the group was at its peak. In their own way, however, they were one of the more influential bands of their era, and certainly one of the most influential underground ones. One of the original British psychedelic groups, they were also instrumental in the birth of both progressive rock and jazz-rock. They were also the central foundation of the family tree of the "Canterbury Scene" of British progressive rock acts, a movement that also included Caravan, Gong, Matching Mole, and National Health, not to mention the distinguished solo careers of founding members Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers.
from allmusic

The debut album by Soft Machine was released in 1968, after the split of the Wilde Flowers a group which consisted of the "Canterbury scene" giants of Wyatt and Ayers form the original Soft Machine lineup and future member Hugh Hoppper(who would replace Ayers after this album). Amoung the Wilde Flower alumni were also Pye Hastings, David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair and Richard Coughlan who would form another great "Canterbury" band Caravan.
The album is largely a mixture of the creative talents of Wyatt and Ayers both of whom would have solo careers after Soft Machine.
The songs are very psychedelic and the album as a whole is progressive with songs merging into each other and flowing somewhat back and forth into instrumental and vocal sections. The album has large jazz influences as well as an overall eccentric flair which is bound together by Wyatts soothing and deeply honest vocals. With some rather stunning pop songs influenced by Ayers, the album showcases his talent for writing quirky, absurd and a little deranged songs which would later be shown in his solo albums such as Joy of a Toy, which is named after a song on this album. But the album is far more than a pop record, its originality and creativity rank it one of the best of its time. Soft Machine would later become more Jazz orientated especially after Wyatt left, so Volume 1 and 2 are the best examples of this style. Volume Three is often considered there most accomplished and should also be checked out.
The end result is an enormously satisfying album, better than any Beatles album for me, and should be listened to very loud with the listeners full attention.
jamscoopa

Please buy the album from:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Soft-Machine/dp/B002EC4ZDA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249323054&sr=8-1 UK
http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Machine-One/dp/B000N69OR6/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1249323153&sr=8-16 US
or any other retailer.
Or please delete within 24 hours:
http://www.mediafire.com/?muvnmwnt0za