Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom

I encountered it when it came out. I'd already discovered Soft Machine; the third album, I particularly loved. [It] was part of this Canterbury rock-jazz British scene, where I loved some of the other musicians too. I'm not very good at lists of favorites, but if forced I would probably say it's my favorite album ever. It's something that resonates with me still to this day. It was released '74; I was 20, a student, exploring psychedelics. This album seemed to come out of nowhere. It wasn't what I was expecting from...I don't know what I was expecting. I wasn't that plugged into the music world. I had no contacts inside the music world, really. So I knew Robert had had an accident, and this was his record that he made after he recovered somewhat, after his life changed.

I love his vocal delivery. It's deeply personal to me, it makes me feel, but it's not histrionic or performative in some way. It's neutral. And this goes into some of the other records that I like as well. I've been laughed at for saying, "But Kraftwerk vocals are wonderful!" Some of my singer friends have said, "They don't sing." That's the point, for me. Robert's obviously got a wonderful groove and a great intonation and an incredible melodic sense. But it's not loaded with emotion. It's not performative in that sense of me. I really appreciate his storytelling. The grooves are amazing. The recording itself seemed like a step forward. It's very present in the room.