Rock Bottom

Robert Wyatt spent the beginning of 1973 in Venice, idling his time and writing the songs that would eventually comprise his second solo record. Upon returning to England, the spring saw Wyatt playing in WMMW- with saxophonist Gary Windo, keyboardist David MacRae and bassist Ron Mathewson. He then attempted to revive Matching Mole one final time, with Windo, Curved Air's Francis Monkman and a returning Bill MacCormick. In June, however, at a party for Lady June and Gilli Smyth, an inebriated Wyatt fell from a fourth-story window. The accident paralyzed him from the waist down and dashed any further attempts for a Mole reunion. Wyatt gradually convalesced, aided in part from the generosity of Julie Christie and Jean Shrimpton, as well as a benefit concert hosted by Pink Floyd and Soft Machine on November 4th, at the Rainbow Theatre. Wyatt thus separates himself from his "drummer biped" self from this point on, with Rock Bottom being the first record of his new life. Recorded early in 1974, Wyatt focuses on keyboards and voice, as well as percussion, to produce a wonderfully melancholic record. Tracks like the gentle "Sea Song" and the intimate duo of "Alifib" and "Alifie" are certainly personal, whereas the more up-tempo "Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road" skips over a reverse-recorded backing. Mongezi Feza's trumpet features on the former, while Mike Oldfield's guitar is a sublime addition to the beginning of "Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road;" the track ends though in the slow-motion of harmonium, Ivor Cutler's voice and Fred Frith's viola. The album was produced by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and featured a host of Canterbury friends, including drummer Laurie Allan and bassists Richard Sinclair and Hugh Hopper. True to his resolve, Wyatt had a Top 40 single in the UK with a remake of Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer" b/w "Memories" in September (the song was previously a hit for The Monkees), though his appearance in a wheelchair for a Top Of The Pops appearance sparked controversy. Wyatt would record his next solo album, the like-minded Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, in 1975, before semi-retiring for the remainder of the decade.