- Old Rottenhat · 1985
- Nothing Can Stop Us · 1980
- Rock Bottom · 1974
- Shleep · 1997
- EPs · 1982
- Rock Bottom · 1974
- Rock Bottom · 1974
- Shleep · 1997
- Comicopera · 2007
- Rock Bottom · 1974
- Rock Bottom · 1974
- Shleep · 1997
- Shleep · 1997
Essential Albums
- Robert Wyatt had been an integral member of the Soft Machine, Canterbury, England’s greatest art-rock band. Where other art-rockers looked to wild theatrics and grandiose concepts, the Soft Machine plunged ahead into their uncompromising music. This brilliant solo album was being written before Wyatt fell from a five-story window and broke his spine. He finished it in the hospital, realizing that the album would have much less of his drumming and far more of his gentle, emotionally compelling voice. The arrangements are delicate and often sparse. His bride-to-be Alfreda Benge helped inspire him to new levels of personal introspection that still play out as complex puzzles. “Sea Song” is a perfect opener, settling into a melody that slips around the modest keyboards. “A Last Straw” begins as an atmospheric piece before breaking into cherubic vocals. “Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road” is psychedelic with a tough, acid edge. “Alifib” is a soothing match of instrumental weirdness and mild, heart-melting vocals. Wyatt remains a relative obscurity in the U.S., despite his massive talents.
Albums
- 2007
- 2003
- 1997
- 1988
- 1985
Artist Playlists
- Tapping into off-kilter jazz and sly political pop.
- The soul-stirring pop, folk, and jazz behind an eclectic original.
- Jazz, rock, and gospel expressions—political and otherwise.
Singles & EPs
Live Albums
- 2005
Compilations
- 2014
- 2004
- 1999
Appears On
- Future Pilot A.K.A.
- Hugh Hopper & Mark Kramer
- Lol Coxhill, Charles Hayward, Hugh Hopper, Orphy Robinson with Guest Robert Wyatt, Charles Hayward, Hugh Hopper & Orphy Robinson
- News From Babel
About Robert Wyatt
An enduring figure who came to prominence in the early days of the English art rock scene, Robert Wyatt has produced a significant body of work, both as the original drummer for art rockers Soft Machine and as a radical political singer/songwriter. Wyatt came to Soft Machine during the exciting, slightly post-psychedelic Canterbury Scene of the mid-'60s. It was not long after his first solo release, End of an Ear, that Wyatt fell from an open window during a party, fracturing his back and permanently paralyzing him from the waist down. Wyatt's stunning music, full of wonder, possibility, and pure emotion, remains undiscovered by many. ~ John Dougan
- HOMETOWN
- Bristol, England
- BORN
- January 28, 1945
- GENRE
- Rock