Personnel: Robert Wyatt (vocals, Polish fiddle, trumpet, keyboards, bass, percussion); Alfreda Benge (vocals); Paul Weller, Jamie Johnson (guitar, background vocals); Phil Manzanera, Philip Catherine (guitar); Chikako Sato (violin); Evan Parker (soprano & tenor saxophone); Annie Whitehead (trombone); Brian Eno (synthesizer, background vocals); Chucho Merchan (acoustic bass, percussion); Gary Azukx (djembe); Charles Rees (background vocals). Recorded at Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio, Chertsey, England, between 1996 and 1997. Includes liner notes by Robert Wyatt. He first came to public attention as the drummer/singer of British jazz-rockers Soft Machine, but since the mid-'70s, Robert Wyatt has been known as an innovative, idiosyncratic singer-songwriter. Like much of Wyatt's previous work, SHLEEP (his first album since '91's DONDESTAN) incorporates jazz, rock, world music and the kind of art-song cum prog-pop that has become a Wyatt trademark. Wyatt's high, rough voice is one of the most distinctive, powerful instruments in modern music, and it navigates the unconventional hills and valleys of his melodies with grace and verve. Fellow prog vets/soul brothers Brian Eno (whose early pop records are distant cousins of Wyatt's music) and Phil Manzanera are on hand, as are Wyatt disciples like Paul Weller and saxophonist Evan Parker, contributing to the lush, but far from overproduced sound of SHLEEP. One of the most striking differences between this and Wyatt's other work is the lyrical shift from the political to the personal. While he's always been adept at combining the two, the change marks SHLEEP as the most direct, emotional album of this complex, uncompromising artist's career.
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