Robert Wyatt, Rock Bottom (1974)
So nice – I bought it twice! By which I mean I already have this 2-for-1 (Rock Bottom and Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard) and then I decided I had to have the album on its own, as it was originally released. I got onto Robert Wyatt and this album in particular from reading about music; that’s always been my favourite way to discover music – well, that and just hearing something brand new by fluke (maybe as a result of it arriving in the mail but not being the typical letter-bomb). Reading about music is what got me writing about music. Reading about music has been what got me collecting music, what has kept me listening to music. And with Robert Wyatt there’s a handful of back stories, I was also curious that Nick Mason produced this – in the scheme of Pink Floyd he’s written-off/underwritten but he’s had great ideas and been a good listener, a good set of ear, his solo works and the things he’s leant a hand (or support) to. Rock Bottom is a masterpiece, one of those records that conjures a whole new world – exists in its own time and space when and while you’re listening to it.

Sample Track:  Sea Song
The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown