Shleep

Shleep
Studio album by Robert Wyatt
Released	26 September 1997 (1997-09-26)
Recorded	1996–1997
Venues	Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio, Chertsey
Genres	Progressive rock art rock Canterbury scene experimental rock
Length	53:39
Labels	Hannibal, Thirsty Ear
Producers	Alfreda Benge, Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt chronology
A Short Break (1992) Shleep (1997) Dondestan (Revisited) (1998)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
NME	8/10
Pitchfork	8.6/10
Rolling Stone
Uncut

Shleep is the seventh studio album by English musician Robert Wyatt, released on 26 September 1997.

The album brought together a diverse range of musicians from a range of genres. After Wyatt's largely one-man recordings of the 1980s, Shleep marked a return to featuring other artists as on his 1970s albums; the balance of his discography would follow suit. The Wire named Shleep its record of the year in its annual critics' poll.

Reception

Trouser Press said, "Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera and Paul Weller are only the best known of the contributors to Shleep, a more personal (i.e., less political) and intermittently more ambitious undertaking than Dondestan. The flighty horns on half the tracks lend more of a jazzy tone than is needed to the proceedings. Given its creative circumstances, Shleep is something of a missed opportunity, but it’s still one of Wyatt's most entertaining and involving efforts."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Robert Wyatt and Alfreda Benge, except where indicated.

1. "Heaps of Sheeps" – 4:56
2. "The Duchess" (Wyatt) – 4:18
3. "Maryan" (Wyatt, Philip Catherine) – 6:11
4. "Was a Friend" (Wyatt, Hugh Hopper) – 6:09
5. "Free Will and Testament" (Wyatt, Mark Kramer) – 4:13
6. "September the Ninth" – 6:41
7. "Alien" – 6:47
8. "Out of Season" – 2:32
9. "A Sunday in Madrid" – 4:41
10. "Blues in Bob Minor" (Wyatt) – 5:46
11. "The Whole Point of No Return" (Paul Weller) – 1:25
12. "September in the Rain" (bonus re-release track) – 2:31

Personnel

• Gary Azukx - djembe
• Alfreda Benge - voice of the apparition, chorus
• Philip Catherine - guitar
• Brian Eno - synthesiser, synthesiser bass, vocal chorus
• Jamie Johnson - guitar, chorus
• Phil Manzanera - guitar
• Chucho Merchán - bass guitar, double bass, bass drum, percussion
• Evan Parker - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Charles Rees - chorus
• Chikako Sato - violin
• Paul Weller - guitars, harmony vocals
• Annie Whitehead - trombone
• Robert Wyatt - voice, keyboards, bass guitar, polish fiddle, trumpet, percussion, chorus

External links

• MP3.com album main page