NORTH SEA RADIO ORCHESTRA, JOHN GREAVES & ANNIE BARBAZZA: FOLLY BOLOLEY

The original Rock Bottom kind of defines the "personal statement" solo album. In 1974, in the wake of a difficult recuperation from a crippling mishap, Robert Wyatt crafted a series of big-brushstroke recording studio constructions that seem to fade in and out of consciousness, with lyrics ranging from grown-up conflict to Carroll-esque and almost sub-nursery wordplay. Its atmosphere is singular and impossible to emulate. North Sea Radio Orchestra has re- recorded Rock Bottom with expanded acoustic instrumentation. The loose matter-of-factness of the original is polished and recast in an English pastoral garb that doesn't really work for me. It's okay, just try to get the original out of your mind first. High point is actually the bonus track cover of "Maryan".