Shleep (1997)

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."

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