Shleep

Shleep was recorded in 1996 and 1997 at Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio in Chertsey and produced by Alfreda Benge, Brian Eno and Wyatt himself. It brought in musicians from many corners of rock and jazz, among them Eno, Manzanera, Paul Weller, Evan Parker, Annie Whitehead and Philip Catherine. After the largely one-man recordings of the 1980s, it marked a return to the collaborative approach of his 1970s albums, which the rest of his discography would follow. Most of the songs are credited to Wyatt and Benge, with exceptions including Was a Friend, written with Hugh Hopper, and Free Will and Testament, written with Mark Kramer.

The Wire named it record of the year in its critics' poll. Reviewing the 2010 reissue for Pitchfork, Douglas Wolk said that by 1997 Wyatt was something of a British institution, known mostly for cameos on other people's records, and that Shleep put him back at the center of attention. He heard a long-absent playfulness and joy, and production more focused and varied than anything since Rock Bottom. He picked out the opening pair, Heaps of Sheeps with Eno and The Duchess, and a three-song suite with lyrics by Benge about birds and, by metaphor, aliens and refugees. Trouser Press called it more personal and less political than Dondestan, and one of Wyatt's most entertaining and involving efforts.