Old Rottenhat

{{Infobox album

| name = Old Rottenhat

| type = Album

| artist = Robert Wyatt

| cover = Old_Rottenhat.jpg

| released = November 1985

| recorded = 1984–1985

| studio = West 3 Studios, Acton, London; Acre Lane Studios, Brixton, London

| genre = Canterbury scene, art rock

| length = {{Duration|m=43|s=49}}

| label = Rough Trade

| producer =

| prev_title = The Animals Film

| prev_year = 1982

| next_title = Dondestan

| next_year = 1991

}}

Old Rottenhat is the fourth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in November 1985, and in 1993 it was reissued in its entirety as part of the CD Mid-Eighties. The album was produced and performed solo by Wyatt, and is dedicated to Michael Bettaney, a UK MI5 intelligence officer who in 1984 was convicted for acting as an agent-in-place for the Soviet Union.{{Cite web|url=https://disco-robertwyatt.com/images/Robert/interviews/NME14121985/index.htm|title=Interviews & articles - English as a foreign language - New Musical Express 14th December, 1985 - A Robert Wyatt discography|website=disco-robertwyatt.com}}

Critical reception

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22329|first=Richie|last=Unterberger}}

| rev2 = Robert Christgau

| rev2Score = B−{{Cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=wyatt|title=Robert Christgau: CG: wyatt|website=www.robertchristgau.com}}

| rev3 = Pitchfork Media

| rev3Score = 6.1/10{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14797-rock-bottom-ruth-is-stranger-than-richard-nothing-can-stop-us-old-rottenhat-dondestan-revisited/|title=Robert Wyatt: Rock Bottom / Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard / Nothing Can Stop Us / Old Rottenhat / Dondestan (Revisited)|website=Pitchfork|date=4 November 2010 }}

}}

The New York Times wrote that, "while the tunes are low-key, they often have surprising rhythmic shifts or twists of chromatic harmony."{{cite news |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=Pop Album of the Week |work=The New York Times |date=14 Mar 1986 |page=C24}} David Fricke of Rolling Stone found the lyrics pedantic in comparison to those of Nothing Can Stop Us, but considered the album musically effective, praising the tracks "The Age of Self" and "Gharbzadegi".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/robertwyatt/albums/album/235854/review/5942919/old_rottenhat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207135053/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/robertwyatt/albums/album/235854/review/5942919/old_rottenhat|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 February 2008|title=Rolling Stone, Dec. 4, 1986|magazine=Rolling Stone }}