Robyn Hitchcock?

I'd say I Often Dream of Trains and Element of Light would be the best starting points. I also happen to completely adore Invisible Hitchcock , which is a bit more of a mixed bag.

If you're just looking for a few songs, I'd suggest "Brenda's Iron Sledge," "My Wife and My Dead Wife," and "Balloon Man."

Also, grab a copy of the Storefront Hitchcock soundtrack. And the DVD as well.

Unless yer into sub-Syd Barrett whimsey.

Then how come Katrina & the Waves were such crap?

Plus I think that the entire K&W album w/ "Walking" is pretty good, I certainly enjoy it as much as any RH album.

That said, I certainly enjoy RH when someone plays it. I believe I have the LP version of "Mossy Liqour" or "Moss Elixir" or whatever here, and "Heliotrope" is quite a nice song.

Oh god, please, someone help me. The "Live Death" promo thing, please. I can't find it. I don't want to have to search through all my cassettes only to find I don't have it please please please someone help me.

There's some good stuff on Goodnight Oslo, btw. The title track especially.

yeah can't help you with a digital version of Live Death, but it is great! Agree about Goodnight Oslo -- didn't think I liked it the first couple times around, but it has grown on me in a big way! All of Robyn's charm but without being by the numbers either. Interested parties should check this recent show put up on Archive.org: http://www.archive.org/details/robynhitchcock2009-04-08.aud.flac.16
Venus 3 are quite a band these days, and it's got excellent sound/setlist.

I'll add to the chorus proclaiming that Goodnight Oslo is a major grower!

Goodnight Oslo is a pretty solid album. 'Your Head Here' is one of his best songs, terrific.

annoyed that he's once again touring pretty much everywhere in the US except for Colorado -- I still haven't seen the Venus 3, and it sounds like they're killing it these days. Love that they're playing a fair amount from Black Snake Diamond Role, sometimes my fave Hitchcock record.

I finally got Live Death! Also have downloaded the link here, thanking yooooooz. I've got a friend who says he's got more live Robyn than he has ever been able to burn properly to disc.
I understand people who are obsessed with Hitchcock, I really do. I understand.

what's the link? i wouldn't mind having this on something other than tape ...

Me too! Glaring hole in my collection.

Live Death you mean?

God, I've fallen in love with not one but two men I shared Hitchcock with. He's pretty goddamn sacred to me at this point. I'll share anything with anyone who wants it.

Actually, make that three men. Thanks.

yeah Live Death -- did you find it online?

Yeah I found it. Man, I tell ya, sometimes I remember songs of his all of a sudden in the bright light of sober day, without any warning. Today it was Raymond Chandler Evening, just out of the blue in my head. Just out of nowhere, you know? BTW, Live Death is awesome.

I heard that song "Arms of Love" in my head again, too, after over ten years...just out of the blue, I heard something of it in my head about two weeks ago. But I only wanted the live version, hence my search for Live Death. I don't care for the album version at all.

I once found a deposit of like six or seven records by both Robyn Hitchcock and the Soft Boys in a local thrift store (along with about 12 other cool records by the likes of Roky Erickson, the Elevators, the Jam, whole bunch of stuff; a total gold vein in a town like that). Half off, a quarter each. Never got to listen to any of them more than once, I was so overloaded. Total shame.

Roky Erickson!!!
holy shit

I wound up getting like $40 dollars for the Rok record. Once found Godz 2 at a Salvation Army sandwiched in a bunch of xmas and children's albums...a pretty wtf sorta find in the little nothing college town I lived in.

Sort of weird/intriguing
The Graham Coxon Power Acoustic Ensemble featuring Robyn Hitchcock and Friends announce three special UK dates: 11th November - Manchester, Royal Academy of Music 12th November - Edinburgh, Queens Hall 28th November - London, Barbican Hall Assembling many of the musicians who feature on his current album "TheSpinning Top" (Transgressive Records), Graham Coxon has expanded his powertrio into The Graham Coxon Power Acoustic Ensemble, and together with guest appearances from fellow exponents of the British folk scene, they will beplaying the record in its entirety plus some of the songs that inspired itscreation at this series of special concerts. Telling the story of one man's journey from birth to death, "The SpinningTop" is somewhat of a departure from Graham's previous solo work, featuringthe talents of Robyn Hitchcock and Danny Thompson, and sees Grahamexploring his love of British folk music.

In Graham's own words: "The album is mainly an acoustic journey althoughthere is, of course, some explosive electric guitar action. I wanted toshow how exciting acoustic instruments can be, how dynamic and rich and heart - thumpingly raw they can sound at a time when acoustic music seemseither too cute or too soppy. Obvious influences here are the amazing Martin Carthy, the late, great Davey Graham and the late, great John Martyn".

For the Manchester (Nov 11) and Edinburgh (Nov 12) shows, the Ensemble willbe joined by Robyn Hitchcock plus more guests to be announced. On Nov 28 at The Barbican show The Graham Coxon Power Acoustic Ensemble will be joined by Robyn Hitchcock,Martin Carthy, Natasha Marsh and Max Eastley plus more guests to be announced. For this date only, the show will also feature projected visuals and films by Chris Hopewell, who is knownfor his previous work with Radiohead, as well working with Graham on the video for "In The Morning" and the currentvideo for "Dead Bees."

www.transgressiverecords.co.uk | www.myspace.com/transgressiverecords

sometimes when i'm lonely baby then i'm only you

...if I touch you on the chest, you will crumble like dust...

...please don't call me reg...

said it on one of the other RH threads, but the Dream of Trains live thing that came out last year is worth it! Absolutely fantastic.

I just put together a nifty playlist of 35 Robyn rarities from various sources, thought y'all might enjoy it:
http://www.divshare.com/download/9066599-c48

Too kind!

am I correct in thinking I have to sign up to Divshare in order to download that file?

nope!

Thanks Gerald McB-B!

thanks! heard some of this but not all ... looking forward to those Richard Thompson covers!

I'm sad to say I'm enough of a Robyn nerd to have all this already. Nicely curated collection!

ez, you have any soft boys live stuff? i've been trying to track down some, with little luck. i've got that 1980 maxwell's show and the portland arms lp but that's it ... don't know much there is of the band's first run.

The only other I can think of is the "Lope At The Hive" tracks collected on Two Halves For The Price Of One. I didn't even have the Maxwell show before you shared it.

Found Rout of the Clones, which I think is a live comp: http://just-add-cones.blogspot.com/2009/09/soft-boys-rout-of-clones.html
that blog has a ton of hitchcock rarity kinda things

urgh rapidshare is kinda sucking these days isn't it ...

anyway, i think i'm going to put together a little comp of Robyn's best work in the 00s -- a pretty strong decade overall. maybe the only weak link is Luxor, and even that has its moments. And Nextdoorland isn't quite a great Soft Boys album (compared to the originals) but I still like it.

Cool find! Rapidshare is best early morning or late night EST; they basically hamstring non-members during daylight hours.

I agree this has been a particularly good decade for him, despite Luxor. Please don't forget the amazing stuff off A Star For Bram.

actually was thinking about leaving out star for bram, since it's 90s material (outtakes from Jewels for Sophia) was it released in 2000? i love that disc, though, maybe more than Jewels ...

maybe the only weak link is Luxor, and even that has its moments. And Nextdoorland isn't quite a great Soft Boys album (compared to the originals) but I still like it.

I concur with this. "Luxor" has some nice instrumentals but otherwise I've got no memory of it, it's the only outright disappointing album he's released. And "Nextdoorland" is about half great (especially "Mr. Kennedy") and half merely mortal.

I put together that oddities comp for someone I knew wasn't as obsessive as folks like EZ, Jon Lewis and I are. But if there's anything y'all are in search of, post it and I'll share if possible.

I'd put "Solpadeine" on a RH best of 00's comp.

well, since you asked ... do you have those live van morrison covers that were on the b-side of some 12-inch single ...? i remember playing them back when i had a college radio show, but never tracked down digital copies ... also, is there a different version of Ghost Ship floating around (different from the one on You & Oblivion, I mean)? Could've sworn I've heard it, but don't know where.

yeah, i like "solpadeine" and "idonia" from luxor -- and the instrumentals are nice, too, i agree.

but overall, Luxor sorta strikes me as what you'd get if you made Robyn write and record an entire album in a weekend ....

Tyler - you're referring to the Oceanside 12" single, and there was a b-side version of "Ghost Ship". I've included all those tracks here:
http://www.divshare.com/download/10192709-aac

awesome -- thanks!

OK, I put together this best of the 00s Robyn/Soft Boys comp. 20 songs, 80 minutes. If you want a download link shoot me a webmail ... Nothing really rare here, except the Soft Boys' version of "If You Know Time" ... But this turned out pretty well overall! Had forgotten how good the Soft Boys EP Side Three is!

Tracklisting:

Luxor
Mr. Kennedy
Underground Sun
Idonia
What You Is
Solpadeine
My Mind Is Connected...
I'm Falling
I Love Lucy
Television
Olé! Tarantula
Each Of Her Silver Wands
English Girl
Narcissus
Up To Our Nex
If You Know Time
Full Moon In My Soul
Winter Love
The Wolf House

Nice picks, Tyler. The biggest miss for me is the title track, "Goodnight Oslo" - utterly gorgeous.

Ok, so 25 of you downloaded that comp (and another 3 the addendum). Any specific favorites, comments or questions?

haha not yet but it is in my computer and I have looked at the tracklist. I will throw it on the ipod right now so it will come up at work on shuffle.

loving the acoustic covers -- his "more than this" and "ghost in you" are way better than the originals imo. is there a recording of the whole show w/ him and metcalfe on piano?

Yeah, those particular covers are stunning - he finds the emotional heart of those songs. I don't have a specific show but there's an official boot called "Give It To The Thoth Boys" which has some tracks which highlight piano.

what's the deal with him and andy metcalfe anyway? they haven't played together since, what, the last egyptians record? seems like Robyn generally ends up getting back together with everyone sooner or later -- except him!

OK 9 songs in to this and Bad Case Of History is the first one that's new to me, I assume these are chronological? Liking "Evil Guy".

where to hear "more than this" please?

Here:

I just put together a nifty playlist of 35 Robyn rarities from various sources, thought y'all might enjoy it:
http://www.divshare.com/download/9066599-c48

― Gerald McBoing-Boing

it actually made it on the A&M Greatest Hits disc, which has some other oddities/rarities - the live intro to "One Long Pair Of Eyes", "Legalized Murder", "Ruling Class", "Bright Fresh Flower", live versions of "Dark Green Energy" and "Eight Miles High" and a version of "Alright Yeah" with the Egyptians.

oh yeah, I already downloaded that...was too caught up in the Gary Numan cover to notice this!

By the way, does anyone have a cover scan or photo of the "Dark Green Energy" promo 12"? It's got one of those nifty Hitchcock drawings, I believe.

The live Gotta Let This Hen Out is the best Hitchcock intro IMHO. The CD reissue botches this up a little as the added a few weaker songs, sort of like the Rock n Roll Animal reissue. Another Lou Reed convergence, Hitchcock does a great version of Caroline Says although I don't care much for his Bob Dylan covers.

yeah, i'm not nuts about the Robyn Sings Dylan record, but I usually like hearing him do covers live -- and there are a few covers in Gerald's rarities mix that are stunning. I saw an all covers set at the Largo in the late 90s w/ Benmont Tench and Jon Brion that was one of the more fun shows I've ever been to. Dylan, VU, Beatles, Floyd, etc. My friend taped it, I should see if he ever digitized it.

By the way, does anyone have a cover scan or photo of the "Dark Green Energy" promo 12"? It's got one of those nifty Hitchcock drawings, I believe.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing

I remember this at my college radio station back in the day, but haven't seen it since. Sorry!

i think i have the CD single of that -- don't have a scanner tho!

No, it's gotta be the promo 12" with the demo of "Ride" on it.

Similarly looking for the cover of Stereo-Phonic Pop Culture from Pop Culture Press, Issue 40 which has an excellent version of "Caroline II".

that "Caroline II" is different from the one on the Soft Boys 76-81 comp? Speaking of which, is there going to be a Soft Boys box set this year? Feel like I heard something about it.

Yes, it's an acoustic studio take on "Caroline II".

I haven't heard anything further about the Soft Boys box but I presume it's still on for this year.

"Propeller Time" is coming: http://sartorialrecords.greedbag.com/buy/propellor-time-1/

Amazon now has sound samples up for all the Propeller Time tracks-- and almost all of them sound really exciting. Folksy, drawing-room, but with unmistakeable full-band power... Robyn's Music From Big Pink, maybe. The tear-jerking 'Star Of Venus' I already know from live recordings and can say it's one of his four or five best songs of the post-Warners era.

Haven't been around much lately. Tylerw, you are very naughty for not putting 'City Of Women' on your In The 00's mix! Unless I'm mistaken and it predates the decade...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Propellor-Time/dp/B00377VARK/ref=dm_ap_alb1?ie=UTF8&qid=1265990324&sr=8-10

so ... it doesn't look like Yep Roc is releasing this one in the US? What's up with that?

And yeah, City of Women (and a few others from Shadowcat) would've made the mix, but from what I understand, that record is all outtakes from 1994-1999? Also love "Nothing But Time" ... That was one I heard him play live once back in the late 90s and couldn't believe it didn't show up on any albums until Shadowcat ...

I think Sartorial is just the UK label, no? I can't imagine the Yep Roc thing going kaput at this moment...?

'City Of Women' first came out in 2003 on the Hedwig & The Angry Inch tribute album Wig In A Box (though it's an RH original) and judging from the personnel on the track (Kimberly, Paul Noble on bass, Terry Edwards) it must have been recorded around then. Love that fuckin' song so much.

Oddly, there's no listing for it yet on the Yep Roc site. You would think with it out in less than six weeks the promotion would be starting.

yeah, someone on a RH mailing list emailed yep roc and they said they don't have plans to release it ... maybe it'll be available on his Web site? Hopefully not at ridic import prices ...

Whoa that's crazy. I thought the RH/Yep relationship was quite fruitful for both parties. At least Sartorial is on eMusic, so I can get it that way, hopefully close to the release date...

yeah, it seems weird -- thanks to that Demme movie, Robyn's profile is at least a little bigger than usual, I'd think.

And this album has marketable guest John Paul Jones on it...

and Johnny Marr! And Peter Buck! And Nick Lowe! It's like Yep Roc catnip ...

i could have seen robyn play live a at a midsized club when i last went to the states, but i skipped it - probably had a date or was drinking with my buds, but i'm still kicking myself over that

for me i often dream of trains is the untouchable classic, but pretty much every album he's made's got a decent-to-great song or 4 on it... madonna of the wasps springs to mind, my wife and my dead wife, that one really haunting one off of eye, i should probably dig up more of his back catalogue actually...

damn, the links to rarities collections and live shows links all seem dead, too bad!

Go on archive.org and you'll find a wealth of shows to download, with RH's permission.

I was able to get the Sartorial released Shadow Cat at my local store for around $14. Hopefully I can do the same for Propeller Time.

Sartorial is Terry Edwards's label - reserving this album just for him may have been Robyn returning a favor or just wanting to help his mate.

The rarities links aren't dead - I just checked them!

"Haunting one off Eye" - man, that whole album is pretty haunting!

Quite a generous gift for Terry, then, bcuz if this lives up to its 30 second samples, it will be at minimum the equal of either of the foregoing Venus 3 records.

During the I Often Dream... concert in NYC, Robyn said that Terry Edwards actually WAS a Higson, something I never knew...

I looked into the Higsons years ago and wasn't moved but a few years ago I picked up their BBC sessions CD and it's fantastic!

http://www.amazon.com/Its-Wonderful-Life-Higsons/dp/B00004RDR1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1266013421&sr=8-1

Wow that's the first positive Higsons comment I've heard!

Higsons were great! Especially if you particularly like the goofy twee post-punk funk bands from Norwich. I bought my first Higsons record because I was a Hitchcock fan, and never heard anything else about them for years and years. It Goes Waap! and Tear the Whole Thing Down are great.

the only song by them i ever heard was "run me down," which i could still hum, so there's that

The rarities links aren't dead - I just checked them!

my mistake, THATS what that popup window was demanding i sign up for divshare was about!

unfortunately:

"This file is not available to free users in China and Southeast Asia. To download it and any other DivShare file, sign up for a DivShare Personal account for just $12 / year!"

probably a recurring charge too.

i suppose $12 isn't really an unreasonable amount to pay for a double album of rarities by an artist i like though. god, should i actually sign up? i just spent $30 on itunes and i'm sorta on a big spender-type roll here...

Nice, long interview with Robyn about the new album (among other things) here: http://www.robynhitchcock.com/propellortime/interview/

Keep waiting for the new alb to pop up on eMusic, getting v annoyed. As always, am resolved to either buy or pay-to-DL when it comes to RH.

yeah, i just ordered it ... one of the few remaining artists I just buy whatever he puts out.

It's out overseas and in the wilds of the net. Have mine pre-ordered with the local shop so I don't mind acquiring a copy early. First listen - it's good, though not the straight forward pop of the last two. Some more experiments, some really stripped down intimate things, and an opener that reminded me of the Egyptians circa Respect. Plan on giving it another run through shortly; have to finish listening to a boot of Van Halen's USA Festival gig from '83 first.

priorities!

Tyler- have you seen the plethora of Soft Boys stuff up at Just Add Cones? Pretty neat to hear if poor sounding recordings from their first time 'round.

oh, nice, hadn't looked over there in a while! thanks!

*bookmarks furiously*

are the recordings *really* rough?

Mixed bag - they're mainly audience tapes, so some good, some atrocious. Haven't had a chance to hear them all - too much Van Halen!

Into my second listen through PT - I hadn't read the interview the first time, but thought some of these were vaguely familiar. Now I know why.

yeah, he's been playing a few of these live forever, and they feature in that IFC doc.

excited to hear the Soft Boys play "Run Run Run" on that Club 80s bootleg ... !

I know!

Hmmm so how many VU/Reed songs has Robyn done...?

Run, Run, Run (Soft Boys)
Caroline Says (SBs)
Train Coming Round The Bend (SBs)
New Age (solo in concert)

I KNOW i'm forgetting something...

i saw him do 'Some Kinda Love' live about a decade ago. It was one of those loose, all covers sets, don't know if it was off the cuff or something ...

when the hell are they gonna release a soft boys vinyl box set like the 2 hitchcock ones?

soon-ish? this year, maybe?

they've been saying that for a couple of years.. still no sign...

I think it's pretty solid the SB Yep Roc box will come out this year, though I don't know the contents. I'm sure some of the killer rarities from the ryko 2CD will go capriciously missing. I assume there will be a vinyl edition.

weird that even the Underwater Moonlight matador reissue seems to be out of print? You can only get it from the sellers on Amazon, anyway ... pretty much the same for everything else. Maybe the box set will spark a Soft Boys craze. More bands need to sound like them.

true... tbh I only heard them for the first time a couple of months back.. they were one of those groups that slipped through my net when I started seriously started getting in post-punk stuff in the late 80's.

They need to include 'Innocent Boy' in the extras this time. Best Softs song to have never seen a legit release IMO. (It was on the Invisible History boot).

yeah! that one is great. kind of ridiculous how prolific a songwriter Hitchcock was then. All high quality stuff -- even the rehearsals on the Underwater Moonlight reissue are gems.

Had a first listen today.

1- Star Of Venus: Great choice for an opener, despite its un-opener-like sombreness. Total fucking gem, maybe the RH song of the young century, definitely in the top 5.

2- The Afterlight: a relative letdown which never quite overcomes the feeling of being a 'Tiny Montgomery' homage.

3- Luckiness: great sound-feel and deliciously unfrantic banjo pluckin, but this list-song doesn't take off. Musical saw all over this track but it's not enough.

4- Ordinary Millionaire: Wow. Just ravishingly beautiful and harmonically interesting to boot. Kate St. John finally plays oboe on an RH song hurray! This is the one for which Johnny Marr wrote the guitar part. Killer.

5- John In The Air: Even better. Robyn finally fucking nails the albion folk ballad mode he's toyed with a few times before (cf The Speed Of Things). Slightly hallucinatory production with an absolutely game-clinching deployment of a forlorn handclap on every upbeat, giving it a kind of raga feel.

6- Propellor Time: ok, here's the bleak minor-mode gtr arpeggio with three part harmony vox number for this album. Does it soar or crawl? It soars. RH has done this kind of song dozens of times before and rarely misses this particular target.

7- Primitive: An exercise in staggered vocals (3 or 4 robyns singing rounds)over strolly acoustic guitars. What the hell is that on the chorus? Some kind of treated accordion? This is awesome. It wins on sheer aural interestingness.

8- Sickie Boy- Chiming Byrdsfest over an interestingly tricky drum figure. Neat chorus that makes you wait two whole measures between its two short phrases. Way catchier than it seems, already worming my ear. Voices-and-drums only reprise of the chorus that sounds genuinely jubilant.

9- Born On The Wind: The old Neil Young/Meat Puppets II midtempo drumbeat arrives for a visit. Musical saw returns, but this time does its thing oh so subtly and much more affectingly. Goes down real easy and inspires contented head-nodding. RH gets in his memorable animal line of the album, ending a verse with 'the Da Vinci Cod'.

10- Evolove: Topical Robyn, taking Creationists to task with a minimum of pretension and more forgiveness than anger (we are very far away from 'Dear God' territory). Not on the level of the foregoing tracks, but good enough to make me wanna hear it again, and a grade above tracks 2 & 3.

So this is a fucking solid record with a better classic/dud ratio than any since Moss Elixir, and some of the coolest engineering of any RH record ever. Five definite keepers, and two more that immediately jump to all-time RH mixtape pantheon. As always with our boy, nice and short, no lengthier than an LP. I'm real happy.

nice! hopefully my copy shows up soon ...

I agree with you close to 100% on those write-ups Jon. "Star OF Venus" is his best opener since "Daisy Bomb". I thought "The Afterlife" was a "Yea Heavy and a Bottle of Bread" homage, but regardless of exact track it's cut-rate Basement Tapes material. Worst song on the record. I woke up singing the title track yesterday.

I forgot to mention abt 'Star Of Venus' in the phrase 'does it make you cryyyy' the cool way he makes the word 'cry' seem like its on a super dissonant note until the backing harmonies join in and make it a'ight. Love that.

I only had one quick listen and reserve judgement until another, but a few of these songs have already been released (not sure if they're different versions): The Afterlight, Luckiness, Sickie Boy. And Evolove is awfully familiar, was that in the "Sex & Death" docu?

And I must take issue with the suggestion that this could possibly be his best since "Moss Elixir" - "Ole Tarantula" was totally ace start to finish (as was "Jewels For Sophia").

great record.

(the songs that sounded familiar were in a documentary on hitchcock that was made last year or the year before, where it showed him recording some of these in his house)

hitchcock played evolove at robin ince's lessons in carols for godless people shows, which was broadcast on bbc4 over xmas...

Well, what I meant exactly was 'highest gem-to-dud ratio since Moss Elixir'. Ole Tarantula and Jewels For Sophia are both great and have very high highs, but contain a few songs each I never want to hear again.

It doesn't mean those can't be better albums, in a way. I mean, I rate Da Capo higher than Forever Changes even though Da Capo has a whole LP side of utter dudliness (no 'Revelations' challops please, you know it sucks).

Delighted by the new album, last night I finally got round to buying I Often Dream Of Trains Live In NYC off eMusic. I was at this concert, it was breathtaking (full disclosure I got all teary during 'Autumn Is Your Last Chance') and the live recording fully lives up to my memory of the event. Superbly recorded, with excellent sense of how the three musicians were spaced around the stage. Arrangements range from respectful of the original to completely rethought and transformed ('Winter Love', for example, becomes a weird psych-folk dreamscape with echoes, guitar fade-ins, and wordless melisma). Terry Edwards and Tim Keegan are fucking fantastic throughout. I like how Robyn just leaves out the album tracks he's bored with and replaces them with contemporaneous outtakes like 'That's Fantastic, Mother Church'.

The physical release is a DVD/CD combo which I would totally want if I hadn't been at the show-- this performance was really fun to watch and there was a minimal but evocative stage set.

Encores include the unfortunate 'Up To Our Nex' but you can't have everything...

this is nice as always

i'm not digging it quite as much as ole tarantula and there's no single song as good as 'goodnight oslo' but i'm glad he's still continuously making good albums

i'm not digging it quite as much as ole tarantula and there's no single song as good as 'goodnight oslo' but i'm glad he's still continuously making good albums

This pretty much sums it up for me after a couple of listens, though I know in time his albums reveal themselves. Immediate favorites are "Ordinary Millionaire", "Sickie Boy" and "Evolove", with the middle bits "John In The Air"/"Propellor Time"/"Primitive" slowly growing on me. I never really liked "The Afterlight" much, and "Born On The Wind" is like a light bit of fluff.

Post Egyptians studio albums ranking for me:
1) Ole Tarantula
2) Jewels For Sophia / A Star For Bram
3) Moss Elixir / Mossy Liquor (though all this stuff is much better live)
4) Goodnight Oslo
5) Propellor Time
6) Spooked
7) Luxor

Not counting live albums (Storefront, I Often Dream Of Trains In NY), covers albums (Robyn Sings) or retrospective stuff (I Wanna Go Backwards, Luminous Groove, Obliteration Pie, Shadow Cat, This Is The BBC). Am I cheating by grouping the respective outtakes albums with their source?

Jeez, 17 major releases in 14 years. Hadn't thought about it but he sure is prolific! Good thing his hit/miss ratio is much, much better than Robert Pollard.

there's no single song as good as 'goodnight oslo'

Yes there is. Top 5 RH songs since 2001, in my estimation (no particular order):

Goodnight Oslo
Authority Box
Sometimes A Blonde
Narcissus
Star Of Venus

Out today in the States! Get it while it's hot. And it is hot.

YES, IT IS.

On RH's website is the news that Mike Heron will open for him on his imminent UK dates. This warmed my heart. The Robyn/ISB dna-overlap is not noted often enough. I saw RH do a moving cover of 'Chinese White' several years ago and there's a live boot of him performing an equally wonderful 'The Yellow Snake' in the early 90s.

Also a nice eulogy to Alex Chilton on his site.

my copy of propellor time hasn't shown up yet :(
Very cool that he's touring with Mike Heron! I posted a video of Robyn and Richard Thompson covering ISB on some other thread sometime last year ... "First Girl I Ever Loved" ...

Whoa! I have been kind of keeping note of how many ISB songs he's covered over the years-- there was an ISB tribute album that never came out which he did something for, and he played something in live accompaniment to Joe Boyd reading from his new book, but i can't remember which song now...

Off topic but has anyone heard the new Joe Boyd remasters of the first few ISB albums on Fledg'ling label? That news was exciting to me...

yeah, i just read about that ... I haven't heard them, though I dunno if I need to replace the Ryko remasters from the 90s. Those sound pretty OK to me! No bonus material, right?

here's that vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gVzYlGFQTE

See I have the Collector's Choice ISB editions that came out in the early 00s as 2CD sets. They are nice and warm sounding but a little rough in places. I almost wonder if they are well done vinyl rips.

Have not been able to compare the Rykos vs the Collector's Choice.

yeah, now that I think of it, not all of my ISB discs are Ryko ... Wee Tam/Big Huge and Hangman's definitely are, but I'm not sure about the others.

Here's Robyn in the back of a cab singing "Born On The Wind"

http://www.blackcabsessions.com/sessions.php?id=1270049878&type=1

Further listens finds the first 3 and "Born On The Wind" the weak tracks and the rest pretty damn impeccable and better than "Goodnight Oslo" overall though I need to listen to all the Venus 3 albums back-to-back.

Wait wait my friend the first 3 includes Star Of Venus! You must have misspoke!

I'm with Jon on that one. Don't think 2 and 3 are all that but the opener is gorgeous. Also Goodnight Oslo > Propellor Time > Ole Tarantula.

Ok, I just listened to the last 3 albums back-to-back and here's my quick'n'dirty analysis:

Ole Tarantula:
"Belltown Ramble" and "Red Locust Frenzy" are the only forgettable tracks and "Museum Of Sex" is a bit loopy. Otherwise, the rest is classic and the opening pair of "Adventure Rocket Ship" and "Underground Sun" are amazing; "Embryo Twirl", which was a bonus track left off the album, is a must-hear with drop-dead gorgeous "double track" chorus.

Goodnight Oslo:
Starts off well with "What You Is" and "Your Head Here". I'm love/hate about "Saturday Groovers" and "Up To Our Nex" - I kinda like both but they're just a bit stoopid. "I'm Falling" and "Hurry For The Sky" are good but then the whole second half is pretty forgettable aside from the title track, though "Intricate Thing" is solid lyrically. "Goodnight Oslo" is the single best track on these 3 albums.

Propellor Time:
Sorry esteemed Fegmaniax, I still feel the same - "Star Of Venus" just doesn't do much for me. And the more I listen, the stronger the center 3 songs (John In The Air/Propellor Time/Primitive) become. "Born On The Wind" is alright I guess but disposable, and I wish he didn't do that voice-over at the end of the wonderful "Sickie Boy" (Rieflin's drumming is full of great little touches on that track that are utterly captivating). I think this has jumped up to his 3rd best release since the Egyptians.

Don't you think they segmented the tunes sort of, Ole = the indie-rock one, Propellor = the folk one and Oslo = the bits with horns and female backup singers that didn't fit the other two.

my copy still hasn't shown up yet! Laaaame.

Ole Tarantula:
"Belltown Ramble" and "Red Locust Frenzy" are the only forgettable tracks

'Belltown Ramble' is so close to being great, I love the phrasing and loping groove of it, but the lyric trajectory just loses me completely once he starts the whole Tamerlane/4 horsemen trip, which annoys me so much now that I can't play the track. Agreed 'Locust' is just Robyn minor-arpeggio-by-numbers; contrast it with the inspired 'Propellor Time' born from the same mood.

Otherwise, the rest is classic and the opening pair of "Adventure Rocket Ship" and "Underground Sun" are amazing; "Embryo Twirl", which was a bonus track left off the album, is a must-hear with drop-dead gorgeous "double track" chorus.

'Embryo' is a really odd but unmissably beautiful song. It reminds me of 'Lions and Tigers' off Nextdoorland in that I still can't get a fix on my feelings about it after a zillion listens. I blow hot and cold on 'NY Doll'-- sometimes it moves me and other times it feels flat and clunky.

The thing about the whole album is how great all these songs sounded live on the first and second Venus 3 tours. So much energy and joy. It was like Robyn's Rolling Thunder tour or something. And there are a lot of audience recordings from those tours on archive.org, so that's what I almost always listen to the last few years when I want to hear these songs (I esp. recommend the Beachland Ballroom cleveland, Slim's portland, The Gov, and cat's cradle shows).

Goodnight Oslo:
Starts off well with "What You Is" and "Your Head Here". I'm love/hate about "Saturday Groovers" and "Up To Our Nex" - I kinda like both but they're just a bit stoopid.

Totes agree on the first two. I'm just hate about 'groovers' and 'nex' at this point. Worst songs on any of these three albums. "Saturday Groovers' is almost BRAVE in its lameness.

"I'm Falling" and "Hurry For The Sky" are good

I rate these two very highly, even better than the first two tracks imo.

but then the whole second half is pretty forgettable aside from the title track, though "Intricate Thing" is solid lyrically. "Goodnight Oslo" is the single best track on these 3 albums.

Yep. The title track is just amazing. For me it's in a tie with 'Star of Venus'.

Propellor Time:
And the more I listen, the stronger the center 3 songs (John In The Air/Propellor Time/Primitive) become.

Hell yeah. That string of middle tracks is when this record makes you just stop whatever you doing and listen. On headphones I just stopped working altogether and went bewitched. No supervisor noticed, luckily.

I wish he didn't do that voice-over at the end of the wonderful "Sickie Boy" (Rieflin's drumming is full of great little touches on that track that are utterly captivating).

Yeah the voice over isn't fatal for me but I could really do without it. Apparently there was a 7" version of 'Sickie Boy' which omits the voiceover but is also a different and perhaps less awesome mix of the track. I would like to hear it.

Wanted to say I just listened to Mossy Liquor for the first time in years and years (I have the vinyl, but have been turntableless for a while). It's available digitally from iTunes and eMusic now, sounding absolutely gorgeous (a more appealing soundstage for me than on the official album). Most importantly, the version/arrangement of 'Beautiful Queen' on here shits all over all other versions from a great height. The version of 'Devil's Radio' is also superior to the Elixir one, though by not as great a margin. And two of the songs exclusive to this release are top-rank RH: 'Each Of Her Silver Wands' in its original solo electric britfolk type arrangement, and the amazing, impossible to explain 'As Lemons Chop'. Now that you can cherry pick your tracks from this album there's no reason to hesitate.

Yeah, Mossy Liquor is great -- I also love that instrumental "Shuffling Over the Flagstones" .... I should get the digital version, since I'm in the same boat as you as far as turntables go. Well, I've got one but it sucks.

btw, my friend is in the process of digitizing a few live Hitchcock tapes that we made back in the mid-90s. Can't wait to hear them again -- will post on my blog when they're ready to go.

If you only wanna spend 2 bucks get 'Beautiful Queen' and 'As Lemons Chop'.

ooo exciting xpost!

oh, and i think i've got that 7-inch version of sickie boy ... does yr webmail work?

bro nod to tylerw!

More Phantom 45s up at his website: http://www.robynhitchcock.com/phantom45s/
Also, Robyn has jumped on the hipster cassette bandwagon!
As a special treat for the fans, we are excited to announce that the Robyn Hitchcock Webshop has an extremely limited number of Propellor Time, the all-new release from Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, on hand made cassettes. Only 100 cassettes were made and each copy is hand assembled and is individually autographed and numbered by Robyn. But don't delay, we only have 40 cassettes to offer and this item will be gone from the Robyn Hitchcock Webshop forever. Here's a peek at what you can expect if you are lucky enough to get this ultra-rare collectable.

Robyn's facebook page linked this this morning...

http://bit.ly/robynhitchcockrarities

propeller time has successfully been my gateway back into hitchcock, who I loved when I was in high school but who I decided I couldn't stand when I got too cool for him around 1993. It looks like I managed to miss maybe two poor records (moss elixir and luxor) but everything else I've heard post-egyptians is so good, I really regret not being on top of these earlier. I particularly like Sophia/Bram, and those biographical songs (I saw nick drake and ny doll) are really great writing, not the sorts of things I would have expected him to turn out. The venus 3 records are just excellent pop records, certainly better than anything REM have managed in many years. anyway, I hope he tours this in the US so I can see him again; I haven't since around the time eye was released. He was actually my first 'club' show in 1988 or so.

maybe two poor records (moss elixir and luxor)

Yes on Luxor, not exactly on Moss Elixir. The songs are great but the studio versions are missing something. Find a bootleg from 94/95 and you'll get much better versions. In particular, he did a career retrospective tour right before the album came out and after the Rhino reissues - one of these days (soon!) I'll digitize my cassettes and give them to Tyler for his blog.

yes please!
in other news, i have yet to receive Propellor Time! I ordered it direct from his Web site ... I've gotten in touch with them, and they say that demand has outstripped supply at the moment, and it should be sent out soon. I'm sure it's racing up the charts ...

Hmm...95 era tapes you say. (Says the man with a digitized recording of a tape he made of RH at McCabe's in summer of 1995...)

heyyyy, ned. we may have talked about this before, but we were probably at the same McCabes shows. saw him there at least four times 94-95 ... hook me up w/ that tape! pleeze? :)

This was the first set on September 23, 1995, if that helps!

akm, moss elixir is one of his best records i'd say

ha, yeah, i think i was at both early shows that weekend in 95 ... i believe my friend has a tape of one of those nights, too!

Drop me a line with your e-mail address and you'll receive something soon...

hey, how'd that happen ... that mccabe's show is now up on my blog: http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/ also! Just saw this Kimberley Rew solo album is being reissued ... I've never heard it, much as I love the dude. Worth getting?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003DC87VG/ref=nosim/largeheartedb-20

I've heard a different Kimberley solo album - post-Jewels that was okay. Never heard this but, like you, I'm intrigued.

seems like it *should* be good, given that both the DBs and the Soft Boys are on here ... i'll have to find some samples.

I've always wanted to hear Bible of Bop...I remember people telling me it was great, but I've never seen it.

i will rep mossy liquor as the savior of that era's questionable arrangement decisions. did i say that like 5 yrs ago?

^ Bible of Bop is great! surprised that wasn't available on cd until now. now i have to go put it on.

"Bible Of Bop" is on CD? I had the other solo Kimberley albums ("Tunnel Into Summer", "Great Central Revisited") but recently sold them - they just never moved me

Have I mentioned that some days I just shuffle "Invisible Hitchcock", "You & Oblivion" and the detritus I skimmed from the "I Wanna Go Backwards" box? There's just something innocent and charming about the cast-offs from that period.

I know what you mean-- sometimes I'm specifically in the mood for that bedroom psych 4-tracker sub-oeuvre. Think I will make a playlist of just that shit.

You & Oblivion is probably in my top 5 RH records ...

I have a playlist of Invisible Hits, Invisible Hitchcock, You & Oblivion and Shadowcat that probably gets more play then any particular Hitchcock album. He admittedly has no clue what his best songs when he puts an album together, so these odds & sods collections are arguably better than any planned release. Invisible Hitchcock was my go to introduction to Robyn for newbies and I'm crushed I can't recommend it as a starting point anymore.

eye deserves a mention alongside the likes of invisible hitchcock, you & oblivion and mossy liquor. think i most love the solo/acoustic/home recorded hitchcock.

i used to really love eye but I find it really lacking these days. I think it has maybe three great songs and a bunch of stuff I want to skip over when I put it on. It really pales next to "trains".

i still love Eye -- but I think it's done a disservice by always being compared to Trains. Despite superficial similarities (green cover, mostly acoustic) the songwriting seems really different to me. Definitely more filler on Eye, but still some great stuff ("Linctus House", "Glass Hotel", "Raining Twilight Coast") ...

Back in the 90s there were some mailing list-produced live odds and ends cassettes put together (Uncarved Pumpkins, Unhatched Crablings) that took the best unreleased live bits and covers and cobbled them together. Has anyone gone to the effort of picking through the plethora of bootlegs from the last 15 years and done something similar?

i did a little mix of covers grabbed from archive.org ... not comprehensive or anything, but some cool stuff.

If someone wanted to make a playlist of this I'd be happy...

http://www.jh3.com/robyn/base/songs.asp?qq=10

I love the Asking Tree.

haha, that is quite a list ... might be fun to put together some "Robyn Sings" comps ... Floyd/Barrett, VU/Reed, Beatles ...

He's done at least three whole shows covering specific albums, I think all as benefits; I have the White Album, Sgt. Pepper & Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The Sgt Pepper one has some extra goodies at the end - "Waterloo Sunset", "Are You Experienced?", "Hey Bulldog" and "All You Need Is Love".

i think i listened to the sgt. pepper show -- was it kind of ... bad? maybe just super loose.

Kind of very not good; it isn't a work you can try to approach all slack and ramshackle. The White Album is by far the best of the bunch.

white album show is on archive.org? i should check it out.

Is it? I think I got it from that Cones site - he shared a ton of Hitchcock a short while ago, including the best show I was ever at - The Ram's Head in June '98.

yeah, i'm still catching up with that cones site. doesn't appear to be on archive.org ... listening to that all Floyd show now though -- sounds amazing.

The Floyd is good. Only the Pepper show is really suspect.

where can I find the Piper one?

The Piper one is on archive.org--

http://www.archive.org/details/robynhitchcock2007-05-26

Gerald McB-B are you on Fegmaniax?

Jon - not for years. The signal-to-noise ratio is way to much for me. I do, however, peruse the digests a couple of times a month to make sure I don't miss anything important.

Guess it pays to be connected...got a package in the mail today including a completely unexpected and unsolicited promo CD of Bible of Bop! The LP plus 3 unreleased bonus tracks. Hearing it for the first time...so far it's impossibly amazingly good. Minimal liner notes, a few paragraphs from Rew followed by some reviews and credits.

What label?!

CGB records, I think it's essentially self-released.

I had a tape of "Bible Of Bop" years ago, the samples on Amazon really brought it all back. Ordered! Thanks, Dan!

after a month and a half, my copy of Propellor Time finally showed up last weekend. Note to self: do not order direct from Yep Rock ever again.
but anyway! this album is sounding GREAT. Upon first listens, "Star of Venus," "Ordinary Millionaire," "John In the Air," the title track and "Primitive" are the standouts for me. Whole record has a wonderful sound though -- organic/rootsy w/o being boring. With the last two records, I've been glad that there are still some surprises up Robyn's sleeve. Some of this stuff sounds like nothing he's done before. Of course, something like "Born On The Wind" I think he has done before, as "Serpents At The Gates of Wisdom," but oh well.

Yeah I love how it's definitely an 'acoustic' 'rootsy' album and yet the sound picture has no lack of weird little production details, like the claps on 'John In The Air'. It's almost like the fully fledged version of what all those little jon brion marginalia were trying to accomplish on Jewels FOr Sophia tracks like 'I Feel Beautiful'.

yeah, definitely a lot of layers -- "John In The Air" has the neat effect of sounding like it's running backwards without actually having any backwards sounds on it. And the vocal on "Ordinary Millionaire" is really nice. Not sure how I feel about the decidedly un-subtle "Evolove", but it's got a nice melody for sure. And the line about giving Jesus a high five is lol-worthy.

He was almost deprecatory about 'evolove' in a recent interview. Like 'I know this is basically just a polemic, think of it as a bonus track' kind of.

yeah, almost seems like an NPR assignment or something -- "write a song about atheism" ... but that said, it is lovely sounding. Overall, this record has me pretty excited -- very cool that he's got such a good band behind him, and is sounding inspired.

It beats the living shit out of 'Dear God' I'll tell you that much.

true! that reminds me though -- is that Partridge/Hitchcock collab dead in the water? I remember reading that it was put off because Partridge's hearing problems, but that was a couple years ago ...

It was implied they had written more songs than just the one... and in an interview last year Partridge basically he said he was waiting for RH to find time to come see him to do more. Didn't know he was having hearing probs. Not tinnitus is it?

here's something (not very promising) from Partridge
PM: What happened with this collaboration you were doing with Robyn Hitchcock?

Partridge: Well [deep breath], I must admit that I’m not holding out any great hopes for this because Robyn seems to be permanently on tour. We started this a couple of years ago, and he’s just been permanently around the globe somewhere, and I think we’ve had about four get-togethers in two years, which to me that’s not hot off the press. I’ll ring him up and say, “Look, spare some time to get together?” And he’ll say, “Well, I’ve got a tour of Scandinavia,” or “I’m going around America with a matey from R.E.M.” or “I’m touring England.” He just seems to be permanently out on the road, and I think four days of getting together and trying to write is not intense enough for me. I would have liked to have done like four days a week two years ago for quite a while until we had enough material to say, “Well, let’s throw half of that away, and this half is a great album.” But right now we have something like four half-finished tracks that are just kind of OK-ish.”

PM: Are those demos you were doing?

Partridge: Well, we were sort of recording as we were writing. It’s not a process I’m crazy on, because I like to get a song finished up and working as a solid piece of architecture before you’re even taken into the studio. So I don’t know what’s going to happen with that. I actually sent him an e-mail before he went off on his latest U.S. tour saying, “Do you think this is going to happen? Is this thing dying of apathy?” So I’m going to be honest with you. He’s going to have to show some phenomenally frightening commitment I think for it to get finished.

PM: What was his response to your e-mail?

Partridge: He left me a phone message which I missed, and then a confused e-mail back from him, and then I got a postcard from him in San Francisco saying, “Hey, when I get off this tour, let’s record some more.” And I’m thinking: Ohhhhhhh. Can I even remember who he is or what he looked like?

PM: What was the driving force behind that project?

Partridge: I liked him. I got together with him one day to write something for an album of his, and we came up with about six ideas, one of which he finished up, and it was called “[‘Cause It’s Love] Saint Parallelogram,” and he put that on an album of his. He is so quick witted, and he is a very creative fella. No sense of rhythm. He’s very creative. He just grabs stuff from the air, which I find very stimulating because that’s kind of how I tend to work as well. So to some extent it was like dealing with a mirror reflection of myself creatively. Maybe this is why the thing is not happening. Maybe we’re too alike.

PM: Except for your work habits.

Partridge: No, no, I like to get in there and get working, and we’re doing an album, let’s do it. But I think he’s addicted to globetrotting by the sound of it. I don’t know. Like I said in my e-mail, it could be that thing where it’s two forces that get together, one fire and one ice, and all you end up with is lukewarm water.

sort of funny, partridge complaining that robyn is too busy to record -- how many albums have you put out in the last ten years, Andy?

SHOCKHOUND: Word has it that you’ve also been collaborating with Andy Partridge on some songs.

HITCHCOCK: Andy Partridge has invited me into his studio, his shed. He’s been off for a couple of years because he had a terrible hearing accident. He had his headphones on in the studio and the engineer was unaware of this and fed him high treble tones at full volume, and it pretty much drove him insane. He’s managed to find some hearing aids that fool his ears into thinking they don’t hear the high-pitched whine. Anyway, he’s back to doing some music, so I’m recording in his shed.

SHOCKHOUND: On paper, you seem like two guys who would drive each other completely nuts. How has it been working out?

HITCHCOCK: It’s a small shed, but so far we’re getting on well. So that’s happening…

While I worship every scrap from both men, I don't know if I can get mega-excited about the prospects. Separate thread, but what collaborations like this have produced great records? Dali's Car (Mick Karn & Peter Murphy) and Jack Frost (Steve Kilbey & Grant McLennan) jump immediately to mind.

Man. Andy strikes me as a guy who would not cope well with tinnitus. That's too bad.

'No sense of rhythm' LOL it's kind of true of RH I guess. The Drums n Wires/Black Sea/English Settlement was Andy's high watermark for me and it's all because of that incredibly strong rhythmic profile XTC had in those days.

yeah i don't know if the Partridge/Hitchcock thing would work, though it seems interesting. I guess I'd be most pleased if Robyn sort of took the reins as far as songwriting and Partridge took the reins on production/arrangement.

New interview with Kimberly:

http://popdose.com/popdose-interview-kimberley-rew/

ah, nice. still need to get bible of bop -- that sample at the bottom of the interview sounds ace.

a song from Bible of Bop posted with permission here:

http://acuterecords.com/blog/?p=426

cool, thanks, dan. stuart moxham thing looks intriguing as well. listening to the test card EP as we speak!

For those of you with DIME access, a fantastic soundboard set of covers from Robyn & Steve Wynn:
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=312158

new album out aug 26 - The Man Upstairs, produced by Joe Boyd.

cool. Would be neat if they did a covers album based on Joe Boyd's White Bicycle tour, though I guess they already have that recorded and available anyway.

boyd says there will be at least a few covers mixed in there. i dunno, it can only be better than love from london. looking back i think that's my least favorite hitchcock album ever! at least i never wanted to listen to it.

Tracklist:

1. The Ghost In You
2. San Francisco Patrol
3. To Turn You On
4. Trouble In Your Blood
5. Somebody To Break Your Heart
6. Don’t Look Down
7. Ferries
8. Comme Toujours
9. The Crystal Ship
10. Recalling The Truth

Love From London is pretty horrible. Still, its better than Luxor. Heck, a wet fart is better than Luxor.

The cover, with art from Gillian Welch:

http://wp-images.emusic.com/assets/2014/06/the-man-upstairs.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52DUrv1gCUw

From the press release:

The Man Upstairs sees Hitchcock uniting with legendary producer Joe Boyd (Nick Drake, Fairport Convention) for one of the most unique recordings of his already quite idiosyncratic career. Rather than simply record a new selection of songs, Boyd suggested what he called 'a Judy Collins album' such as Elektra would have released in 1967 - part well-known favorites, part personal discoveries, and part originals. The multi-tiered approach offered Hitchcock the rare opportunity to record as a performer, not "just another singer-songwriter laying their freshest eggs."

Thus, modern standards like Roxy Music's "To Turn You On," The Doors' "The Crystal Ship," and The Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost In You" are interlaced with lesser-known gems from such pals as Grant-Lee Phillips ("Don't Look Down") and I Was A King ("Ferries"), the latter featuring harmony vocals and guitar from the Norwegian indiepop combo's own Anne Lise Frøkedal. Meanwhile, new Hitchcock originals like "Trouble In Your Blood" and "Comme Toujours" stand among his most fragile and heartfelt, his stark vocal and guitar cast by Boyd against simple, autumnal backing from longtime collaborators Jenny Adejayan (cello), Charlie Francis (piano), and the aforementioned Frøkedal (harmonies).

"I've always wanted to make a folk record produced by Joe Boyd," says Hitchcock, "and now I have: thank you, universe!"

ha, he's been doing "ghost in you" for what ... 25+ years? sounds nice!

and i've heard him do "the crystal ship" elsewhere -- probably like him doing it more than the doors.

Finally a release date! The album was recorded in about a week according to some comments I saw from Boyd. Let's hope this one breaks RH's two album slump. I mean it has to, right? A Witchseason production of Robyn Hitchcock! I love the Elektra LP conceit. Maybe I'll make some fake RH Elektra albums in anticipation.

I'm amazed he didn't choose one of the several Roxy Avalon cuts he's had in his repertoire for decades.

yeah, just got out his old covers session bootleg from 1993, some great stuff on there.

"The Main Thing" in nyc on halloween 2003 was v memorable (also a spine-tingling "Chinese White" that night).

2. San Francisco Patrol

Somehow managed to misread this as "San Francisco Panini".

Erik I know we've been through this before but side A of Luxor is slow deep water satisfaction in a style unique in his discography. It's side B that blows.

I refuse to revisit Luxor to find out if you're right.

xp really? I'm a big fan of Solpadeine.

I've always loved his version of "The Ghost In You". I think he's an excellent interpreter of his favorite songs.

@RobynHitchcock
Mount Rainier - Haile Selassie - The Smurfs: the parade goes on. Is there anything that has no name?

what is with this guy

(he replied to my answer!)

Nice!

mmm

the man enjoys conversation. i once elicited a look of slight dissapointment on his face when, after a sonic youth show, i stupidly did a "hey, you're robyn hitchcock!" and kept right on walking rather than strike up a polite chit-chat. i was super young but there's no excuse really.

I once saw him outside the Virgin Megastore talking to a friend of his, "Well, maybe it's in the Soul section" he said. Cool dude, quite tall.

I don't have any stories about encounters with Robyn Hitchcock but I used to see him play in London in the '90s and there was this superfan who would always be at the front at every gig. One time at the Jazz Café I overheard two other people discussing this bloke. One turned and said to the other, "He thinks he's Robyn Hitchcock's best mate but in fact Robyn Hitchcock wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire."

I never spoke to him but I saw him play an intimate acoustic set accompanied only by violin at my college (Oberlin) and as an encore he pulled out the electric guitar and played Autumn is Your Last Chance, one of my favorites of his and one of the saddest songs ever, and something you would've assumed he'd just use the acoustic for.

always seemed super nice -- though i do remember a look of slight terror when a superfan approached him after a show with a huge stack of vinyl and memorabilia for him to sign.

since the announcement of the new album i've been on hitchcock kick -- always good to be reminded how great fegmania! is. production is so odd (in a good way) -- at times it sounds like there's a really noisy rock record lurking somewhere beneath the glossy surfaces.

There is! I saw him on that guitar and violin tour in 95 and when he played Fegmania / Element songs with just an electric guitar he rawked!

he is one hell of a guitar player. this is sometimes overlooked.

yeah i think in a lot of ways he's my favorite guitar player.

i think of Fegmania as a sibling of The Top, Fried and Purple Rain, just these giddy weird 84-85 paisley pop records with a phosporescent burn to them.

robyn is such a unique guitarist, especially when he plays unaccompanied Tele.

what album does "Fried" refer to?

Julian Cope's album, Fried.

Robyn is to guitar as Victor Borge was to piano - brilliant masters of their instruments who preferred to play off-beat material which hid their proficiency. But when they each played standards, you could see their talent.

http://diffuser.fm/johnny-marr-robyn-hitchcock/

Robyn doesn't seem to know the Morrissey part too well…

http://danecdotes.com/post/100810120299/the-soft-boys-only-the-stones-remain-live

Great post, Dan. The Soft Boys material seems to have gotten better with age and musical experience for me. Hearing the source material I didn't know at the time only enhances their psych-punk fusion.

Yeah, I just can't believe the Beefeartiness of so much of it. I had never heard Beefheart at the time. Same with the Byrds, I mean I knew the two hits but I wasn't the scholar I am now (ok, I have that 5000 page book but I haven't read it yet). I would say I hear More John Lennon, Beefheart and the Byrds than I do Syd in most of that material.

saw robyn for the first time in over a decade last week, and he remains an amazing performer. bunch of songs i'd never heard him do before, too -- "luminous rose," "one long pair of eyes," "52 Stations" ... crazy that he could've done a completely different setlist and i would've gone home just as happy. the guy has a deep catalogue of fantastic songs at this point.

to say the least

I should see him again so he doesn't have to act in more Demme films

ha, does he still keep popping up in those? i remember him in the manchurian candidate and the wedding one ...

He did not appear in the Streep rockstar one or A Master Builder -- but in non-Demme thesping he played "Mad Reg" in this US indie I have not seen:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1754786/combined

Did he have his new squeeze with him? Not too keen on the single they put out.

she came out and sang on a few songs -- not exactly the right combo on some of it, but there were some parts that worked pretty nicely.

So the irregular Robyn/Yo La Tengo perform Black Snake Diamond Role show hit SF last night -- very good indeed! I shouldn't be surprised. Standout from the album songs itself was probably "Acid Bird" thanks to Robyn's astonishingly great solo -- really something remarkable. The second half/encore selections were good fun too -- a cover of "Going Down to Liverpool" among them, as was an encore including Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam" and a concluding "Element of Light." (Also did VU's "Run Run Run" earlier.)

Yeah the RHYLT show I saw in Brooklyn a little while ago was super super great. Robyn's frenzied wah pedal work - the soberly excellent ylt choir on do policemen sing - Georgia harmonies and ira faux-backward solo on Airscape (it's like baba o'riley ned - not titled the way you think it should be)