We're Not Who You Think We Are
Album: Respect
Year: 1993
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While people always fixated on the Syd Barrett or John Lennon influences on Robyn Hitchcock, Bob Dylan was also a huge influence, which became formalized when he released an album of Dylan covers that featured the electric half of Dylan’s infamous Manchester 1966 concert. Since then, he’s sprinkled Dylan covers here and there.
And heck, just this year, he played guitar on his partner Emma Swift’s fantastic Dylan covers album.
Album: Respect
Year: 1993
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“Arms of Love” is on the short list of Prettiest Songs Ever Recorded, Robyn Hitchcock Division. It was also the first Robyn Hitchcock song I was looking forward to hearing, and it was the rare Robyn Hitchcock song that had been covered by another artist prior to Robyn putting our his own version.
That artist, of course, was R.E.M., who had been intertwined with Hitchcock since 1988 — Peter Buck was basically the fourth Egyptian and Michael Stipe had sung on two of the better of the Perspex Island-era songs, “She Doesn’t Exist” and “Dark Green Energy.”
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1973: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “The Arms of Love”
Album: Perspex Island
Year: 1991
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After the acousticy detour of Eye, Robyn Hitchcock came back in 1991 with Perspex Island, his fifth studio album with The Egyptians, which had a bigger and glossier sound as compared to his previous albums. I mean, as compared to: it still wasn’t a patch on some of the bigger productions of the year: your Guns ‘n’ Roses or or your U2s or even your R.E.M.s.
The R.E.M.s, of course, were once again helping Robyn out. Well, mostly Peter Buck, who is all over the album, including the the first single, the crazy-catchy “So You Think You’re In Love,” a song that went all the way back to the Soft Boys days.
Album: Queen Elvis
Year: 1989
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“Madonna Of The Wasps” just might be my favorite Robyn Hitchcock song.
That said, by any objective standard, it’s his greatest song, right? I know that some of you might stan for “I Wanna Destroy You” — it’s certainly been covered by more people — and I can’t argue too hard with you. Except to say this: “Madonna of the Wasps” is an utterly perfect pop confection from the opening chant to the guitar solo at the fade. In the same universe that all of the great Replacements singles cracked the top 10, “Madonna of the Wasps” was an instant smash #1 all around the world.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1968: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Madonna of the Wasps”
Album: Globe of Frogs
Year: 1988
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“Chinese Bones” might just be my favorite Robyn Hitchcock song. At the very least, it’s on the short list of the Prettiest Songs Ever Recorded, Robyn Hitchcock Division.
In a post on his Facebook page, he called it “a Halloween song, for those of use who dance internally”, and said it was influenced by Roxy Music’s Avalon.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1967: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Chinese Bones”
Album: Globe of Frogs
Year: 1988
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There were a lot of unlikely major-label signings in the second half of the 1980s — Sonic Youth, Husker Du, etc — but in retrospect, the signing of Robyn Hitchcock to A&M in 1988 was one of the most unlikely. That said, he remained a major label artist for over a decade, with Warner Brothers picking him up after A&M had given up, so the fact that he always made quality records definitely counted for something.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1966: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Unsettled”
B-side, 1986
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As much as I love Robyn Hitchcock, I learned pretty early on that buying his singles for the b-sides was a dodgy proposition. Often times, the b-sides were rife with weird experiments, either dissonant, ambient or spoken word.
That said, occasionally you hit paydirt, like the “If You Were A Priest” 12″ single, which I’m sure I bought at Rasputin’s in Berkeley, and ended up containing a song I love as much as anything on Element of Light, the glamstomping “Tell Me About Your Drugs.”
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1965: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Tell Me About Your Drugs”
Album: Element of Light
Year: 1986
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I somehow doubt that when Robyn Hitchock wrote “Lady Waters & The Hooded One” — a story song about a woman facing death via the Plague — he knew that it would ever have any kind of contemporary resonance. But here in the waning days of 2020, it kinda does.
Album: Element of Light
Year: 1986
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The first time I saw Robyn Hitchcock & The Egpytians was in November, 1986, just a week after my 24th birthday. It was at the Berkeley Square in, yup, Berkeley, and the opening band was the Young Fresh Fellows, who I never loved as much as they deserved, especially considering Scott McCaughey’s post-YFF career.
In any event, I think it was another one of those one-night roadtrips where we drove up from Fresno that day, and back home afterwards. In between was an awesome concert: I remember really enjoying Robyn’s surrealistic stories before and after songs — hinted at during Gotta Let This Hen Out!, but taken to extremes during an actual show — and just the awesome musicality of the Egyptians.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1963: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Never Stop Bleeding”
Album: Element of Light
Year: 1986
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“Airscape” just might be my favorite Robyn Hitchcock song.
It’s most certainly one of his favorites, from all accounts, and it’s the centerpiece of the second side of one of his greatest records, Element of Light, floating in on a backwards guitar, already in progress.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #1962: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – “Airscape”