Robyn Hitchcock - The Ghost In You

Robyn Hitchcock has a new album, The Man Upstairs, scheduled for release on August 26th on Yep Roc. Produced by the legendary Joe Boyd (Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., Chris McGregor) the album features a mix of covers and originals, including a lovely version of The Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost In You."

Hitchcock has actually been covering this song on and off live for many years now, and it's nice to see it make an official album appearance.  Back in 1988, A&M Records released a different version as the b-side to a promo 12" of "One Long Pair Of Eyes" to promote the Queen Elvis album. This version was recorded live at McCabe's Guitar Shop on July 30th 1988. I've uploaded a recording of it to youtube for listening and comparison.

I quite like the new, more arranged version, but this stark, beautiful solo acoustic version is tough to top.

Record Store Day 2013: Robyn Hitchcock - There Goes The Ice

For Record Store Day 2013 Robyn Hitchcock will make all 8 songs from his previously download only "Phantom 45" series available on an honest-to-goodness 12" long-playing microgroove vinyl record. I'm sure there is a lesson in there about the persistence of the vinyl record in the as the age of the download gives way to the age of streaming. As a reward for supporting your local independent music retailer, the record will also include 2 new previously unreleased songs.

Hitchcock's latest Phantom 45, "There Goes The Ice" b/w "Twitch For Surfer Sam," is currently available for free download at his website. You can download the songs now in anticipation of getting your groovy new vinyl LP on Record Store Day, April 20th. I hope to be one of the 750 lucky Robyn Hitchcock fans to score a copy.

Another Old Radio Show

WDCV has audio from another of my old radio shows up on their tumblr blog. You'll need to go there directly to hear it. This show aired sometime in March of 1991, which means that the cassette tape I took the audio from will be old enough to buy a drink sometime this month.

Here is my playlist from that evening:

0:00 PSA Followed by bitter DJ Rant

0:38 Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - "Green Peppers"

2:05 Tom Zè - "Mã"

5:49 Sly And The Family Stone - "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"

10:18 Daniel Owino Misiani - "Joshirati Misiani "

15:10 DJ Announcements

15:30 Fugazi - "Waiting Room" *listener request

18:20 Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band - "Ella Guru"

20:48 Robyn Hitchcock - "The Ghost In You" [Psychedelic Furs Cover] *listener request

23:59 Phil Ochs - "Tape From California"

30:38 DJ Announcements

31:25 Chris McGreggor Brotherhood Of Breath - "Country Cooking"

36:30 Bad Brains - "Day Tripper/She's A Rainbow [Live]" [Beatles/Rolling Stones Cover]

41:00 Kip Kyler And His Flips - "Jungle Hop"

43:00 The Busters - "Bust Out"

45:30 Elvis Presley - "Patch It Up [Live]" *listener request

48:56 DJ Announcements

49:35 Rahsaan Roland Kirk - "Multihorn Variations"

54:26 Das Damen - "Sky Yen"

57:05 Gilberto Gil - "Quilombo, o El Dorado Negro"

61:28 Snakefinger - "The Man In The Dark Sedan"

65:46 Tom Waits - "16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six"

70:18 Sun Ra And His Arkestra - "Space Is The Place"

79:10 DJ Announcements

79:51 Sly And The Family Stone - "Ride The Rhythm" and "Family Affair"

85:23 Love - "You I'll Be Following"

87:40 Yung Wu - "Aspiration"

91:17 The Mekons - "I Can't Find My Money" [Cuts Off]

I think I was in a slightly pissed off mood that evening, in part because I was going to be graduating in a couple months and wouldn't have a radio show anymore. Also, at the time I felt certain songs were getting overplayed on the station (I specifically mention Material Issue's "Valerie Loves Me" in my opening rant, and I have to confess I still find that song slightly annoying). I was very much of the view that college radio should have a freewheeling, "anything goes" kind of vibe to it, and not simply mimic the highly repetitive nature of commercial radio with a different playlist of "hits." Not everyone shared, or even appreciated, that vision which is understandable. 

My playlist that evening was an attempt to redress that balance, although I notice that some college radio favorites of the era also make appearances. Some of those were listener requests, but even at my most bitter I wasn't the kind of person who was going to turn down a request for music by Fugazi or Robyn Hitchcock in order to prove some pedantic point. And I certainly would never turn down a request to play Elvis the King under any circumstances.

While I winced a couple times listening to my opening rant, I still find this pretty fun to listen to, and when the tape cut off during The Mekons' "I Can't Find My Money" I was pretty bummed, not just because it's a great song, but because I found myself wondering what I was going to play next.

Update On YepRoc Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight Reissue

Some time ago I posted news that YepRoc would be reissuing the Soft Boys' 1980 classic album, Underwater Moonlight, on LP. At the time I passed along information in good faith that was provided by YepRoc via email that turned out to be inaccurate, and I feel a responsibility to set the record straight.

At the time of my original post in November of 2010, the LP release had been delayed, and YepRoc passed along news from Robyn Hitchcock that explained the delay and described the recut version. After having purchased the LP, it is apparent to me that the information provided in that email does not describe the final product that YepRoc brought to market. The full text of that email is provided below:

Hello dear vinyl-hunters,

Many apologies for the delay in getting the latest A Can Of Bees and Underwater Moonlight out to you. The LP test-pressings were sent over for Morris Windsor to check (as he has both a record-deck and ears that work well) and he felt that the cut was inferior to the originals (which he also has). We had been mastering from the 1993 DAT tapes, as the best reference source for these old recordings.

However, in the course of our conversations, Morris discovered an original production master (copy of the original mixes) of UM deep in his attic. This transpired to have the long-missing version of Old Pervert that graced the 1980 release of UM, amongst this uniquely surviving set of 1/4" mixes. This was like finding an ashtray in a pub these days: enchanted and wicked. So Morris FedExed (yes, it's a verb) the tape to the management office in LA where Richard Bishop (who had released the original UM 30 years ago on Armageddon Records) had the tapes baked. They go into a kind of pizza oven to prevent the ferric oxide falling off like liquorice.

At this point we decided to re-cut A Can Of Bees from a pristine vinyl copy. This was supplied by Geoffrey Weiss, a long-term music supporter in the quagmire of showbusiness; Geoffrey also kindly supervised the cut, along with Richard. The re-cuts were FedExed back to Morris who pronounced them very good. Morris is not given to hyperbole, and I have always favoured his judgement, when he gives it, over my own.

YepRoc have patiently waited for the improved LPs, and done their best to reassure anxious purchasers of these items who paid for them a while back and have seen nothing yet for their money. If you are amongst them, please again accept my apologies on behalf of the former Soft Boys, and I hope that the quality compensates in some way for the delay.

Best wishes from the old country,

Robyn Hitchcock

Unfortunately, the LP that I bought does not match the description above. First of all, the LP was cut in mono. To my knowledge there has never been a mono mix of this album (it was after all recorded in 1980, not 1967), and all previous issues of the album, including the original pressing on Armageddon Records (ARM 1), are in stereo. Second, the version of "Old Pervert" on the YepRoc reissue LP is the not the original one described in the email, but rather the "disco" version common to all previous Underwater Moonlight reissues.

I have no idea what happened here, and I won't speculate, but it is easy to conclude something went very wrong with this reissue based on this evidence alone. I attempted to contact YepRoc for answers to some of the questions raised by these problems, but received no response. The relevant portions of my email to YepRoc are reproduced below:

Dear [Redacted],

Back in November of 2010 I posted an item on my blog, Flowering Toilet, promoting YepRoc's then upcoming LP reissue of The Soft Boys' Underwater Moonlight:

http://floweringtoilet.blogspot.com/2010/11/soft-boysrobyn-hitchcock-reissue-news.html

After having purchased the LP, I feel the need to post a follow up, because it appears to me that the version of the LP that YepRoc has released does not match the description that Robyn offered, and that I passed along to my readers in good faith.

There are two major issues with the YepRoc LP reissue that I regard as extremely problematic. First, and most importantly, the LP is in mono, not stereo. Given that Underwater Moonlight has never been previously issued in a mono version (and the fact that it was recorded in 1980, not 1967) I have to assume that this is the result of a mistake. Second, the version of "Old Pervert" is the "disco" version of the song that is common to previous reissues (Glass Fish, Ryko, Matador), not the original version of the song that appeared on the Armageddon LP in 1980, and that Robyn indicated would appear on the YepRoc LP.

I am hoping you will be able to answer the following questions so that I can pass along the answers to my readers:

1) Why is the LP in mono, not stereo?
2) Why does the "disco" version of "Old Pervert" appear on the YepRoc reissued LP instead of the original LP version as promised by Robyn in his email to YepRoc customers?
3) Was the LP, as released by YepRoc, in fact cut from the production master that had been in the possession of Morris Windsor and is mentioned in Robyn's email, and was this the version that Morris pronounced "very good"?
4) Does YepRoc consider the LP, as released, acceptable? If not, what steps, if any, are being taken to rectify the situation?

I am reluctant to post anything on my blog that is either critical of Robyn, The Soft Boys or YepRoc. However, given that I passed along what appears to be inaccurate information to my readers, I feel duty-bound to follow up on my previous post, and I cannot in good conscience not mention these issues in doing so. I wanted to reach out to YepRoc for information before addressing the issue in the interest of fairness and in the hopes that I can pass along accurate information this time. ...

Best,

Pete Bilderback
Flowering Toilet
http://floweringtoilet.blogspot.com

I sent this email to multiple contacts at YepRoc on September 8, 2011, but have not, as yet, received a reply.

I would like to apologize to any of my readers who may have bought this reissue on the basis of the information I passed along. Again, I did so in good faith and with no intent to deceive. I am as disappointed as anyone that this reissue did not live up to YepRoc's promises. I would also like to apologize for not posting an update sooner, but it was my sincere hope that these issues would be resolved by YepRoc, making any complaints about this reissue unnecessary.

Tromsø, Kaptein

I feel like I have crossed some invisible--perhaps imaginary--threshold with my recent purchase of Robyn Hitchcock's new album, Tromsø, Kaptein. Rather than ordering the album on CD, I chose to buy the (lossless) FLAC download. For the first time, I skipped the physical release of a Robyn Hitchcock album. Of course I've bought digital albums in the past, but doing so for a major (for me) artist like Robyn Hitchcock feels somehow different.

It's a sensible choice, but it still somehow feels a little strange. But (with shipping) the CD would have cost me over $20 (there was no vinyl release of this album) and the FLAC download was $11. So purely from an economic standpoint, my decision makes sense.

The were other factors in play however. The last Hitchcock album I bought on vinyl, Goodnight Oslo, despite being well-mastered and virtually free of clicks and pops, was something of a disaster sonically. I pre-ordered it from Yep-Roc, and when I got the vinyl in the mail, I found side two was pressed well off-center, leading to audible warble. Yep Roc kindly mailed me a replacement copy, and I mailed the defective LP back to them. Unfortunately, my replacement copy had the exact same problem. I then bought another copy at my local record shop, and when it too featured an off-center side two, I gave up, and have mostly listened to the MP3 that came as a bonus with the vinyl.

It's hard not to think about the environmental impact of my old-fogeyism in this case. How much larger was the carbon footprint of my multiple vinyl purchases than if I had just settled for a download in the first place? There is the carbon emission associated with producing three slabs of vinyl, plus the emissions associated with shipping it back and forth. It's gotta add up, right? How many icebergs need to melt for me to continue feeding my vinyl habit when there are other options available?

After that experience, I passed on the vinyl edition of Robyn's next album, Propellor Time, and simply purchased the CD at my local record store. But I don't think I listened to the CD in the traditional sense once. Don't get me wrong, I've listened to the album numerous times, but that has either been on my laptop music server or on my iPod. The CD has done little more than gather dust in a drawer after being ripped (losslessly) to iTunes.

All of which left me questioning the wisdom of paying twice as much for a CD as for a FLAC download that is bit-for-bit identical to the data encoded on the CD. I had to convert the FLAC files to a format that iTunes recognizes in order for them to be useful to me, but that wasn't hard.

So now I have Robyn's new album with sound quality that is equal to the CD, and the carbon footprint of my purchase is much smaller than it would have been otherwise. Allow me to pat myself on the back in typical American self-congratulatory fashion for being a friend to the planet and a defender of the icecaps. I am the Greatest American Hero. I spit on the rest of you and your decadent, wasteful ways.

The downside is that I have no fucking clue who plays on the album. There are some enchanting female backing vocals as well as some lovely string bass, but I have no idea who is responsible. A Google search revealed all kinds of places to download the album illegally, but no details on who plays on it (Paul Noble produced, I can tell you that).

The album itself is fantastic. I would put Hitchcock's body of work from Spooked to the present up against any other period of his career. In fact, this may be the best stretch he's had overall, even if none of the albums quite match something like Underwater Moonlight. Highly recommended.

New Robyn Hitchcock Album, Tromsø, Kaptein, Available for Pre-Oder/Download

  

Robyn Hitchcock - Light Blue Afternoon by Hype City Recordings

A new album from Robyn Hichcock, Tromsø, Kaptein, is being released by Norwegian label Hype City Recordings. It is currently available for pre-order at Robyn Hitchcock's website. If you buy it now, you will immediately get an MP3 download of the entire album.

Details:

Robyn Hitchcock's new album is sung in English for Norwegian ears.

We are excited to announce that Norwegian label Hype City are all set to release a new collection of songs by Robyn Hitchcock on April 8th [May 3rd in USA], Tromsø, Kaptein on CD. Produced by Paul Noble, the record features 8 new original compositions from Robyn as well as a re-recording of "Raining Twilight Coast" from Eye and a new Norwegian language version of the title track from Goodnight Oslo.

Exclusively at the Robyn Hitchcock Webshop, we are giving fans the chance to pre-order the CD now and get the full MP3 digital album instantly for FREE. CD will ship and FLAC download available for purchase 5/3/2011.

Robyn says:

"In the late summer of 1982 I first visited Norway. A yellow van containing the London band Motor Boys Motor, my own rock trio, a sound engineer and our tour guide set off from Oslo up to the Sognefjord, down through Lillehammer, back to Bergen and through the Sognefjord again, and returning again to Oslo. We played in fallout shelters to AC/DC fans, in small town festivals in the rain, in beautiful wooden hotels by the water's edge, and sometimes in actual clubs. Our yellow van drove through endless tunnels that finally emerged onto fjord-side roads with 1000-meter drops to the water on one side, and cliffs that vanished in the clouds on the other. Ferries took us across stretches of water where the rain seemed to be falling up into the sky. Mist and alcohol were everywhere. One morning I was wakened by a man who was wearing nothing but an air pilot's cap and clutching a glass of moonshine. It was 7:42 by his watch.

Since 2005 I've visited regularly, making new friends in Bergen and beyond. In Egersund, I met Frode Strømstrad whose band I Was A King were playing there. He very kindly offered to release a record of mine in Norway on his Hype City label. So I went home and disappeared into myself, as if I was roaming the fjords; I let one side of myself argue with the other, as if I was roaming the fjords with a therapist. I let the songs come out of me, and here is the result - sung in English for Norwegian ears."

~ Robyn Hitchcock - London, 2011

Robyn has been on something of a hot streak lately, releasing one outstanding album after another in quick succession with a variety of line-ups and in a wide array of Hitchcockian styles. On first listen Tromsø, Kaptein sounds like another winner. Perhaps I have "Norwegian ears."

Soft Boys/Robyn Hitchcock Reissue News

IMPORTANT UPDATE (09/16/11): Please see my update on the reissue of Underwater Moonlight before considering purchase.

I have a couple items of news to report on The Soft Boys and Robyn Hitchcock reissues front.

As many of you probably know, The Soft Boys' two proper albums A Can Of Bees and Underwater Moonlight have been reissued by Yep Roc. The CD versions of both are currently available for sale.

I was a little disappointed to learn that all the bonus tracks for the two CDs are being made available only as lossy compressed (192 kps MP3) downloads. I understand making the bonus tracks download only, The Feelies did this with their recent reissues in order to retain the artistic integrity of the original albums, and I approved of the idea. So while I'm fine with download only bonus tracks in concept, I do wish Yep Roc had also made lossless audio versions available as an option (as was the case with the Feelies albums). Also, none of the bonus tracks would have been new to me, which is probably a good thing since I would have wanted to hear them in better than 192 kps quality.

None of this should prevent anyone who doesn't already own both albums from buying them in this configuration, but it does make them less attractive to long time fans and obsessive collectors of all things Hitchcock, Robyn such as myself.

But that doesn't quite close the door on The Soft Boys reissue front. Originally the vinyl reissues of the two albums were to have been sourced from 1993 DAT copies of the masters that had been prepared when the albums were reissued on CD by Rykodisc. But it appears that the resulting DAT sourced test pressings were judged sonically lacking by the golden-eared former Soft Boy and current vinyl enthusiast Morris Windsor. As Hitchcock relays in an email:

Hello dear vinyl-hunters,

Many apologies for the delay in getting the latest A Can Of Bees and Underwater Moonlight out to you. The LP test-pressings were sent over for Morris Windsor to check (as he has both a record-deck and ears that work well) and he felt that the cut was inferior to the originals (which he also has). We had been mastering from the 1993 DAT tapes, as the best reference source for these old recordings.

However, in the course of our conversations, Morris discovered an original production master (copy of the original mixes) of UM deep in his attic. This transpired to have the long-missing version of Old Pervert that graced the 1980 release of UM, amongst this uniquely surviving set of 1/4" mixes. This was like finding an ashtray in a pub these days: enchanted and wicked. So Morris FedExed (yes, it's a verb) the tape to the management office in LA where Richard Bishop (who had released the original UM 30 years ago on Armageddon Records) had the tapes baked. They go into a kind of pizza oven to prevent the ferric oxide falling off like liquorice.

At this point we decided to re-cut A Can Of Bees from a pristine vinyl copy. This was supplied by Geoffrey Weiss, a long-term music supporter in the quagmire of showbusiness; Geoffrey also kindly supervised the cut, along with Richard. The re-cuts were FedExed back to Morris who pronounced them very good. Morris is not given to hyperbole, and I have always favoured his judgement, when he gives it, over my own.

YepRoc have patiently waited for the improved LPs, and done their best to reassure anxious purchasers of these items who paid for them a while back and have seen nothing yet for their money. If you are amongst them, please again accept my apologies on behalf of the former Soft Boys, and I hope that the quality compensates in some way for the delay.

Best wishes from the old country,

Robyn Hitchcock

So, in short, the LP reissues of Underwater Moonlight and A Can Of Bees will be sourced from an original production master and a pristine vinyl copy respectively. For those not familiar with the terminology, a "production master" is a (typically first generation) copy of the original master tape that would have been used to cut the original LPs. I believe the original master tapes for both albums were lost long ago, so the discovery of a production master for Underwater Moonlight is very good news, especially in light of the fact the original LP version of "Old Pervert" has not to my knowledge graced any previous Underwater Moonlight reissue.

Some might be disappointed to learn that A Can Of Bees will be sourced from LP, but I do not find it hard to believe that a pristine copy of the LP would be the best sounding surviving source, easily surpassing the quality of a DAT copy made 17 years ago. If transferred using good quality equipment, the new LP should sound excellent (within the limitations of the original recordings, obviously). There is a certain stigma attached to sourcing reissues from LP, but I applaud Yep Roc and The Soft Boys for choosing the best sounding available source rather than relying on dogma to produce these LP reissues.

I also wanted to note that Wounded Bird Records is reissuing Robyn's 1996 solo album Moss Elixir as a two CD set with its companion album Mossy Liquor. This will mark the first time Mossy Liquor has been made available on the CD format, having been originally released only as a vinyl LP, and subsequently made available for digital download. I'm glad to hear that Mossy Liquor will be made available on CD in advance of the format's complete extinction. Personally, I will be holding onto my vinyl copy of the album until my own complete extinction.

In other, completely unrelated, Robyn Hitchcock news, my eight year old son Will spent the better part of the day yesterday in his bedroom listening to "The Man Who Invented Himself" over an over. He now has all the lyrics memorized, as do the other other occupants of our house, including our two cats. He also took a break from Scooby Doo and Gamera videos to watch the I Often Dream of Trains in New York DVD with me. He declared "Ye Sleeping Knights of Jesus" his favorite (or perhaps favourite) song on the album. I'm thinking if he memorizes the lyrics of that one, he can perform them for his grandparents this Christmas.

The Boy Who Invented Himself

I walked into my eight-year-old son Will's room tonight to tell him it was time to go trick-or-treating and I found him singing along while Robyn Hitchcock's "The Man Who Invented Himself" played on his stereo. I've never been the kind of parent to push my idea of "cool" music on my kids--whatever they want to listen to is fine by me. Still, I have to admit it's kind of nice to see Will take an interest in one of my favorite artists.

Free Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock has a newly revamped website (mostly) up and running, and to celebrate he has made two songs available as free downloads (all you have to give him is an email address).

Robyn calls this giveaway a "Phantom 45," and I would not be surprised to see future Phantom 45s featured on his website. Personally, I'm looking forward to storing these in my nifty Phantom 45 carrying case.

In addition, Hitchcock has a new album, Propellor Time, scheduled to be released by Sartorial Records on March 22. Propellor Time was recorded in 2006 with the Venus 3 (Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin) and features guests appearances from Johnny Marr, Nick Lowe and John Paul Jones. No word yet on if the album will be released on LP, but one can safely assume it will be available on CD and as a download from the usual suspects (perhaps we should call this a "Phantom 33.3"?).

My apologies for not posting more often recently...I just haven't felt like it.

Robyn Hitchcock - Goodnight Oslo

Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 release a new album, Goodnight Oslo, in the U.S. tomorrow (it was released in the UK last week). I pre-ordered the vinyl directly from Yep Roc so that I could get a bonus CD with a few non-album tracks (somehow, I feel it is important that I add to my seemingly bottomless well of Hitchcock obscurities). I just noticed that the release date for the LP is not until March 3, so hopefully Yep Roc will give me access to the digital tracks tomorrow.

From the bits that I've heard of the album, it sounds very good. It's clearly the most carefully produced and pop-friendly album we've heard from our hero since his stay at A&M ended in the mid-nineties. The production sounds crisp, but not overdone. Certainly it's not fussed over to the point that the music will sound dated in a couple years.

In the meantime, I finally picked up the Luminous Groove boxset (on CD). Despite my uncharacteristic foot dragging, it's an essential purchase for any Hitchcock fan. The three albums presented in the box, fegMANIA!, Gotta Let This Hen Out!, and Element of Light, were among my first Hitchcock purchases and remain favorites. Between cassettes, LPs, and various CD editions, I've probably bought each of these albums several times over at this point. No doubt I'll buy them again when they're offered as implantable nano-crystals, or whatever format lies on the horizon beyond digital downloads.

Yep Roc currently has all three of these CDs on sale for $5, but the boxset (despite being pricey) is easy to recommend because of the excellence of the bonus material found on the double CD Bad Case of History album. The first CD focuses on (mostly) previously unreleased studio material. Much of it dates from 1987, the period between Element of Light and the Egyptians A&M debut, Globe of Frogs. Another excellent batch of previously unreleased songs dates from 1994. The material sounds too well produced to be demos, but not as polished as what appeared on the official releases from the period. It's hard to figure out why these songs wouldn't have seen release sooner. The liner notes are of no help in this regard, because there are none to speak of. Highlights include, "Bad Case of History," "Poisonous Angel," "Evil Guy," "Ivy Alone," and one of my all-time favorites "Surfer Ghost." The second CD collects live tracks recorded at various gigs from 1991 to 1993, think of it as Gotta Let This Hen Out! Mach II!

Here's another Egyptians obscurity from Hitchcock's A&M years that is not represented on the boxset. "Watch Your Intelligence" was released on the b-side of the "So You Think Your In Love" promo 12" in 1991. Perhaps this song will see official release on some future CD boxset chronicling Hitchcock's A&M recordings, but of course we might have moved on to nano-crystals by the time that happens. Stay tuned.

Watch Your Intelligence [right click to download]

Feels Like 1974

And it feels like 1974
Waiting for the waves to come and crash on the shore
But you're far in land
You're in funky denim wonderland
You and David Crosby and a bloke with no hand
You've got hair in places
Most people haven't got brains

-Robyn Hitchcock "1974"

All Music Guide currently has a list of its critics' favorite albums from 1974. Off the top of my head, I probably would have said 1974 was a terrible year for rock music, perhaps for music in general. When I think of 1974, I think of The Doobie Brothers, Supertramp and Jethro Tull, and not to pick on them, but I just don't much care for their music. In my mind 1974 was a time when the innovations of the 60s had given way to the excesses of progressive rock or mellow tedium of singer songwriters. When I think of 1974, I tend to think of the kind of music punk rock was a reaction against.

But looking over the All Music critics' lists, I was surprised how many albums I really love were released in 1974: Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets and Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Big Star - Radio City, Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, Neil Young - On the Beach, Roxy Music - Country Life, Gene Clark - No Other, Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information, John Cale - Fear, Elis Regina & Antonio Carlos Jobim - Elis & Tom, Betty Davis - They Say I’m Different, Merle Haggard - If We Make It Through December, George Jones - The Grand Tour, Funkadelic - Standing on the Verge of Getting It On, Parliament - Up for the Down Stroke, Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness’ First Finale, Miles Davis - Get Up with It, Dark Magus and Big Fun, Herbie Hancock - Thrust and Head Hunters, The Residents - Meet the Residents, Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado, Sweet - Desolation Boulevard.

And as far as I could tell none of All Music's critics even listed Gram Parsons' Grievous Angel (seriously?), Terry Callier's I Just Can't Help Myself, Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece (??), Sly Stone's Small Talk, Bob Dylan's Planet Waves, Al Green Explores Your Mind by Al Green, Ry Cooder's Paradise And Lunch, David Bowie's Diamond Dogs (okay, that one makes sense) or Love's under-rated Reel To Real (no surprise). And I don't doubt there are a bunch more albums from 1974 that haven't even crossed my mind. So upon further reflection, I have to admit 1974 was a great year for music, even if the best of it was bubbling under the surface of the pop charts.

Robyn Hitchcock - Luminous Groove Box Set

Robyn Hitchcock has really opened the floodgates on his vaults the past couple of years. Hot on the heels of a collection of unreleased 90s demos, Yep Roc has released another box set, Luminous Groove that covers his work with the Egyptians. The three pre-major label Egyptians albums (Fegmania, Gotta Let This Hen Out and Element Of Light) are included, along with a collection of unreleased recordings, demos and live tracks.

Back when Yep Roc released the first Robyn Hitchcock box set, I Wanna Go Backwards, I tried to sort out what material would be new to those who already owned the Rhino reissues, and I want to do the same for Luminous Groove.

First of all, the 2 CDs of unreleased material, entitled A Bad Case Of History, are comprised almost entirely of unreleased material. However, many of the songs themselves will be familiar to even casual Hitchcock fans as a lot of them are demos or live recordings of previously released songs. Some choice cuts that have never been officially released in any form include "Surfer Ghost," "Evil Guy," and "Poisonous Angel." Hitchcock fans are also likely to enjoy the demo and live recordings of material that may have been a wee bit overproduced on his A&M albums such as "Arms Of Love" and "Wreck of the Arthur Lee."

As for the albums themselves, I believe the following bonus tracks should be new even to those who own all of the Rhino reissues:

Fegmania
The Drowning Church
The Man With The Lightbulb Head (instrumental)

Gotta Let This Hen Out
If You Were A Priest
I’m Only You
Unsettled
Freeze
Egyptian Cream #2

Element Of Light
Sprinkling Dots
Upside-Down Church Blues
Neck
Bass (demo)
Lady Waters & The Hooded One (demo)

You might consider holding on to your Rhino reissues if you are fond of any of the following tracks because they do not appear on either Yep Roc box set:

Fegmania
Dwarfbeat
Egyptian Cream (Demo)
Insect Mother (Smithsound Demo)
Egyptian Cream (Live)

Element Of Light
Can Opener
President (demo)
If You Were a Priest (demo)
Airscape (demo)
Leopard (demo)

Luminous Groove is available on 5 CDs, 8 LPs or as a download.

Parents Get Homework Too

I was asked to write about what I could remember of Kindergarten for a project related to my son Will's kindergarten class. Here is what I wrote followed by a couple appropriate tunes:

Memories are inherently unreliable. We change and distort our memories to suit our own needs and create compelling narratives that help us make sense of our lives. My memories of kindergarten are at best hazy and fragmented. Thinking back on kindergarten it is difficult for me to distinguish between things that really happened and things I may have imagined or dreamed. I doubt the memories of kindergarten I carry with me bear much relation to events as they actually happened at time.

I vaguely remember feeling nervous on my first day of kindergarten. When I got to school, my teacher, Mrs. Tolson, mispronounced my name and I had to correct her (a ritual that would be repeated for the next twelve years of my life). My Elementary School (which housed grades K-6) seemed enormous, and so did most of the other children in comparison with myself. At first, everything about kindergarten was intimidating and unfamiliar. Even the word “kindergarten” sounded strange to me. I had misheard it as “kindergarden.” If this was a garden where were all the plants? Not much about the experience made sense to me initially. But once I had been in school for a few days, it was hard to remember what I had been so apprehensive about in the first place.

Mostly, I remember having fun in kindergarten. I remember playing a lot. The boys in the class favored wooden building blocks that we would use to construct tall fortresses, which we would proceed to knock down with great fanfare. The girls were always doing something else, but I never knew what. I don’t recall the class doing much in the way of academics, although I’m sure there must have been some of that.

I didn’t find everything about kindergarten fun though. One unpleasant thing that sticks in my mind these many years later is the fact that whenever the class had to go somewhere, we were forced to line up by height, shortest to tallest. I can still faintly recall my perpetual embarrassment at having to be first in line. I realize now that this arrangement made it easier for our teacher to keep an eye on all of her students, but at the time it seemed arbitrary and cruel to me.

These are the things I think I remember about kindergarten, but it’s impossible to know how closely they reflect reality without some immutable record like a photograph or video recording. Fortunately, I do have one such record, our class photograph.


Looking at the photo of my kindergarten class drives home just how many of my memories from that time are lost to me now. There are two adults in the picture, one Caucasian, the other African American. I literally have no idea which one is my teacher, Mrs. Tolson. I had expected to find the face of someone I am still friends with in this photograph, but he isn’t there. My good friend Peter Hennig doesn’t show up in my class photos until first grade. I do recognize a few of my classmates’ faces (or at least I think I do): Peter Munch, Jennifer Rucker, Dwayne Redding, Danita Chase, Kerry French, Holly Pearmon, Lisa Debord, Laura Hughes, Sonya Atkinson, Alan Rourke and Sharonda Maynard. I haven’t seen most of these people in decades, but remarkably I can still put names to their five and six year old faces. Other faces tease the limits of my memory, while still others are completely unfamiliar to me.

The photo also stirs memories of the time period in which it was taken. I can recall some of the popular songs that were being played on the radio at the time: “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas, “The Streak” by Ray Stevens (streaking was a briefly popular pastime in 1974), “Band On The Run” by Wings, “Mandy” by Barry Manilow and “The Hustle” by Van McCoy (which kicked off the disco craze). By far my favorite song at the time was “Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Campbell. I remember trying to sing along to it in front of my father’s KLH Model Twenty-One transistor radio.

Looking at the photograph it is clear that our parents had as questionable taste in fashion as they did in music. It would be unusual today to see so much plaid in one place outside of a family reunion in Scotland. I wonder if Will will find similar fault with the way we now dress him someday. I suspect so, and I’d like to apologize to him in advance.

Fashion aside, the mid-seventies were a different time in many respects. Few of my classmates’ mothers worked outside of the home. When not in school, children rarely participated in organized activities. Instead, we were generally set free to play as we wished around our neighborhoods, and were only expected to return home for meals. I remember playing kickball, tag and games with lurid names like “Ghost in the Graveyard” and “Smear the Queer” with the other children who lived in my neighborhood. In my memory, childhood was a freer and less structured affair than it is today.

But I think it would be a mistake to fall victim to nostalgia and conclude that I grew up during a “simpler” or “more innocent” time than today. In fact, it strikes me that there are a number of historical parallels between the time I was in kindergarten (1974-75) and Will’s kindergarten years (2007-08). Richard Nixon, embroiled in the Watergate scandal, and having sunk to public approval ratings almost as low as the current occupant of the White House, had been forced to resign from office just before I began kindergarten in September of 1974. The earliest thing I can remember watching on television was Nixon’s resignation speech, followed by a helicopter carrying him into the void of history.

Helicopters would again be in the news in April of 1975 as the last American military forces were airlifted out of Saigon, ending an unpopular war with too many parallels to the one the United States is currently ensnared in. Due to an OPEC embargo, gasoline prices skyrocketed, and just like this summer, families were forced to adjust or cancel their summer vacation plans.

As a child, these events were never more than on the periphery of my consciousness, but I’m sure they had an effect on me. More generally, I recall there was a pervasive sense of pessimism about the future. I remember being told on more than one occasion (perhaps in kindergarten, perhaps later) that I belonged to the first generation of Americans that would have less than their parents’ generation. We were constantly being told, in ways subtle and obvious, to adjust our expectations downward. I trust that this is not a mistake that will be repeated on Will’s generation.

Radiohead - Rhinestone Cowboy
Robyn Hitchcock - Kung Fu Fighting
Robyn Hitchcock - 1974

Robyn Hitchcock - Shadow Cat

Shadow Cat, a collection of 90s era demos and obscurities by Robyn Hitchcock is currently available from Robyn's homepape, The Museum of Robyn Hitchcock.

I already received my copy, and can recommend it to Hitchcock fans--for others this is obviously not the best place to start exploring Hitchcock's music. This is Robyn in stripped-down, mostly acoustic mode. A couple of the tracks--for no reason I can discern--feature vocoder treated vocals (perhaps Robyn was briefly in the thrall of Neil Young's Trans). Despite the fact that not every track is essential, there are nevertheless a number of very good tracks on the album--I remember hearing some of them live years ago.

"Never Have To See You Again" sounds like the bitter-but-liberated flip-side of "Beautiful Girl" or "So You Think You're In Love." "High On Yourself" features the great line "let's go shopping on painkillers" (as concise a statement on life in the late 20th/early 21st Century as you are likely to find). There's also an eerie cover of Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" (obviously a Hitchcock favorite), and the creepy "Shadow Cat." This is dark of night, "I haven't slept in two days and my mind is starting to play tricks on me" music. Many of the tracks could have been polished up a bit and been highlights on any of Hitchcock's "proper" albums. But to those who have followed Hitchcock's career closely over the years, the "improper" albums like this one--or Invisible Hitchcock before it--are just as essential as anything else in his catalog. Before I'm buried, I wouldn't be surprised if I'll have listened to this album more times than say Globe of Frogs or Ole! Tarantula.

I suspect this album will mostly slip through the cracks because of limited distribution and the wealth of reissued Hitchcock available at the moment. Somewhere I have a cassette of 90s era Hitchcock demos and live obscurities, and only one or two of the tracks from that cassette surfaces here--obviously, there is a lot more where this came from. I'm still waiting for a legitimate issue of "Surfer Ghost."

Groovy Decay

Yep Roc (or possibly Robyn Hitchcock) decided not to include Hitchcock's second solo album, Groovy Decay on the I Wanna Go Backwards box-set. Instead, they reissued the album exclusively as a digital download. It's now available directly from Yep Roc, on emusic and on iTunes.

It's hard to argue with the decision. Groovy Decay (and its demo-heavy doppelganger Groovy Decoy) is probably Hitchcock's least well regarded album. Hitchcock himself has all but disavowed it. Also, including it would have blown any chances that Hitchcock would be declared the godfather of freak-folk.

The truth is there are some very good songs on the album ("52 Stations," "America," "The Cars She Used To Drive"), along with a few clunkers ("Old People Scream," "Midnight Fish"). But the whole album is undeniably weighed down by its slick, "new wave" production aesthetic, and the reliance on horns and synths to carry the melodies rather than guitars. Unlike much of Hitchcock's work, Groovy Decay sounds dated.

Listening to the album I am reminded of the episode of Freaks and Geeks in which Sam is convinced by a clothing store sales clerk at the local mall (brilliantly played by Joel Hodgson) that all his troubles with the ladies will be over if he purchases a snazzy new "Parisian Night Suit" (which is really nothing more than a hideous powder-blue polyester jumpsuit). The results are predictably painful. No one should wear a "Parisian Night Suit," but some people (say, John Travolta) are capable of pulling off the look anyway. But poor Sam can't because the Parisian Night Suit is simply the opposite of who he is.

Groovy Decay is Robyn Hitchcock's Parisian Night Suit moment insofar as he dresses his music up in a style that simple doesn't fit his musical personality. Somebody convinced him that if he only adapted his style to the slick new-wave ethos of the era that he could have a hit. To his eternal regret he followed their advice, and the results, while not exactly cringe-worthy, are at least a little embarrassing in retrospect.

None of this should discourage you from downloading the album. No, it's not Hitchcock's best work. Yes, it sounds more than a little dated. But it is still certainly possible to hear the good songs beneath the production.

A few things got left off the latest digital incarnation of Groovy Decay. The demo version of "Midnight Fish" was originally released on Groovy Decoy, which featured mostly demos recorded in advance of the Groovy Decay sessions. Even the demos, recorded with former Soft Boy Matthew Seligman, are slicker and more produced than anything Hitchcock had recorded up to that point in his career. Special "disco" versions of "Night Ride To Trindad" and "Kingdom Of Love," originally issued in 1982 on a 12" single (a misguided attempt to get played in clubs?) were also omitted from the program. Can the world survive without disco versions of Robyn Hitchcock songs? I suspect so. But you shouldn't have to if you don't want to.

Also, since this album is no longer available in any worlds but the virtual one (or perhaps in some other parallel universe in which people prefer dancing to Robyn Hitchcock over Rihanna and J-Lo) it no longer comes with any tactile artwork. But that is no excuse for the lo-rez image--gleaned no doubt from a quick Google image search--Yep Roc features on their website. Feel free to paste the artwork above into your iTunes library.

A Post I Meant To Do...

I intended to write a post on a couple of tracks left off the Yep Roc reissue of Robyn Hitchcock's Black Snake Dîamond Röle, but I see another music blogger beat me to it.

Actually, I should thank 2fs at The Architectural Dance Society blog for posting the original version of "The Man Who Invented Himself" and its b-side "Dancing On God's Thumb" because I post on Robyn Hitchcock far too often anyway. As for "Mellow Together," some tracks deserve to be lost--proceed with caution.

Robyn Hitchcock - I Wanna Go Backwards Box Set

The upcoming Robyn Hitchcock box set I Wanna Go Backwards is now available for pre-order and has streaming audio on Yep Roc's website. The release date is set for October 16, 2007 AD. The box covers the Hitchcock solo albums Black Snake Dîamond Röle (1981), I Often Dream Of Trains (1984) and Eye (1990) in their entirety. It also includes a two disc set called While Thatcher Mauled Britain Part 1 & 2 that includes some previously unreleased rarities, as well as some tracks that previously appeared on the Invisible Hitchcock and You & Oblivion rarities collections.

If you are an obsessive Hitchcock collector like I am (and if you're not, what's wrong with you?) you are likely wondering two things: What material here is genuinely new to me, and what is missing from the albums I already own? Good news! I've already done the research for you and created to this handy guide:

What's new?
Previously unreleased material on I Often Dream Of Trains:
Chant/Aether (different from You & Oblivion version)
Heart Full Of Leaves (alternate)
I Often Dream Of Trains (demo)
Not Even A Nurse
Slow Chant/That's Fantastic Mother Church
Traveller's Fare

Previously unreleased material on While Thatcher Mauled Britain Part 1 & 2:
Century
Shimmering Distant Love
Lovers Turn To Skulls
The Beauty Of Earl's Court
Flesh Number 1 (different from Globe of Frogs version)
Parachutes & Jellyfish
Melting Arthur
You're So Repulsive
Opiatrescence
Lovely Golden Villains
Dr Sticky (live) (different from Invisible Hitchcock version)
Toadboy
Lightplug
I Wanna Go Backwards
Update:
The Abandoned Brain (different from Invisible Hitchcock version)

While the three proper albums will be available separately, the rarities discs are only available as part of the box set, so if you want them you'll have to spring for the whole thing.

What's Missing?
The most obvious omission is the mess that emerged from the sessions for Hitchcock's second solo LP, 1982's Groovy Decay. Yep Roc has promised Groovy Decay as a download-only release. No word on whether it will contain all the material from both Groovy Decay and Groovy Decoy, as the Rhino reissue Gravy Deco did.

Personally, I think it is kind of a shame that Groovy Decoy/Decay is not getting a proper reissue. True, Hitchcock (and many of his fans) hold these albums in low regard. And I admit the albums are partly spoiled by over-production, inappropriate arrangements and some weaker songs. But on the whole I think they're under-rated. The dance floors of the world will likely survive without the disco versions of "Kingdom Of Love" and "Night Ride To Trinidad" that showed up as bonus tracks on Gravy Deco, but "The Cars She Used To Drive," "Fifty Two Stations," "America," "The Rain" and several other songs hold up quite well.

Certainly it's better the material be available for download than completely unavailable (and all of these albums have been out-of-print for the better part of a decade). But perhaps I am old-fashioned in my belief that an album isn't really in print unless it is distributed for purchase on some physical media in stores that actually exist in the material world.

Missing from the original version of Black Snake Dîamond Röle:
"The Man Who Invented Himself" [This probably requires some explanation: as was the case with the Rhino reissue, the version of "The Man Who Invented Himself" that originally appeared on the Black Snake Dîamond Röle LP has been replaced with the Zinc Pear version. That probably requires some explanation too, but I'm not going to give it to you.]

Missing from the Rhino version of Black Snake Dîamond Röle:
Dancing On God's Thumb

Missing from the Rhino version of I Often Dream of Trains:
Mellow Together [In my opinion, this is no great loss. I always hated this song.]
Sometimes I Wish I Was A Pretty Girl (demo)
Cathedral (demo)
Mellow Together (demo)
The Bones In The Ground (demo)

Missing from the Rhino version of Eye:
Agony Of Pleasure (demo)

Missing from the Rhino version Invisible Hitchcock:
Falling Leaves
Eaten By Her Own Dinner
Star Of Hairs
Messages Of Dark
Blues In A
Dr. Sticky (studio version)
Update:
The Abandoned Brain (a different version is featured on the new set)

Missing from You & Oblivion:
Don't You
Mr. Rock 'n' Roll
The Dust
Polly On The Shore
Aether
Into It
Keeping Still
Ghost Ship
You & Me

I imagine it is possible that some of this material might surface on the next Hitchcock box set from YepRoc, but that seems unlikely given that the next box will focus on Robyn's work with the Egyptians. In the meantime, don't sell your Rhino Hitchcock CDs.

I've only listened to a bit of the streaming material, but much of the stuff I hadn't heard before sounds quite good. If you don't already own these albums, purchasing this set is a no brainer. If you do own them, hopefully my breakdown has made your decision whether to purchase or not an easier one. As for myself, the only decision I have to make is whether to spring for the vinyl or not.

One Year

Just over one year ago a middle aged music fan with a large record collection noticed the growing popularity of music blogs and dared to say "me too."

I started this blog one year ago as of Aug. 6th with this post on Robyn Hitchcock. I never thought I'd keep this blog going for a whole year. Sometimes I'm not sure why I have. Mostly it's been the enthusiasm of my friends that has kept me at it--especially Adam, Pete and Dan. I'd like to thank them, regular and semi-regular readers, and Guy (who needs to post again one of these days!) for keeping this interesting for me.

I don't know if this blog will last another year, but I don't feel like I'm out of things to say or material yet.

Robyn Hitchcock - One Long Pair Of Eyes (live)

I haven't posted anything by Robyn Hitchcock in a while. This is a live, solo, acoustic version of "One Long Pair Of Eyes" taken from the b-side of a promotional 12" for "Madonna Of The Wasps." I always preferred this version (recorded at McCabe's Guitar Shop) to the studio version that appeared on Queen Elvis.

Hitchcock's live intro to the song was included on the A&M Greatest Hits anthology, but A&M included the studio version of the actual song rather than the live version the intro initially ran into. Greatest Hits also included some nice b-sides like "Dark Green Energy" and a live versions of Roxy Music's "More Than This" and the Byrds' "Eight Miles High," along with some of Hitchcock's more familiar material. A fantastic version of The Psychedelic Furs' "The Ghost In You" was released as b-side on a 12" promo for "One Long Pair Of Eyes," and showed up on the Invisible History bootleg. Both albums are worth tracking down if you count yourself among the Hitchcock obsessed.

Honestly I've never had the foggiest idea what this song is about. But I don't think this is a case of Hitchcock being overly quirky or cute. While the ultimate meaning of the song is elusive, the lyrics remain evocative and even beautiful: "Just before the dawn appears, draining all the blue away, And just before all your perspectives change, Isn't it strange?"

So while I have little idea what the lyrics to the song are actually about I always find myself engaged and moved by them as Hitchcock sings them, especially in this version. Comprehension is overrated anyway. One of these days I'm going to post Hitchcock's cover of "Kung Fu Fighting" because I do know what that's about.

Digging Through the Live Music Archive

In the Live Music Archive there are basically two categories: Grateful Dead shows and non-Dead shows. Most artists in the database are dwarfed by the huge Grateful Dead Live Archive, which covers a 30-year span and has a whopping 2,800 shows. I haven’t downloaded the one and only Dead show I saw which was at RFK in ’86 but my memories of that day are still pretty vivid. It was a wild scene and unforgettable.

Out of the 128 Camper Van Beethoven shows in the archive I thought by chance one would document one of the nights I had seen them in D.C. back in the mid 80’s but most recordings were from 2003 to present - so no such luck. Ditto for the Robyn Hitchcock shows. While much of the archive is devoted to bands I’ve never heard of like the Disco Bicuits which have 700+ shows for instance, there is something here for everyone. Maybe even one of those ‘lost shows’ from your past. I did find two very different but enjoyable live sets.

While probably not new to many fans, Mojave 3’s Black Session from November 11, 1995 has a certain legendary status as being their first live show and is in my opinion on par with their official releases. A set of 8 songs slowly unwinds for the C’est Lenoir radio show in front of a small audience. A charming recording full of first-gig jitters that make it hard not to like.

On a related note, emusic.com now has Slowdive’s last and hard to find out-of-print LP Pygmalion which I’d been curious about for sometime but couldn’t find a copy. Pygmalion further explores the territory of ambient textures and Eno influenced soundscapes.

Getting back to the Archive - The Minutemen were giants of their time and still stand as one of my favorites from the 80’s hardcore scene. Listening to this complete set from March 9, 1983 recorded in NYC does nothing in the way of changing my opinion. Blazing through 38 songs with hardly a pause between for fans to yell “Van Halen!” makes me want to yell "San Pedro!"