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Thread: Robyn Hitchcock Fans???

  1. #1

    Robyn Hitchcock Fans???


    Fantastic Barrett Cover....Hes on tour in the US now....

  2. #2
    Yes, I am.

  3. #3
    I am a big fan of him, to the point of obsession. "Eye" and "Moss Elixir" never seem to leave my playlist. "Storefront Hitchcock" is one of the few DVDs that gets replayed in my house. I love his voice, his words and how he tells stories.

  4. #4
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Followed him for a bit in the late 80s/early 90s and found him delightfully oddball. Roy Harper, Steve Harley, and Syd in a blender? Would love a good boxed set or two.

  5. #5
    Love him and even saw him live a couple of times, really great performances and entertaining in-between chatter-
    Oddball describes him well
    His box set "I wanna go backwards" is essential - holding together his best albums IMHO:
    Eye, Black snake diamond role, I often dream of trains and a bonus disc which is quite good.
    Also his 4-5 recent albums (with venus3 and alone) are quite good.

  6. #6
    Yes.
    Gotta Let this Hen Out is a stone cold classic
    and Fegmania, Element of Light, I Often Dream of Trains, and Globe of Frogs are all REALLY good.

    The Question is, do any of Robin's more recent efforts compare favorably to the classic stuff??
    regards
    KGH
    www.artbykgh.com

    Wherein one can peruse all manner of Digital Artwork & Photography. . .

  7. #7
    Gods yes. Bassssssssssssssssssss...

  8. #8
    Of his recent-ish stuff I have heard, I thought Ole Tarantula (with The Venus Three) was terrific. One of those albums where for the first few listens nothing particularly stood out then, like a wave, they all came at once and I couldn't stop listening to it.
    It's subtle, beautifully recorded and the vocal harmonies are lovely.

    NY Doll, is as poignant a tune as The Wreck Of The Arthur Lee. It's about Arthur 'Killer' Kane from The New York Dolls.
    Hitchcock doesn't always hit the mark (for me), but when he does he's just sublime. This is one of those tunes.
    Belltown Ramble and A Man's Got To Know His Limitations Briggs are other highlights.

  9. #9
    As a caveat, even when Robyn doesn't 'hit the mark', I like his music well enough. He's very prolific and his good stuff is some of my favourite music by anyone. Even an album like Luxor, which is nothing special compared to, say, I Often Dream Of Trains, has a couple of really wonderful tunes.

    He's an interesting guy, and has that rare ability of being a good acoustic and electric guitarist. That his writing was, clearly, very informed by Syd originally means we still get those funny, dissonant vocal rubs that hang over a chord and make eternity appear for a second. See also Andy Partridge. It's stuff like that which keeps me coming back.

  10. #10
    I am a big fan of his and have seen him numerous times, both solo and with the Egyptians. The stories between songs are incredible. Favorite albums are Fegmania and Element of Light with the Egyptians and I often Dream of Trains solo. I have everything I know of and like it all, but these are my standouts.

  11. #11
    Big one here. Including Soft Boys, whose "Underwater Moonlight" is one of the best post-punk/neo-psychedelic albums ever released.
    Macht das ohr auf!

    COSMIC EYE RECORDS

  12. #12
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    I would have to agree that Hitchcock "doesn't always hit the mark" for me. When he's good, he's really good (cf. Element of Light, his one true start-to-finish masterpiece).

    But often, he's just weird. And the weirdness seems contrived and can overwhelm the (usually good) tunes that support it.

  13. #13
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Wow, I just found out Robyn Hitchcock is playing really close to me in April, 2018. Irvington Town Hall, Irvington, NY. And I know the guy who curates the concert series that it's a part of. Very surprised he's playing there, I wonder if he's also playing NYC?

    I haven't heard a LOT of his music, but I like most of what I've heard, though some of the reservations above seem valid. But when he's playing so close I should try to make it.

    I thought this song was pretty good - the email about the show included a link to it:


  14. #14
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    I own several of his disks, Globe of Frogs... cant think of all of them at the moment... but just a delight whenever he comes up when I'm on shuffle. Great production and really unique lyric and songwriting. Seems like he must be inspired by Syd somehow could this be accidental? To me, Hitchcock is just a real strange, fresh retro-breeze, the fact that the music is so well produced makes it easy for me to listen to anything he's done. His 60's psych-pop sensibilities are amazing.

  15. #15
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    I definitely hear a Syd influence, but the writeup I read today said Dylan is his biggest influence. I can hear that too.

  16. #16
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Not being a Dylan fan, I guess I missed that. I'll add your information to my rather shallow bag of reasons I am collecting to ever revisit my opinion of Dylan's music. "Kicks fer Yeeew!" is a LOT to overcome for me. I have a hard time hearing anything in RH that would remind me of what I've head of Dylan, but that's just the 13 year old who was exposed to BD by an older brother and could not identify with the mystique that is Dylan for anyone 5-10 years older than me.

  17. #17
    The Syd influence is far from accidental. Why do you think he spells his name with a 'Y'?
    See the Dominoes video at the top of the page. He became so obsessed with Syd at one point that it took over his life for a while.

  18. #18
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    The Dylan influence might be his vocal approach (which is is also similar to Syd's) - the "I'm not going to try very hard to sound like I really know how to sing" approach, or maybe the stripped down music approach.

    Yodelgoat, how do you feel about Syd Barrett's vocals? Personally I have no problem with Dylan's vocals, Syd's vocals, Hitchock's, or Neil Young's. As long as they work with the music, and those all do IMO. Daevid Allen was certainly no great singer, but his voice is perfect for everything he did (that I've heard). But not arguing, many people don't like Dylan's vocals.

  19. #19
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    I have always Loved Syd's voice. You would never confuse Syd with country music. But Dylan took what I considered (at the time I listened to him) to be almost comical country twang. I had a strong dislike for the twang in country music and Dylan just seemed to embrace that. Now that I think of it, his voice really wasnt "country" but was close enough for my uncultured young ears to identify it as such. I always loved Neil Youngs voice because it was so unique and seems to have a certain "humility" to it. I loved the "looseness" in the vocals he brought to CSN&Y. I like Robyn's lyrics and voice, I find both delightful. Not everyone has to have a perfect voice, but Dylan just took it too far for me. One day I will give his music another chance and perhaps I can grasp the joy, but I was only like 10-11 years old when I was introduced to Dylan.

    I hope that clarifies any confusion of my lack of appreciation for Bob's voice. I do appreciate his lyrics and have enjoyed many people's renditions of his songs. I do not question his contributions, I just have never embraced the voice.

  20. #20
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Hmm... Just checked my RH and its a bit lighter than I thought... Queen Elvis, Perspex Island and Globe of Frogs are the only 3 I have. What are the best other albums I should get? Using these as a basis. I have none of his solo work. Time to buy myself some music!!! Whoohoo!

    Just picked up his 2017 and 2014 I'm gonna do some serious reviewing of Robyn's discography... Thanks for starting this thread.
    Last edited by Yodelgoat; 12-08-2017 at 11:30 AM.

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Kavus Torabi View Post
    The Syd influence is far from accidental. Why do you think he spells his name with a 'Y'?

    Robyn is actually his name.

  22. #22
    Member mnprogger's Avatar
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    saw him live once (free ticket) and enjoy some of his work, namely the Syd inspired stuff, mostly the early records.

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by bRETT View Post
    Robyn is actually his name.
    Ha! I never knew that, that was an assumption on my part. Good to know!

  24. #24
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Always been a big fan but I somehow lost track of him after Eye. I own everything up to that point. Saw him live a couple of times in the '80s.
    Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
    https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
    http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx

  25. #25
    Member interbellum's Avatar
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    I guess most of you know Robyn is also a fan of Nick Drake's work:



    And a show with Joe Boyd (Drake's producer):


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