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.

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)

Here is a reminder that I'm hosting a live stream on Bandcamp today at 2pm Central Time (that's 12pm West Coast, 3pm East Coast and 8pm London time) as a fundraiser to support musicians affected by the recent fires in Los Angeles. Here's the ticket link if you'd like to join me:

https://robynhitchcockofficial.bandcamp.com/merch/live-stream-supporting-fire-victims-in-los-angeles

Emma Swift will sing harmonies and Tubby the Cat may also appear. Requests are welcome.

The show has a 48 hour replay option if you'd like to join us on your own schedule.

$5 plus donation US 1 hour show plus encore