Robyn Hitchcock/Soft Boys: Classic or Dud?

Short answer: both classic.

As for Robyn's solo stuff, I'd have to say its a mixed bad. In fact, I can't even point to one album that's all classic. But there's so much great stuff scrambled in there that its hard to dismiss any of them totally. Probablly my favorites would be GLOBE OF FROGS, EYE, ELEMENT OF LIGHT, and QUEEN ELVIS. That looks like mostly mid-period Hitchcock to me.

But for a career, I'd give Robyn in his various guises a CLASSIC.

Dud: Never heard a single solitary note, so I wdn't know. Naturally I hate him.

But Underwater Moonlight is somethig else. I Wanna Destroy You is an alltime winner. I also really like He's A Reptile.

haven't heard soft boys myself but will pick it up if i see it.

The Minor Fall, The Major Lift
http://intonation.blogspot.com/

The rest of The Soft Boys and Hitchcock's output is very hit and miss.

The only Hitchcock album that I have heard that is consistent front to back is "Globe of Frogs". I used to have a few others from that time period, but there would generally only be a song or two worth hearing and the rest pretty dull. It has been a long time since I have heard any of this music.

Hitchcock seemed to put out a record every six months for a few years back in the day, which is probably a primary reason why they are kind of spotty.

(Wonder why I never posted on this thread before? Been listening to the Rykodisc reissues and the 2-disc overview of Soft Boys stuffage all week.)

Anyone knocked out by the new Gillian Welch collab?

I guess I like "Element of Light" all right, and there are times I put on "Mossy Liquor" or "Moss Elixor" or whatever that's called depending on whether you have the LP or CD. RH is good, kind of a one-trick drugged pony ride though. I probably still prefer Syd Barrett or John Lennon, though.

It's kinda strange. I do like it - not necessarily knocked out though. It had this implicit "this is Robyn's grown-up serious record" feeling to it. Almost if it's in reaction to the relatively freewheeling Luxor album.

i'd say that the best way to experience robyn these days is to see him live--he's got such a wealth of great songs at this stage in his career. And usually, the more recent songs sound better in person than they do on record. there are a few live shows on archive.org's live music database if you're curious.

also worth seeking out is the soft boys' live at portland arms LP (some of which is on the ryko overview). hilarious and unplugged.

and ned, it sounds as though we were probably at the same mccabes show in 1995--i think my friend and i were the only teenagers in the house. if you ever digitize your tape, i'd love to relive it.

He's one of two people I ever asked for an autograph. Philip Glass was not in a good mood when I walked up, 15 years old & nervous, having spotted him in the lobby during the intermission to the Knee Plays... can't blame him for scowling at me. Robyn on the other hand was impossibly cool about the awkward situation, saying while signing my copy of Trains "well y'know it's no good having heroes, especially once you get to know them and realize they have all the same problems..." I assured him that was the point.

http://s25.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1VM7K048PQ0GF268VGEO0NXEHR

As for Robyn Hitchcock, his first album, Black Snake Diamond Role continued the Soft Boys course honorably - "Acid Bird" especially is classic. Also, his third, I Often Dreamt of Trains is excellent too. Hilarious (and very British) songs like "Uncorrected Personality Traits" and "Sometimes I Wish I Were a Pretty Girl" (..so I could ---- myself in the shower..) sit next to absolutely gorgeous quiet and sad songs. His 80s and 90s stuff gets a bit too slick for my tastes, losing its classic edge - some good moments though. Haven't heard his most recent stuff...mixed bag, as other said.

anyway: classic. i heard solo hitchcock first, and have always had a preference for the early stuff, though i did snag a copy of "spooked" and found it quite entertaining. the 90's stuff often bores me, though certainly "moss elixir" has it moments. but "trains" and "fegmania!" are my favorites.

soft boys, also classic. picked up the matador rerelease of "underwater moonlight" when it came out and loved it. played that this evening in lieu of "i often dream of trains".

He played at Oberlin when I was there to a small crowd and encored with Autumn is Your Last Chance.

I also have a severe soft-spot for Queen Elvis.

this is my "Not That Robyn: I've been listening to Hitchcock for a summer" spotify playlist (so missing some things, like Queen Elvis, as Eazy just mentioned), in chronological order. i realize i have huge blind spots and i need to give his 90s - present albums more time, but at least later i can look at it and make fun of it, about 10 years from now. i hope i don't have horrible back pain all of the time when i do that! i'm sure i won't

human music
leppo and the jooves
i wanna destroy you
kingdom of love
insanely jealous of you
tonight
queen of eyes
underwater moonlight
only the stones remain
acid bird
out of the picture
love
all i wanna do is fall in love
the cars she used to drive
trams of old london
egyptian cream
the man with the lightbulb head
bells of rhymney
i'm only you
airscape
the leopard
if you were a priest
somewhere apart
vibrating
a globe of frogs
chinese bones
flesh number one (beatle dennis)
queen elvis
executioner
shimmering distant love
driving aloud (radio storm)
dark princess
she doesn't exist
ride
television
luckiness
propellor time
evolove

Queen Elvis has some duds, but I love "wax doll," "veins of the queen" and "swirling" in addition to the ones you mentioned.

I think its absence on streaming is just that A&M is kind of a mess rights-wise? That's why those Robyn A&M records have never been reissued.

Exactly.

That’s a strong list KM! You have good taste in RH songs!

thank you! it's hard to go wrong with RH, though. i came away very impressed with his consistency over the years. even the lesser ones generally have at least a few really strong tracks that make it worth revisiting

I'm always finding stuff in his catalog that I've overlooked — like this week, I was blown away by this one, a late 80s outtake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DqdrUrgqPc

oh and hey, I interviewed Robyn this week! Last time I did that was 20 years ago!

Those Yep Roc box sets were supposedly great. I wasn't yet a fan so I settled for getting the album reissues one by one as I got to know his music.

yeah, they're pretty nicely done — his stuff has been reissued so much over the years, it's hard to say what the "definitive" versions of a bunch of his albums really are. But the yep roc ones are pretty close?

for me the rhino series is definitive. The Yep Roc are good except the egyptians studio items are too louderized - i don't want morris' kick drum to momentarily wipe out the sustain of every other instrument every time it hits. If you had the yep roc boxes and the rhinos of fegmania and element you'd be sitting pretty IMO

tyler where is the interview gonna be... and do you have any shareable thoughts on Shufflemania?

So Karl when you announced your RH jag earlier this summer i got inspired to try to make my definitive RH/SBs comp. This became a two month obsessive hitch-hole in which I went through several cycles of culling. I never did get it down to a single CD or even a double CD. I made it to 53 tracks before it became too excruciating to delete anything more.

Here is the tracklist for A Deck Of Cones - The Best Of Robyn Hitchcock:

I Want To Be An Anglepoise Lamp (7" version) (Soft Boys 1976-1981 2CD)
Salamander (Soft Boys 1976-1981 2CD)
Human Music (A Can Of Bees)
The Pigworker (A Can Of Bees)
The Asking Tree (Invisible Hits)
Insanely Jealous (Underwater Moonlight)
Underwater Moonlight (Underwater Moonlight)
Only The Stones Remain (Underwater Moonlight bonus)
The Lizard (Black Snake Diamond Role)
Acid Bird (Black Snake Diamond Role)
Mr. Deadly (Invisible Hitchcock or I Wanna Go Backwards)
Flavor of Night (I Often Dream Of Trains)
Sounds Great When You're Dead (I Often Dream Of Trains)
Winter Love (I Often Dream Of Trains)
Autumn Is Your Last Chance (I Often Dream Of Trains)
I Often Dream Of Trains (I Often Dream Of Trains)
Victorian Squid (You and Oblivion or I Wanna Go Backwards)
I'm Only You (Fegmania!)
Insect Mother (Fegmania!)
The Cars She Used To Drive (live Gotta Let This Hen Out)
52 Stations (Kershaw Sessions version)
The Abandoned Brain (Invisible Hitchcock)
Winchester (Element Of Light)
Airscape (Element Of Light)
The Leopard (Element Of Light bonus)
The Ghost Ship (You and Oblivion)
She Reached For A Light (You and Oblivion)
Chinese Bones (A Globe Of Frogs)
A Globe Of Frogs (A Globe Of Frogs)
Wax Doll (Queen Elvis)
Freeze (Queen Elvis)
Aquarium (Eye)
Lysander (Perspex Island)
Birds In Perspex (Kershaw Sessions version)
Arms Of Love (Respect)
Egyptian Cream (live version from Rhino ed. of Fegmania - or live version from Live At Cambridge Folk Festival)
Filthy Bird (Moss Elixir)
I Am Not Me (Moss Elixir)
Glass Hotel (Storefront Hitchcock)
1974 (A Star For Bram)
I Feel Beautiful (Jewels For Sophia)
No, I Don't Remember Guildford (Jewels For Sophia)
Mr. Kennedy (Nextdoorland)
Creeped Out (Spooked)
Sometimes A Blonde (Spooked)
Museum of Sex (Ole Tarantula)
Goodnight Oslo (Goodnight Oslo)
John in the Air (Propellor Time)
The Abyss (Tromso Kaptein)
Strawberries Dress (Live at the Troubadour LA from archive.org because the production on the Love From London version sucks - killer song though)
Mad Shelley's Letterbox (Robyn Hitchcock)
Autumn Sunglasses (Robyn Hitchcock)

nice! thanks for sharing

robyn interview will be on aquarium drunkard in a couple weeks. shufflemania is good! maybe one or two songs I'm not wild about, but good overall production, really nice vocals. he sounds pretty lively!

I'm always finding stuff in his catalog that I've overlooked — like this week, I was blown away by this one, a late 80s outtake:

!

xp cool, link it here when up plz

Awesome, Jon! That’s for a bunch of songs I can’t immediately remember, I will be going through that today and tomorrow looking for gold :)

I rely on my brother for all my Robyn Hitchcock knowledge, and I've only heard like 1/3 of these songs, but one that I really like that I haven't seen mentioned is "Solpadeine."

That’s for a bunch of songs I can’t immediately remember...

this is one of the most confusing things i've ever written, and that is hard to do. sorry about that!

what i meant was, there are a bunch of songs in your playlist that I don't think I'm familiar with, so I'll be looking forward to listening!

"veins of the queen"

Forgot to say, having this song in my head over the past week led me back to Queen Elvis! Would love if somehow A&M allows a deluxe edition sometime, given how good the live versions of these songs can be.

Yeah, the live stuff from the "Luminous Groove" box is ace.

Also the B-side from that album, “Ruling Class”… rules

Other odds and ends I'd recommend:

Innocent Boy (Soft Boys)
The Face of Death (live Gotta Let This Hen Out)
Toadboy
August Hair
The Beauty of Earl's Court
De Chirico Street (alt version from Mossy Liquor)
Each of Her Silver Wands
Pulse of My Heart (Soft Boys - Nextdoorland)
I'm Falling
San Francisco Patrol
Time Coast

seconding "san francisco patrol" — I think that's my favorite song of his from the past decade or so...

where is "Do Policemen Sing?" u savages

these later period recommendations are helpful, thx

both the Yep Roc boxes rule, I have 'em

Oh yeah Do Policemen Sing rules.

at long last — https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2022/11/07/robyn-hitchcock-the-aquarium-drunkard-interview-2/

I think it turned out OK!

how's the new album? I guess I could listen to it.

when is someone gonna reissue the Soft Boys "Live At The Portland Arms" record? I love that thing and it's never even been on CD.

thought the new one was pretty middling tbh

Tyler - great interview, particularly liked the question and his answer about singing songs written 40 years ago. I've had other songwriters say basically the same thing to me, that the best songs reveal different aspects as the years go by.

Thanks! Love talking to Robyn, he's definitely a thoughtful guy.

I think his new one is a grower maybe — a handful of duds, but that's sort of par for the course. Really love "The Man Who Loves The Rain" and "Feathery Serpent God" ...

Maisie, Robyn’s only child, has passed away four years after a stage 4 ovarian cancer diagnosis; she was 47. He wrote something beautiful and devastating on Instagram.

Awfully tragic -- did see note indicates she had a brother.

I read that, it was very sweet and sad. Don't know anything about his personal life beyond his current relationship with Emma Swift, but I like to imagine he was a fun dad.

Oh how sad, I was hoping she could beat it.

I remember some strange interview way back when between Robyn and a teenage Maisie, it was in Spin Magazine or something similar, they seemed to have a lovely mutual appreciation of the surreal.

yeah, nickn pasted from facebook to Rolling Obits, where there was no response so far, deserves to be preserved here:

From his fb post:

Maisie Hitchcock 1976 - 2023
My daughter Maisie Emerald Hitchcock passed gently out of this life on the evening of Wednesday August 9th. She was born on the first warm day of the year, April 17th, in Cambridge, and died as night fell in Sussex last week. She had Peritoneal Cancer, a rare form of Ovarian.
Maisie was vital. From the perspective of only three days, I can feel how unique she was: very much her own person with her own take on life. There was no filter between her feelings and the outside world. Her undiluted Maisie-ness and her deep dark eyes gave her a magical charisma which attracted her many friends. She was fiery at times, almost combustible: she didn’t just smoulder - she was an ingot of crimson heat, and so she loved to douse herself in water, swimming in lakes and pools and oceans. Maisie fed on art, music, thought and the wild open air. And comedy: she and I spent many hours together in Python Land, and she introduced me to the Mighty Boosh. I have lost, too, my fellow Ferry connoisseur - we did a *lot* of Bryan Ferry over the decades.

But Maisie also fed on food (she loved her food, so she did), and one of the sad and terrible effects of the cancer that she held at bay for nearly three years (despite being diagnosed with Stage 4 in autumn 2020) was that she could eat less and less. She remained feisty and optimistic for the longest time, until this summer she bravely faced up to the inevitable and discontinued her chemotherapy treatment. I was glad to be able to visit her most days in her final two months. We had some laughs, some arguments and a lot of philosophy: Mais and I could both wander the labyrinths of the mind for hours.

Almost the last word she said to me was “Pangolin” before she curled away and sank back into her morphine cocoon. My phone revealed this to be an endangered species of anteater, with a scaly dragon tail. Pangolin! I mean - jeez, what an utterance - what way to go…Tears are back in my eyes. Thank you for being my daughter, Mais. You were special, vibrant and lovely.

I’m sending out love to all who loved and cared for Maisie, especially her mum Rosalind and brother Jack. Also the nurses and doctors at the Wiltshaw Ward in the Marsden Hospital in Chelsea and then at St. Peter & St. James Hospice in Sussex.

“Is there a heaven? I’d like to think so.”

Brutal, so sad.

Yeah--in part because of the beauty, his most expressive writing that I've seen---didn't know anything about her, but I feel like I do now. Rock on Maisie, pangolin and all!

that is so beautiful

Ach, I'm crying. So sad. Thanks for posting.

What a remarkable tribute

Good lord, what an awful year for the family.

My lovely wife has been through hell this summer. Please read this thread. https://t.co/DtGMqmWsux

— Robyn Hitchcock (@RobynHitchcock) September 28, 2023

just started the audiobook and, wow, so good.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEJimejRZzM/

Nice

Most of the Soft Boys

Dang I didn’t know that was gonna happen! Was it unannounced?
Most of Robyn’s UK shows the last few years have had this rew-Windsor-Berry combo - there’s some really good audience recordings on archive org if you root around. The electric duo arrangement of IODOT that rh and kr have worked up over the years is just enchanting.

Opening acts / special guests at the YLT Hanukkah shows are unannounced day-of surprises usually. This is super cool, would love it if Robyn could bring this band around the states.

Otm