Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians "Respect" 1993
+ "So You Think You're In Love" 1992 - 12"/45rpm EP
TWILIGHT (RYP) says: What frequently happens to me in regards to Robyn Hitchcock is that I'll listen to an album and then forget all about it. When I rediscover it months or years later, I find myself thinking "Wow, I'd forgotten this song was on this album!" Some of his songs stick with me long after I've forgotten about the albums they're from. This happened to me most recently with Moss Elixir...
...Respect is another one of those albums. I re-discovered it recently and found myself saying "Huh, I'd forgotten that this was the album 'Arms of Love' was on." Respect has some classic Hitchcock tracks ("The Wreck of the Arthur Lee," for example, and the aforementioned "Arms of Love"). While it contains some overly silly material ("The Yip Song" and the utterly bizarre "Wafflehead"), its true value is on Hitchcock's more somber, thoughtful side ("Then You're Dust," "Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom").
This isn't necessarily an album for fans of Hitchcock's sillier "Balloon Man" side, but it is an excellent showcase of Hitchcock's songwriting ability. It's out of print, but it's definitely worth tracking down. - By Scott Richardson
Many of Robyn Hitchcock's fans were less than enchanted with his 1991 album Perspex Island, with the glossy production usually cited as its crippling flaw, but the disc's real problem was that the surface sheen tended to emphasize the fact that the songs weren't up to Hitchcock's usual standards. Thankfully, Hitchcock's next set, 1993's Respect, was a noticeable improvement on all fronts. Most of the album was recorded in Hitchcock's home using a mobile recording truck, and while the results hardly sound homemade (producer John Leckie knew when and where to add needed embellishments, and the recording has a firm but spacious sound), they lack the excess aural gingerbread of Perspex Island and the sessions have a warmer, more organic sound. The arrangements also offer a bit more adventure, from the Beefheart-ian a cappella strangeness of "Wafflehead" to the percussive synthesizers of "The Yip Song" and the epochal horns and strings of "The Wreck of the Arthur Lee." And with the accompaniment for the most part stripped back to Hitchcock, Andy Metcalfe, and Morris Windsor, Respect offers a tighter focus that serves the songs well; Hitchcock's surrealism has a more human dimension on this set than one usually expects, and "The Arms of Love" and "Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom" possess a warmth that's engaging and moving. And while saying "Believe in love and I'll believe in you" may simply be a bad pun in a song called "The Wreck of the Arthur Lee," in context Hitchcock makes it sound as if he means a good bit more, and it's a lovely moment on one of Robyn Hitchcock's more unappreciated albums. - Review by Mark Deming
"So You Think You're In Love" 1992 - 12"/45rpm EP
...Respect is another one of those albums. I re-discovered it recently and found myself saying "Huh, I'd forgotten that this was the album 'Arms of Love' was on." Respect has some classic Hitchcock tracks ("The Wreck of the Arthur Lee," for example, and the aforementioned "Arms of Love"). While it contains some overly silly material ("The Yip Song" and the utterly bizarre "Wafflehead"), its true value is on Hitchcock's more somber, thoughtful side ("Then You're Dust," "Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom").This isn't necessarily an album for fans of Hitchcock's sillier "Balloon Man" side, but it is an excellent showcase of Hitchcock's songwriting ability. It's out of print, but it's definitely worth tracking down. - By Scott Richardson
Many of Robyn Hitchcock's fans were less than enchanted with his 1991 album Perspex Island, with the glossy production usually cited as its crippling flaw, but the disc's real problem was that the surface sheen tended to emphasize the fact that the songs weren't up to Hitchcock's usual standards. Thankfully, Hitchcock's next set, 1993's Respect, was a noticeable improvement on all fronts. Most of the album was recorded in Hitchcock's home using a mobile recording truck, and while the results hardly sound homemade (producer John Leckie knew when and where to add needed embellishments, and the recording has a firm but spacious sound), they lack the excess aural gingerbread of Perspex Island and the sessions have a warmer, more organic sound. The arrangements also offer a bit more adventure, from the Beefheart-ian a cappella strangeness of "Wafflehead" to the percussive synthesizers of "The Yip Song" and the epochal horns and strings of "The Wreck of the Arthur Lee." And with the accompaniment for the most part stripped back to Hitchcock, Andy Metcalfe, and Morris Windsor, Respect offers a tighter focus that serves the songs well; Hitchcock's surrealism has a more human dimension on this set than one usually expects, and "The Arms of Love" and "Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom" possess a warmth that's engaging and moving. And while saying "Believe in love and I'll believe in you" may simply be a bad pun in a song called "The Wreck of the Arthur Lee," in context Hitchcock makes it sound as if he means a good bit more, and it's a lovely moment on one of Robyn Hitchcock's more unappreciated albums. - Review by Mark Deming
"So You Think You're In Love" 1992 - 12"/45rpm EP
Robyn Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. After leading The Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the influential Underwater Moonlight, Hitchcock launched a prolific solo career. He lives in Nashville, TN with the singer-songwriter Emma Swift. - bandcamp
Robyn Hitchcock - 120 Minutes profile on the Respect LP, 1993
Robyn Hitchcock - Eight Miles High
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