Now we haven’;t posted any uploads from RYP over at TWILIGHTZONE for a while apart from sharing his posts of the Chuck Prophet stuff he clearly share a love of but we share his interest in Robyn Hitchcock too!
Robyn Hitchcock "Black Snake Diamond Role" 1981
"For all his weirdness, Hitchcock starts out his career in a reverent fashion. The Byrds and John Lennon are all over this, and it's welcome. Two other ex-Soft Boys back him up, along with Psychedelic Fur drummer Vince Ely. So in that sense, BSDR isn't all that different from Underwater Moonlight by the Soft Boys the previous year. And that's another good thing.
The album opens with quite a surprise in "The Man Who Invented Himself." This bouncy, melodic song is built on piano and horns, and you wonder if there wasn't a disc mix-up at the factory. But then Robyn's trademark lyrics hit you:
When you need her love so badly, and she's trying to relax;
You can't work it with your fingers, so you try it with an ax.
Um, okay.
"Brenda's Iron Sledge" again sounds fairly conventional (and rocks a bit harder), but then you hear about Brenda shoveling liverwursts onto a barge for some reason. Note to Americans - "sledge" in this case refers to a barge, rather than a heavy hammer. "Do Policemen Sing?" returns Robyn to his familiar deranged universe, as he twists a Lennon line into a Barrett-like paranoid curiosity. On "The Lizard," Hitchcock actually sounds like The Doors.
The real highlight of the record is "Acid Bird," which almost sounds like a tribute to "Eight Miles High," as opposed to being an actual cover of it. "City of Shame" has more funny lyrics. And "Love" is a truly gorgeous, mellow tune with some unexpected vocal harmonies.
A really great start to a unique solo career. Recommended to most rock fans, although his later material will not appeal to many of them." reviever: astradyne2
The album opens with quite a surprise in "The Man Who Invented Himself." This bouncy, melodic song is built on piano and horns, and you wonder if there wasn't a disc mix-up at the factory. But then Robyn's trademark lyrics hit you:
When you need her love so badly, and she's trying to relax;
You can't work it with your fingers, so you try it with an ax.
Um, okay.
"Brenda's Iron Sledge" again sounds fairly conventional (and rocks a bit harder), but then you hear about Brenda shoveling liverwursts onto a barge for some reason. Note to Americans - "sledge" in this case refers to a barge, rather than a heavy hammer. "Do Policemen Sing?" returns Robyn to his familiar deranged universe, as he twists a Lennon line into a Barrett-like paranoid curiosity. On "The Lizard," Hitchcock actually sounds like The Doors.
The real highlight of the record is "Acid Bird," which almost sounds like a tribute to "Eight Miles High," as opposed to being an actual cover of it. "City of Shame" has more funny lyrics. And "Love" is a truly gorgeous, mellow tune with some unexpected vocal harmonies.
A really great start to a unique solo career. Recommended to most rock fans, although his later material will not appeal to many of them." reviever: astradyne2
The Band:Robyn Hitchcock: Bass, Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Piano
Kimberley Rew: Guitar
Matthew Seligman: Bass
Morris Windsor: Drums,
Vocals / James Smith:
Vocals / Knox:
Guitar / Rob Appleton:
Vocals / Gary Barnacle:
Saxophone / Vince Ely:
Drums / Howie Gilbert:
Vocals / Thomas Dolby: Ocean
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