The Record
March 31, 1995
Reviving A Pop Poet's Recordings
Robyn Hitchcock's lengthy career -- from his early days with the short-lived band The Soft Boys to his prolific solo career -- has garnered him tons of acclaim -- but precious few fans.
Even the reissue of most of Hitchcock's 1980s recordings by Rhino Records and a solo tour of The States don't change the English Pop poet's cynical outlook.
"It's really just the same people listening to the same things, to be perfectly brutal," Hitchcock said of his re-released catalog of eight albums -- and one collection of never-released cuts titled You & Oblivion -- which became available Tuesday. "If vinyl hadn't been usurped by CDs, this reissue never would've happened. So it'll likely be the same folks who had these records on vinyl faithfully shelling out for the CDs."
But Hitchcock, 42, is excited about the entire reissue process.
Not only were some tracks unearthed that he thought had been lost forever, he also got a chance to revisit the early-'80s through music he'd never paid close attention to.
"I do listen to certain things that I always listen to when I go back and check out my old records," he said by phone recently from Philadelphia. "But there's stuff I never listen to that I really heard for the first time. It's a truly odd feeling."
Rhino released the nine titles in batches of three. The first trio -- put out January 24 -- included Black Snake Diamond Role, Hitchcock's first solo effort from 1980 and considered by many to be his best work; Gravy Deco; and 1984's I Often Dream of Trains, which Hitchcock considers his best work.
Three of Hitchcock's works with The Egyptians -- a backing band made up primarily of his cohorts from The Soft Boys days -- were released February 28. Fegmania!, from 1985; Element of Light, from 1986; and the live compilation, Gotta Let This Hen Out! contain some of Hitchcock's most brilliant Pop songs.
The final three releases: 1986's Invisible Hitchcock; Eye, from
1990; and You & Oblivion, are a sampling of various stages of Hitchcock's career. Among the tracks from You & Oblivion is "Birdshead", recorded with longtime friend Peter Buck of R.E.M.. While Hitchcock's main body of work is collaborative, the current tour features only him onstage -- with occasional help on violin from Deni Bonet. And, after 18 years of making music, Hitchcock would just as soon have only himself to deal with in performance.
"It's just a matter of not having to focus on other people on the stage," he says. "You don't have three people with brushes in front of a canvas when you begin a painting. I've done some great band work. But at this point, I feel more at home with myself."
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