Oklahoma Daily
August 20, 1999
Robyn Hitchcock's Jewels For Sophia
by Deborah Benjamin
Robyn Hitchcock's latest album, Jewels For Sophia, definitely has some jewels on it, but the album is not quite a gem.
Hitchcock began his recording career in 1976 with the Psychedelic Pop band The Soft Boys (Andy Metcalfe on bass, Morris Windsor on drums and Kimberley Rew on guitar). Since his 1981 solo debut, Hitchcock began to gain a regular cult following.
Influenced by The Byrds, Beatles and Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, 1960s Pop provides the touchstone for most of Hitchcock's work.
Hitchcock is considered one of the great treasures of Pop music, because he is able to craft songs which reveal a beauty, honesty and power that few artists can match. His quirky brand of Pop Folk music has earned him accolades from artists such as Peter Buck of R.E.M., and The Replacements.
Jewels For Sophia offers the listener a more polished work than his past efforts. However, the album lacks some of the surrealist wordplay that has become the hallmark of of Hitchcock's lyrical genius.
Sure, the album has some semantic tricks. "The Cheese Alarm", a tabla-driven track, manages to list every cheese Hickory Farms has in stock. A clever, if not cheesy song (excuse the pun) about the gluttony and greed that drives a few individuals at the expense of the majority.
"Viva Sea-Tac" is a tongue-in-cheek ode to the greater Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. "They've got the best computers and coffee and smack".
His most interesting tracks bare the complexities of his emotions. "No, I Don't Remember Guildford", a paean to all who have survived a failed relationship, is an emotional study of lost love and rejection.
Alternately, the Dylanesque "I Feel Beautiful" celebrates stable relationship. Unlike the emotional and sexual ambivalence that pervades most of Hitchcock's work, this album has many songs about enduring love.
For this release, Hitchcock assembles a great set of musicians: Grant-Lee Phillips of the Folk Rock band Grant Lee Buffalo, Kurt Bloch of Seattle Punk band Fastbacks, Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows, former Soft Boy Kimberley Rew, and most notably Peter Buck of R.E.M..
Certainly there are some great moments on Jewels For Sophia, but Hitchcock's propensity to be too self-consciously absurd makes the album less pleasurable than it actually deserves to be. However, the songs that work on this album make it a worthwhile purchase.
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