The Phoenix Gazette
April 23, 1993
Coming Of Age
British Rocker Robyn Hitchcock Sings Of Death
by Dean Rhodes
Rock 'n' Roll is stumbling toward its 40th birthday in '95.
That middle-aged signpost has already been passed by British Pop singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock.
His new album, Respect, bristles with Grecian Formula concerns that reflect the pleasurable and tragic life occurrences many in the their 40s have experienced. Hitchcock's father, Raymond, died in '91. And Respect ponders death on several tracks, including "Then You're Dust" and "When I Was Dead".
Hitchcock dispenses with weirdness for weirdness' sake -- there are few surreal references to reptiles this time around -- but has retained his askew perspective and keen wit.
On "When I Was Dead," he imagines the thoughts of a sentient corpse. "When I was dead I wore a strong perfume/When I was dead I never left the room".
He ponders everyone's eventual fate on "Then You're Dust": "Time runs backwards, at the end/You turn into a child again/Then you're dust".
Hitchcock, calling before a soundcheck in Little Rock, Arkansas, says Respect was an attempt lyrically and musically for himself and The Egyptians -- bassist Andy Metcalfe and drummer Morris Windsor -- to bury their own cliches.
"I always felt that we spent too much time imitating other people," Hitchcock says. "I think that I've always suffered from a lack of identity. I was always described in terms of other songwriters very much. Which, for somebody who has done 15 or 16 albums, to still be described in terms of, 'Oh yeah, this is like The Beatles....' I think it was time to get rid of everybody else and a lot of the trademarks that we inherited from other people (like the jangling guitars which I've been featuring for years, that is descended from The Byrds)."
Cooking Up A Sound
To get a new stripped-down sound, Hitchcock convinced Metcalfe and Windsor to record at his seaside home on The Isle Of Wight.
"I've been singing songs and writing in that kitchen for ages," Hitchcock says. "Most of the songs since Element Of Light (1986) were written there. It's a nice big reverberant kitchen. It's an airy, light kitchen with a big table -- and you can have good parties around the table, or sit there by yourself and cover the table with notebooks and bowls of fruit.
"I thought it would nice to rehearse there with Andy and Morris. They enjoyed rehearsing enough for me to convince them that we should make the record there."
A rented BBC mobile studio was ferried over to record the proceedings (which inspired Metcalfe to play a water jug and wine glasses on several tracks, and Windsor to experiment with a cheese grater and sauce and frying pans as percussion instruments).
Hitchcock says the impact of his father's death coinciding with turning 40 has had an impact.
"Emotionally, I was kind of shocked," he says. "The feeling of amputation at losing somebody like that. It's like two telegraph poles. If you chop one down, the wires are still hanging there. You've got this relationship with someone who isn't there anymore. The cable goes off into the fog. You just don't know what's at the other end."
From Child To Adult
Hitchcock's career began in 1978 with The Soft Boys, a Punk-era band that celebrated the melodic approach of '60s Rock bands. In 1981, he started a solo career, recording four albums that featured surreal songs -- "The Man With The Lightbulb Head", "My Wife And My Dead Wife" -- and well-crafted melodies. In 1987, he signed with A&M Records, releasing Globe of Frogs, Queen Elvis, and Perspex Island. Perspex found Hitchcock bridging the gap between bizarre expression and real communication.
"The design with Perspex Island was to make a very sober record. To make an adult record," Hitchcock says. "The idea was to produce something that didn't sound childish. In which I didn't indulge myself in a lot of my particular fetishes. I left them behind because I didn't feel like doing it, really. It was an attempt to be adult. It was very much a record with a suit-and-tie (and a credit card in its pocket)."
Another maturing concern facing Hitchcock is how much longer he'll tour. He appears tonight as part of the KUKQ Festival at Compton Terrace.
"'I would like to stop as soon as possible,' is the answer. But the other side is, 'How do I make a living?' I personally hate to see men over 40 up onstage playing electric guitars. I think as a performer you can go on for years. But I don't think you should stay in youthful drag, because I think it makes you look old and silly.
"The Stones and McCartney, Jagger and Bowie and Bryan Ferry (and that); they're just ruining themselves. They're trampling on what they achieved when they were young.
"Andy and Morris and I will hopefully go on playing together. But I hope we won't have to go on touring. Otherwise you'll have these three old men in tuxedoes getting off the back of the bus in their wheelchairs."
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