1994
The Soft Boys:
A Can Of Bees (Rykodisc RCD 20231)
Underwater Moonlight (RCD 20232)
Invisible Hits (RCD 20233)
Whereas Jonathan Richman sung about little insects as if they were cuddly creatures of beauty -- and aren't the flowers and the trees really pretty? -- Robyn Hitchcock's distorted visions picked up where Syd Barrett left off in 1970. Whereas The Modern Lovers in 1977 were friendly and reassuring, The Soft Boys were awkward and quirky, offering perverted images of "Sandra's Having Her Brain out", "(I Want To Be An) Anglepoise Lamp" and "Do The Chisel". Hitchcock continued painting these bizarre pictures on his numerous solo albums, but The Soft Boys' extreme musical prowess was never to be repeated.
Their debut album, A Can Of Bees, followed the band's highly acclaimed debut EP, Give It To The Soft Boys, and was similarly uncompromising. Hitchcock's voice sneered and whined with a wide-eyed Barrett lilt. Both men were from Cambridge, and the ghost of early Pink Floyd hung heavily in the air, while a cover version of John Lennon's "Cold Turkey" reflected the band's debts to the more menacing sounds of yesteryear.
Rykodisc have lived up to their faultless reputations and provided the definitive reissue, gathering together material from the various different versions of the album -- adding up to a sterling 17 tracks. In fact, several of the bonus cuts represent the "missing" second Soft Boys album (which shouldn't be confused with the "legendary" Radar LP) and these are annotated in the sleeve notes.
Underwater Moonlight was "the best record The Soft Boys had made since June 1977", according to Andy Metcalfe, the band's original bassist (who'd been succeeded by Matthew Seligman by the time it appeared in 1980). It certainly kicks off with one of the band's most memorable 45s: "I Wanna Destroy You". And once again, nearly half the CD is comprised of bonus material, including a direct nod towards Syd Barrett with a rendition of his unpublished Pink Floyd composition, "Vegetable Man" (later shredded by The Jesus And Mary Chain) and the awesome Fall-meets-Stooges single, "Only The Stones Remain".
Some of the recordings made between late-1978 and mid-1979 which had never appeared on album were assembled in 1983's Invisible Hits, now available with an extra five different versions (either alternate mixes or live performances). So those who wish to hear original takes of "Have A Heart, Betty (I'm Not Fireproof)" or "Love Poisoning" can compare them with the final versions on this CD. Although Invisible Hits might infer that this is a "best of" collection, either of the other two albums actually provides a stronger, more representative cross-section of The Soft Boys. Instead, Invisible Hits wraps up a few worthy loose ends.
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