The Denver Post
November 1, 1996
Bragg, Hitchcock Inspire Solid Loyalty
by G. Brown
Billy Bragg and Robyn Hitchcock don't sell many records, but their fans display the sort of commitment rare in the ephemeral world of Rock music.
The British singer/songwriters will perform at the Ogden Theatre tomorrow night.
Robyn Hitchcock has always been a lovable eccentric. His songs filter jangly '60s music with shades of Psychedelia through a modern looking glass. His singing voice is sometimes deadly serious, sometimes almost whimsical. And his surrealistic lyrics are slightly ominous but strangely beautiful (the Alternative market got a taste of all this with the 1988 near-hit "Balloon Man").
"Once I've finished a record, I don't listen to any of the old ones," Hitchcock said recently. "They might be better than what I do now, which would be depressing -- or they might be worse, in which case they're not worth listening to."
The new album Moss Elixir turns to a lush acoustic sound -- Hitchcock has abandoned his backup band, The Egyptians, and opted for the occasional violin, saxophone, trumpet or Rock rhythm section to support his singing and deft guitar playing.
He still employs idiosyncratic imagery. Weighing machines follow you home in the horn-driven "DeChirico Street", and in the opening "Sinister But She Was Happy", chandeliers are festooned with leeches.
"Do I stand in the shop and wonder whether I'm buying an onion or writing a song? What matters more to me is writing a song, but if I came home without an onion I'd look stupid."
Noted director Jonathan Demme intends to make a film of a gig by Hitchcock.
"It's essentially my state-of-the-art show in late-'96," Hitchcock explained.
"Jonathan is good at getting an honest performance, which is what I've always wanted to do rather than Rock videos, which are generally a pretty tedious imposition on musicians. Unless you've got an aptitude for them -- or unless you love yourself and want to see yourself in the monitors."
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