Robyn Hitchcock/Soft Boys: Classic or Dud?

I met Matthew after a gig once and he was just as happy to engage with fans as we were to chat with him. Same for Kimberley.

Nothing to contribute except that "Chinese Bones" is a lovely song.

"Chinese Bones" is the song that made my wife a fan.

It's one of the very best things he ever did. Shame not to be able to put it on my rh spotify list (the only A&M Robyn on there is the stuff included on that weird Greatest Hits CD).

I'm surprised a live version wasn't included on the Bad Case Of History disc.

For reasons too boring to go into, I have been A/B'ing the Rhino and Yep Roc remasterings of Fegmania. I think I actually prefer the Rhino by a wee bit. The Yep Roc strikes me as a bit too thumpy for the crowded, colorful sound field of these recordings. This is a paisley party record, the only one of its ilk he ever made, and it needs to glitter more than it needs to rock.

Totally true.

In unrelated Hitchcock news, Yep Roc is releasing those Phantom 45s on LP for Record Store Day. Will be my first record store day purchase.

Oh cool! When is record store day again?

April?

Yeah, ditto, I'll pick that up too.

And Jon, A/Bing sources is only boring to those not interested in the results!

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/20315_530828273617000_310354882_n.jpg

that reminds me - I'm seeing The Residents in a week.

Great painting. It's bothering my eye that the two titles are centered while the painting is sort of shrugging to the right though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkfZ9CP6hv8
think i've seen this before, but it's a better capture -- is this Robyn's most desperate for pop acceptance song? i like it, but there's something that feels like he's *trying* here.

also lol dennis miller 90s

You definitely saw it on my tumblr the other day.

Yeah I never listen to that song, it has that tryhard taint. As does 'Up To Our Nex'. Sometimes I love about half of Perspex but there are times when it just feels like the most suffocating thing.

They were GREAT live on the Perspex Island and Respect tours though. I remember at the (...what the fuck was the name of the main club in Ballard, Seattle?) and someone fainting in the middle of an incredibly intense rendition of 'Child of the Universe'

Until Luxor, I rated Perspex Island my least favorite Hitchcock record. It's still at the bottom of records I would choose to listen to, even if live and the Kershaw disc redeemed some of those tunes.

It's hard for me to separate my life at that time and the actual qualities of the record. The year it came out was probably the low point of my entire life, so there's a certain pall cast over it.

Luxor is full of filler but there is a deep well of mystery in the sound of his voice and guitar on 'You Remind Me of You' and 'The Sound of Sound'

haha EZ! i probably did see it there! my brain.
yeah perspex is probably the most milquetoast hitchcock. though the ones that pop up live from that album every now and then sound good -- she doesn't exist, birds in perspex, lysander...

lysander is the all-time jam from that record. That is an incredible song.

I want a de-stiped she doesn't exist. If RH can forever excise the saxes from 'The Man Who Invented Himself' he can do this.

Good call on those two tunes, Jon. I have yet to find someone who considers Luxor a good record, but even shit Hitch has high points.

ha yeah otm re: stipe. i do like that bright green energy duet thing.
the solo version of lysander i heard him do the first time i saw him is a great memory.

Bright Green Energy is wonderful, I'm not against stipe harmonies per se.

The A&M b-sides were always soooooo great.

'Watch Your Intelligence' FTW

yep.

I hate A&M for not giving a fuck about those records. Criminal.

For reasons too boring to go into, I have been A/B'ing the Rhino and Yep Roc remasterings of Fegmania. I think I actually prefer the Rhino by a wee bit. The Yep Roc strikes me as a bit too thumpy for the crowded, colorful sound field of these recordings. This is a paisley party record, the only one of its ilk he ever made, and it needs to glitter more than it needs to rock.

― here is no telephone (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, January 22, 2013 12:27 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Unfortunately I would like to report the same finding wrt Element of Light Rhino vs. Yep Roc. The essential sound color of Element is the ring and shimmer of Robyn's telecaster; on the Yep Roc they have given so much thump to the kick drum that every time it hits it fractures the sustained tones around it a little. The diff is not huge but i def prefer the Rhino sound. And Rhino has that amazing, amazing 'Raymond Chandler Evening' demo.

Maybe RH wanted to take some of the 80s sheen off this record with its FM synths and Andy's chorused bass, but if so he has thrown the babby out with the bathwater.

I didn't get rid of any of my Rhino reissues because of all the missing tracks on the Yep Roc ones. I'll have to dig them out.

The liner notes were great too. It was so exciting when those were coming out 2 per month in 1994(?).

And Rhino has that amazing, amazing 'Raymond Chandler Evening' demo.
yeahhh, incredible that they took that off of the yep roc element of light. that is probably one of my top ten fave robyn recordings.

He probably omitted it on purpose. RH is a perverse fellow.

"And that could not have been rasher!"

*everyone loses their shit*

is that one not on the yep roc edition either? sheesh.
still ridiculous to me that there's not a soft boys live comp. that'd blow plenty of minds imo.

Robyn has one of the most rereleased and yet still utterly baffling discographies in history.

The Ryko 2CD is the best Soft Boys release ever. So fucking smart. Those Wading Through A Ventilator EP tracks aren't in print on ANYTHING now!

And 'Salamander'!!!!

yep. The best single Hitchcock related release ever.

^^^ yeah-- I'd even go that far.

it's a legit overview, a rarities comp, and a best-of all in one. And of course it's long, long out of print.

yeah, it's amazing that is out of print.

I think it's cause it pulls stuff from several different licensors/labels. Tricky to renew, I suppose.

I remember reading there was going to be a Soft Boys box from Yep Roc like the two Hitchcock ones, but they didn't sell as well as expected so we got the bog standard reissues instead. Absolutely criminal if that's the truth.

The reissues werent even bog standard, they were only vinyl or download right?

it's cool that robyn has a supportive label like yep roc, but can't help feel that his catalog has been underserved by them. soft boys records deserve exhaustive numero group style reissues.

Didn't the "Raymond Chandler Evening" demo move to the "While Thatcher Mauled England" discs?

His discography isn't all that complicated - you need everything released in every version on every format. Well, at least that's how it feels.

You need three CD versions of Black Snake, even! The first CD is the only one to retain the saxophones on 'The Man Who Invented Himself'.

Underwater Moonlight and A Can Of Bees got cd releases from yep roc. Also came with a code for download only bonus stuff, which was basically just the second disc of the Matador Moonlight and the Invisible Hits disc. And of course, stuff got left off. Gone are the shorter version of "Sandra", live versions of "Anglepoise Lamp" and "Ugly Nora", and "Fatman's Son".

lol, that's another thing -- invisible hits! classic album, now seemingly disowned. that stuff is as good as anything the soft boys did, shouldn't just be relegated to bonus track status.