Robyn Hitchcock/Soft Boys: Classic or Dud?

Propeller time is probably better, so you're in for a treat

A Can of Bees and Underwater Moonlight reissues from Yep Roc next month. Looks to be just the original albums, with all the bonus stuff as digital downloads that are free with purchase. All the tracks from the Matador version of Moonlight, and it looks like most of Invisible Hits is broken up between the two records by proper era. However, once again stuff is lost from prior releases - for example, the alternate side 2 of A Can of Bees is now written off. "Fatman's Son" is history. Is it that hard not to fuck this up?

"Airscape" is one of the great morning songs.

very true. It sounds almost milky.

dud/classic

yeah, sort of disappointed by the yep roc news! thought it'd be a comprehensive overview, with live stuff, other outtakes, etc. and the phasing out of invisible hits is kind of unforgivable imo. on some days that's my fave soft boys album, even if it's not a proper "album".

Sadly, I don't think the Hitchcock box sets did as well as they hoped, scuttling any chance for a comprehensive Soft Boys collection. I've never been a huge Invisible Hits fan (nor a fan of A Can of Bees, if I'm being honest. Wading Through a Ventilator EP and Moonlight are the only studio works I listen to very often), so scrapping it and assigning the songs elsewhere doesn't bug me too much. Just don't lose stuff in the process, damn it!

also -- seems like they should put out that amazing Portland Arms disc again too. Or do some kind of live comp. Guess it's up to the fans.

With some of the boots that have surfaced (like the much improved Lady Mitchell Hall and the set from Leicester University) and the Portland Arms set you could easily have a nice two-disc live collection. They were much better live than in the studio; both more playful and more vicious.

Got to see him and Joe Boyd doing their Chinese White Bicycles reading/performance thing tonight (Boyd reads, Hitchcock performs songs he produced).

Setlist:

My White Bicycle
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Chinese White
River Man
Reynardine
And the Wind Cries Mary
Bike
Way Back in the 1960s

wanted to go out and see this (love robyn forever), but door was kinda steep and it was a tuesday. currently regretting my reticence...

Got the Soft Boys reissues early, but the download codes don't seem to be active. Slight bummer, but won't be peeved unless the downloads don't appear come Tuesday.

Just got an email from Amazon that a two disc reissue of Moss Elixir is coming out in about 10 days, with Mossy Liquor as the second disc! Have this vinyl, but as I don't have a working record player at the moment. I'm sure I'll end up buying it again.

Yeah, I have a vinyl rip myself but I'll pick it up as well - Mossy Liquor was the better of the two!

I agree completely.

Happy Birthday Robyn!

Going to see him and Joe Boyd at Mass MOCA weekend after next!

I wish I could make it out there and stop by Greenfield and visit Scott Seward and his awesome record shop; alas, it is just too big a pain.

The show looks like a blast. Make sure and report back.

I'm thinking of going to the Washington DC area gig. I guess noone here has seen this tour yet?

talked to a friend who saw it -- said it was fun, if a little bit stilted... I'd go if it was anywhere near me!

new album?
http://soundcloud.com/hype-city-recordings/dismal-city
Robyn Hitchcock's forthcoming album on Hype City. To be released in Norway April 8th on LP and CD. Produced by Paul Noble, the "Tromsø, Kaptein" features 8 new RH compositions as well as a re-recording of 'Raining Twilight Coast' from EYE and a new Norwegian language version of GOODNIGHT OSLO.

tapping into the lucrative norwegian market, i guess.

I think a black metal Robyn Hitchcock would be interesting ...

Years ago another quirky-ish pop guy I liked (Laptop) put out a seemingly random Norway release, and I wondered at the time what the deal was. Do you get free healthcare or sardines or something if you use their record labels?

all the lutefisk you could ever desire

I thought Robyn said all his future albums would be digital-only?

yeah he hinted at that...guess he's not ready to say goodbye to the physical world just yet.

I've only listened to the two streamed tracks once apiece, and I wasn't terribly excited by them. Then again, that happens a lot with my first hearing of a new RH album; I tend to start out hearing what it's NOT and only later hear what it IS...

Anyway, what I'm hearing is a kind of late 60s Kinks-y midtempo thing with prominent rhythmic cello. "Dismal City" feels a bit cute, though the sentiment expressed is unique enough.

The "produced by Paul Noble" tag is intriguing; RH's London live band is usually Noble on bass, Terry Edwards on various, Kimberly Rew on guitar and Morris Windsor on drums. I've long hoped he'd do a record with that lineup (one of its few studio recordings, "City Of Women", is IMO one of RH's top 5 songs of the 00s).

Nice cover painting.

There's another track floating around, one listen to each didn't move me, but then "Propellor Time" needed a few spins to really grow on me. Still, I think the last out-of-nowhere album he released was "Luxor" which is really weak.

Haha, I didn't see your comments when I posted, Jon. Twisted minds think alike!

dunno, i kinda like this poppier direction -- hitchcock could easily settle into rootsy folk-mode, but the arrangement on dismal city is fun.

Hype City is on eMusic btw, so I expect I'll get this on there.

Tracklist is announced:

01 Light Blue Afternoon
02 Raining Twilight Coast
03 Savannah
04 Dismal City
05 Old Man Weather
06 Erasing Your Life
07 August In Hammersmith
08 Everything About You
09 The Abyss
10 Godnatt Oslo

I just discovered Fegmania and I wonder why I've never heard of it before? Digging it.

yeah that's a great one -- production on it is this weird mix of 80s gloss and really raw sounds. some of hitchcock's best songs too.

looks like this new one will be available via robyn's website.

I am predicting based strictly on track titles that tracks #5 through #7 will be my favorites.

ha! yeah those do sound good.
wonder what the deal is with the re-recorded "raining twilight coast"? love that song.

Yeah that's one of the best songs on Eye. I'm assuming this will be a band arrangement so I'm really curious what sort of tempo/rhythmic dynamic he'll use. 'Each Of Her Silver Wands' became sort of odd when it went from solo electric arr. to full band Soft Boys arr.

Pre-order for physical CD and more sound samples are up on robynhitchcock.com - you get a digital version immediately. Just downloaded, will offer thoughts later.

thx for the heads up. samples sound nice! ordering ...

twilight coast is just guitar and cello, so, no full band on that. it's pretty good though.

It's mixed really oddly - the cello is a bit overwhelming, don't you think?

On that song or the whole album?

That particular song, but there's other spots on the album where the mix felt strange - al,ost like certain instruments weree too far up in the mix. I need to give another listen and make some notes for a proper review.

First impression of this is that it's not very good. Not Luxor levels of suck, but an uninteresting throwaway. I like "Savannah" with it's "I Am The Walrus" strings, and even in Norwegian "Godnatt Oslo" is one of the best songs in his entire catalog.

I agree that the mix isn't helping; it's too punchy. Anything in the lower registers - cello, bass, etc - is slapped into the front more than seems necessary for the material.

it's ok, it seems like a trifle of a record though, not as good as propeller time or most of the other recent albums. but it kind of seems like an afterthought record anyway, with what are basically two cover versions of his own material

"Tromso, Kaptein" just arrived in the mailbox. It has a fairly tossed off feel to it, his singing is a bit flat in places - "Dismal City" for example. The new version of "Raining Twilight Coast" pales in comparison to the original, the female backing vocals just detract. On the plus side, "Old Man Weather" is wonderfully soulful and I appreciate that Robyn seems to be trying something different. A decidedly minor addition to his catalog.

Is the mix better on the actual disc than on the downloads?

haven't head the new one yet, but i'll get to it. in the meantime ... anton barbeau and the egyptians? http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/threeminutetease

I'm clearing out stuff in preparation for moving, and came across roughly 35 CDRs of Robyn shows from (mostly) the 1990s - nothing especially rare, I suspect, but all pre-mp3 CDR trades from 10 years ago, or occasionally stuff downloaded from DIME and burned to CDR. Includes a complete UK tour from 99 or 2000, I think. Anyway, I don't have time to rip this stuff to mp3 and tag etc, so it's no use to me.

I don't think my mail here works, but if someone living *in the US* (sorry, don't want to mess around with airmail) wants them, post here and I'll get in touch and send them to you.